Saturday, January 26, 2019
Hey, Kiddo
Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Hey, Kiddo is an intensely personal coming of age autobiography in graphic novel format. Jarret is the son of a single mom heroin addict, who ends up being raised by his mother's parents while she is in jail. This is all revealed succinctly in the subtitle: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction. While the book deals with the pain of growing up in a broken, dysfunctional family, it also shows how love grows even in such inhospitable conditions. Ultimately, it is a book about healing hurts through coming to deal with them honestly and expressing them through, in Jarrett's case, his art.
300
300 by Frank Miller
300 tells in graphic form the story of the Battle of Thermopylae from the point of view of King Leonidas of Sparta who, with a small group of 300 elite Spartan warriors, held off for three days the invading Persian army of thousands at a narrow pass. Intensely drawn by Frank Miller and brilliantly colored by Lynn Varley, 300 is a a remarkable image of battle waged with with spears and arrows, which is not for the weak hearted. With chapters called Honor, Duty, Glory, Combat, and Victory, the book is a glorification of the call to battle, even against overwhelming odds and sure defeat.
Red Mandarin Dress
Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong
I am a fan of Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen Cao and have loved the previous books in the series. This one started off slow for me with a confusing collection of new characters, and the inspector taking time off from his work to write a paper in Chinese literature just at the time a serial killer is stalking young women in the city. However, I persisted and was rewarded in the end with wonderful comparisons between the romantic love stories he is studying, the cruel food options of Shanghai, and the motivations of a serial killer.
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Kalki by Gore Vidal
Kalki by Gore Vidal
In Kalki Gore Vidal explores the end of the Age of Kali (the Kali Yuga), the last of the four stages the world goes through according to Hindu mythology. In the late 1970s an avatar named Kalki, the tenth and final Avatar of Lord Vishnu, appears in the person of an American ex-soldier and drug smuggler to announce the end of the world.
As Kalki begins to attract a huge following, Teddy Ottinger, a female American test pilot, is hired by a magazine to fly to India to interview him. Teddy is the narrator of this book, written in the White House a year after she took the job to interview Kalki. She has been asked to explain what happened since taking the interview assignment.
What happens is a riotous romp through the foibles of late-20th century America, while still providing a deep understanding of the Hindu principles involved, as only the wit of Gore Vidal could imagine it. Is Kalki a con man, a true avatar come to save humanity, a delusional psychopath set on a path of lunatic dreams? We see the tale unfold through the pages of Teddy's story.
As Kalki begins to attract a huge following, Teddy Ottinger, a female American test pilot, is hired by a magazine to fly to India to interview him. Teddy is the narrator of this book, written in the White House a year after she took the job to interview Kalki. She has been asked to explain what happened since taking the interview assignment.
What happens is a riotous romp through the foibles of late-20th century America, while still providing a deep understanding of the Hindu principles involved, as only the wit of Gore Vidal could imagine it. Is Kalki a con man, a true avatar come to save humanity, a delusional psychopath set on a path of lunatic dreams? We see the tale unfold through the pages of Teddy's story.
The Mysteries of Paris
The Mysteries of Paris by Eugène Sue
I started reading the first 49 pages of this book on my iPhone in its original 19th Century English translation that is in the Public Domain. It is free online in a six volume downloadable edition, but switched to this new paperback translation by Carolyn Betensky and Jonathan Loesberg. This modern translation is much better and I highly recommend it. Reading a paper book with over 1300 pages can at times be physically challenging, but it is also available in a digital eBook edition.
The Mysteries of Paris first appeared in a serialized version in the Journal des Débats, a conservative French weekly newspaper, for 17 months during 1842 and 1843. It is a massive work of 1,366 pages that contains 167 chapters in 10 books and an Epilogue. The story follows the exploits of Rodolphe, a rich man who uses various disguises to help various people of Paris in trouble. He is a 19th century Batman without the costume saving good people facing problems and punishing evil doers, all while being pursued by his ex-wife.
Since Eugène Sue was writing the book as it was being published in weekly installments, he occasionally interrupts the story to answer criticisms of his Socialist views. These direct appeals to the readers provide an interesting perspective on the justice system and social problems of the times. The book is immense, but Sue's pacing and characterization keeps the plot exciting from beginning to end. The book paints a picture of the fabulous city of Paris as it is revealed through the eyes of characters ranging from common thieves, homeless children, teenage prostitutes, the working poor, the merchant class, and the rich nobility. I truly enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed his other major novel The Wandering Jew and the long out of print series The Mysteries of the People.
The Mysteries of Paris first appeared in a serialized version in the Journal des Débats, a conservative French weekly newspaper, for 17 months during 1842 and 1843. It is a massive work of 1,366 pages that contains 167 chapters in 10 books and an Epilogue. The story follows the exploits of Rodolphe, a rich man who uses various disguises to help various people of Paris in trouble. He is a 19th century Batman without the costume saving good people facing problems and punishing evil doers, all while being pursued by his ex-wife.
Since Eugène Sue was writing the book as it was being published in weekly installments, he occasionally interrupts the story to answer criticisms of his Socialist views. These direct appeals to the readers provide an interesting perspective on the justice system and social problems of the times. The book is immense, but Sue's pacing and characterization keeps the plot exciting from beginning to end. The book paints a picture of the fabulous city of Paris as it is revealed through the eyes of characters ranging from common thieves, homeless children, teenage prostitutes, the working poor, the merchant class, and the rich nobility. I truly enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed his other major novel The Wandering Jew and the long out of print series The Mysteries of the People.
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