Six Degrees of Separation, from Hydra to The Magic of Faraway Tree

Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme, now hosted by Kate @ books are my favorite and best. On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

This month we start from:

0. Hydra by Adriane Howell

"Hydra is a novel of dark suspense and mental disquiet, struck through with black humour. Adriane Howell beguilingly explores notions of moral culpability, revenge, memory, and narrative – all through the female lens of freedom and constraint. She holds us captive to the last page." - Goodreads


I haven't read this book and 'dark suspense' is just not really my cup of tea right now, so I can't think of anything else that is similar to the books I have read, other than that it is a book from an Australian writer. So I would use this to lead to my first chain - another book I've read from an Australian writer:

1. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

"...Most of all, it is the story of the Clearys' only daughter, Meggie, and the haunted priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart—and the intense joining of two hearts and souls over a lifetime, a relationship that dangerously oversteps sacred boundaries of ethics and dogma." - Goodreads

One of most memorable events of this book is a woman (the daughter: Meggie) who fell in love with a priest. This reminds me of another book where the female protagonist was also in love with a local priest:

2. The Conquest of Plassans by Émile Zola

"Marthe Rougon and her husband Mouret live peacefully with their children in a little town of Plassans, almost a perfect happy family. But one day Mouret has an idea to rent their second floor to a priest. Without their knowing, when Abbé Faujas arrived with his mother, the faiths of the Mourets have been sealed. Little by little Faujas and his family—later on his sister and brother in law also live there—conquered Mourets household, just as Plassans being conquered by the Abbé. It all comes gradually, subtly, but cunningly, that no one realizes it until it is too late." - my review

In this story, Plassans is a peaceful small village that is stirred by a stranger. In another book I've read recently, a stranger also came to a peaceful village and made a tremendous stir, which is:

3. The Stone of Chastity by Margery Sharp

"Professor Pounce, an expert in folklore, came to an old village called Gillenham, after learning about an ancient legend of the stone of chastity. According to the legend, there was a stepping stone on the local stream, on which a chaste woman would cross safely, but an impure or unfaithful one would certainly slip into the water." - my review

You know, I came to think that Professors in literature most often brings a certain excitement to a story, do you agree? The most exciting adventure brought by a scientific Professor is:

4. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

(my review)

Professor Otto Lidenbrock believes there are volcanic tubes that reach to the very center of the earth. And this book has inspired many books/authors: "The category of subterranean fiction existed well before Verne. However his novel's distinction lay in its well-researched Victorian science and its inventive contribution to the science-fiction subgenre of time travel—Verne's innovation was the concept of a prehistoric realm still existing in the present-day world. Journey inspired many later authors, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his novel The Lost World, Edgar Rice Burroughs in his Pellucidar series, and J. R. R. Tolkien in The Hobbit". - Wikipedia 

So naturally, my next chain would be:

5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit is children's fantasy with magical creatures such as elves and goblins. I haven't read many fantasy books, but the one I very recently enjoyed is full of elves, pixie, fairy, and goblins. And so, this charming children stories will be the end of of my chain:

6. The Magic of Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

"When Joe, Beth and Frannie move to the countryside, they discover that their new house lies next to the Enchanted Wood! And in that wood stands the Magic Faraway Tree. This is no ordinary tree - it is home to more magical lands full of elves, pixies, talking creatures and wonderful adventures than the children ever imagined possible!". My thoughts.

I'm so glad to see how this chain had begun with quite a gloomy book, but ended with a cheerful one!


Have you read those books? If you do #sixdegree, how it worked out for you this time?