What was Suzy reading?
June 3, 2012 7:09 PM   Subscribe

Are the books that Suzy reads in Moonrise Kingdom real and are they available at my local library?

Just saw Moonrise Kingdom today. Before I get into my question, I would like to say that it's absolutely lovely! So, during the film, Suzy reads a lot of good-looking books. (This is not a plot spoiler, I promise.)

I'm wondering if her books are available for my summer reading, but unfortunately, I can't remember any of the titles. Does anyone remember what she read, and know if they exist outside of Wes Anderson's films?

And let's say they're all pretend. Can anyone recommend some fantastical YA type novels from the 1960s?
posted by juliaem to Media & Arts (10 answers total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
They are fake, but Anderson is expanding on them a little bit.
posted by candyland at 7:18 PM on June 3, 2012


Tackling the second half of your question: Over Sea, Under Stone, the first book in "The Dark is Rising," came out in 1965. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was published in 1960. The Chronicles of Prydain were published between 1964 and 1968.
posted by Nomyte at 7:19 PM on June 3, 2012 [4 favorites]


Perhaps for your list: T.H. White's "The Once and Future King" (1958). Arthurian Fantasy, but close in spirit to Prydain and "The Dark is Rising."
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:27 PM on June 3, 2012


Another few: A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), The Last Unicorn (1968), Andre Norton's first Witch World book (1963). Anne McCaffrey's first Pern book (1968), A Wrinkle in Time (1962). The 1960s produced a freakin' trove of iconic YA writing.
posted by Nomyte at 7:46 PM on June 3, 2012 [1 favorite]


They sort of reminded me of Pamela Dean's The Secret Country.
posted by justkevin at 9:04 PM on June 3, 2012 [2 favorites]


Alan Garner's The Owl Service (1967).
posted by snarkout at 9:44 PM on June 3, 2012


Just to confirm, Anderson described the fact that he made the books up in a recent "Fresh Air" interview. His speaking voice, btw, seemed uncomfortably close to David Lynch's loud-talking character in Twin Peaks.
posted by Slothrop at 5:30 AM on June 4, 2012


Best answer: Is this image helpful?
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:34 AM on June 4, 2012


Best answer: Kara Hayward's young Suzy character reads a lot of these fantasy books with interesting looking book covers. Given that the film is set in 1965, what kind of science-fiction would you say she's reading?

"I was kind of thinking of Madeleine L'Engle, like [the 1960s pre-YA science fantasy novel] "Wrinkle in Time" that sort of thing, young adult. But did you ever read the Susan Cooper books [known for her children's fantasy series "The Dark Is Rising"]? Well, those were the ones that I was very interested in when I was a kid and I kind of had those in mind too."
posted by Smallpox at 7:55 AM on June 4, 2012


Response by poster: Thank you all for your help. Disappointing that nobody's written the stories behind those titles, but I've got lots of other good reading ahead of me!
posted by juliaem at 7:16 PM on June 4, 2012


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