Mr. Punch

The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch
Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
Fiction, Graphic Novel

If one is to argue that graphic novels are a legitimate art form, one could do far worse than to use Mr. Punch as an example. This is a story that could not conceivably be told in another format - the art underscores the dark strangeness of memory, and allows the prose to be sparse and meandering without spending time describing the scene.

This is the story of one boy's visit to his grandfather, in conjunction with the Punch and Judy shows of years gone by. These violent puppet shows were a mainstay of the beach for generations, and the conjunction of the boy's memories of the visit with the progress of the show infuses the centuries' old tale with dark meaning. Instead of being a simple recounting of a few weeks on the beach, the symbolism of Mr. Punch leads the reader toward a fable of the human condition.

Of course, this is written in such a manner that the reader has to pick up on numerous little cues, without which the tale is somewhat mundane. After being frightened by a Punch and Judy show alone on the beach, the boy runs away - and looking back, the reader can see that the wind has blown the tent up far enough to show that there is no puppeteer hiding in the booth. Likewise, there is the simple symbology of the baby puppet falling to the ground, a repeated image, which takes on a horrible significance near the end.

This is a short book but not a quick read - one should read it through at least twice to get the foreshadowings and hints. And if you are at all interested in the true fairytales - the dark ones before they were cleaned up - then this is a book for you.

*****/*****

The Stupidest Angel

Christopher Moore
Fiction

Ah, Christmas. A time for festive cheer, for lights and eggnog and snow and cheerful Santas bringing toys to grateful children around the world.

None of which you will find in this book.

Instead, Moore returns to Pine Cove (first introduced in Practical Demonkeeping) for a tale of hilarious terror featuring screaming exes, a sword-wielding madwoman barbarian princess, zombies with an inexplicable love for IKEA, and, oh yes, an angel who was not so much behind the door when the brains were passed out but more as though the few he has were stirred with a stick. Who, for the first time in two thousand years, has been granted the power of the Christmas Miracle. Which kind of makes you wonder about the smarts of the guy in charge.

To top it all off, this California coastal town will have to deal with El Niño, the weather phenomenon that brings, in this instance, a horrendous storm just when things are getting interesting. And Pince Cove's coveted Monterey Pines - the perfect Christmas trees - are about to come crashing down...

This is not a novel for those fond of Miracle On 34th Street and Precious Moments figurines. This is more for those people who have worn out their tape of Nightmare Before Christmas, and play copies of Night of the Living Dead and Army of Darkness as an antidote to saccharine Christmas cheer. Because Santa's coming back from the dead. And this time, he's got a gun.

*****/*****

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen
Fiction

This novel is a staple of summer reading everywhere; the girls love it and the boys almost invariably hate it. The secret to that gender split has to do with Austen's writing style; the novel is very funny in terms of verbal wordplay, but little happens that is overt, and teenaged boys are generally considered to be behind girls of the same age in terms of verbal development and subtle cues.

Besides, it's all about romance, which is something teenaged boys have notoriously little time for.

The premise of the novel is fairly simple: a new young gentleman comes to town, along with his proud friend who gives offense to an intelligent young lady. Since at least one hates the other, anyone can see that they are destined for one another, and that the book will be about the pitfalls along the way. It doesn't hurt the narrative that the young lady, Elizabeth Bennet, while having a sweet and intelligent older sister, also has to deal with a very silly mother and three silly younger sisters, and a father who, while intelligent himself, has more fun watching the antics of his family than in reining them in. Or that there are several spiteful people in their branch of society who will make trouble by spreading rumors.

While I love this novel, I would only recommend it to those people who are good at reading between the lines, because only through a close understanding of character is the real absurdity of the situations apparent. However, I can recommend the lovely A&E series based on this book unreservedly, because while it is faithful to the novel in most particulars, it also manages to translate the foilbles of the characters into a format almost anyone can appreciate.

*****/*****

Whose Body?

Dorothy L. Sayers
Fiction, Mystery

In this, the first of Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, we are introduced to the gentleman by a strange method; a body is found in someone's bath, and Lord Peter's mother asks him to get involved, as she feels the introverted man whose house it is will be bullied by the police. (This is actually a fairly justified fear as the policeman in charge is the sort to draw the "obvious" conclusion by ignoring all manner of evidence.)

Lord Peter is portrayed as somewhat flighty and like his surname; he is assisted in his crime-solving efforts by his steady butler Bunter, a Jeeves type to Peter's Wooster. Of course, the first problem is finding out why a naked man was slipped into someone else's bath; it is necessary to determine who the person is, and more importantly, what this has to do with the disappearance of a finacier who superficially resembles the corpse.

As this is an introductory novel, there is much time spent on the development of characters and their interactions - somewhat to the detriment of the plot. Moreover, there are a few character notes which almost feel forced into the narrative; while it is important that Lord Peter served in the war (WWI) and suffers from "nerves" (post-traumatic stress disorder, a classic case), its introduction and resolution seem somewhat abrupt, and only lightly related to the narrative.

Nevertheless, this is an entertaining mystery in the classic style, and an introduction to one of the classic characters of mystery.

***.5/*****

The Onion Girl

Charles DeLint
Fiction, Fantasy

This is not a story to be taken lightly. Jilly Coppercorn, a featured character in DeLint's many Newford stories, is forced to deal with her past after an accident leaves her bed-bound, and it is not a past to be taken lightly. While the main horror of her past has been dealt with before - one chapter is a previously published short story dealing with her childhood abuse at the hands of her older brother - it becomes obvious that it wasn't dealt with but merely locked away. And now someone from her past is looking for her.

DeLint's brand of urban fantasy features both the good and bad of Faerie. This one has a dreamland that is heavily influenced by Native American mythology, with crow girls and cowboys with the heads of coyotes or wolves. However, you would not be surprised to see the European mythos represented as well - the blend seems natural. Jilly tries to escape into this dreamland as a relief from her broken body, but it soon becomes apparent that she cannot escape the hate of her pursuer. Eventually she will have to deal with it all - her past, her nemesis, and even the fact that she may never be able to paint again.

This book is good as an addition to DeLint's world; I would not recommend taking it by itself. It is not as powerful as his other works, but taken in conjuction it fill quite a few gaps. A number of the complaints I have seen about this book center on its laundry list of characters - your best bet with DeLint is to start with his early Newford works and read chronologically. (Dreams Underfoot is the first collection of short stories centered around Newford, and the first to introduce Jilly.)

****/*****

Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen
Fiction

This book is two hundred years old, and feels as though it could have been written yesterday. This is Austen's gentle sendup of the Gothic novel craze of her day, and introduces Catherine Morland, a girl who did not seem to be born a heroine - her mother did not die at her birth, her father "was not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters", and Catherine herself displayed more tomboyish tendencies than the gentle nurturing arts of the heroine.

At the age of seventeen, Catherine gets a trip to Bath with some family friends. While there, the airheaded Catherine makes some new friends and falls for Henry Tilney, a young gentleman who is quite aware of the social silliness surrounding them. He and his sister Eleanor invite Catherine to their home at Northanger Abbey, and the novel-devouring Catherine is excited to be on a true Gothic adventure. (The scene where they are traveling to the abbey is extraordinarily hilarious, as Henry uses the opportunity to spin a frightening yarn to Catherine, and stops it just at the suspenseful part.) What she finds, however, is far more mundane - and petty - than she had expected, and she learns, or at least begins to learn, that fiction and reality are often two very different things.

As with the rest of Jane Austen's work, the humor is in the phrasing. Lines such as "A family of ten children will always be called a fine family, when there are heads and arms and legs enough for the number," are funny only if one is used to verbal humor. If that is not you, avoid this novel as it will seem banal. If, however, you are good at reading between the lines, the absurdity of the situations in this novel will almost certainly lead to laughter.

****/*****

If It's Not Close, The Can't Cheat

Hugh Hewitt
Nonfiction, Political Science

I tend to avoid the political science section, as 95% of the books therein will not be there in five years. Either they will become irrelevant, or they will work their way over to another section, such as history or economics. However, when this book was mentioned as a good read by someone who disagreed with it ideologically, I figured it was worth a try.

What I found was refreshing. Hewitt's premise is that the next few elections are very important for both political parties, and he lays out his reasons why. The tone is reasoned and the arguments are presented in the classic format, with one point flowing to the next. Hewitt's premises are ones that you might disagree with, and he acknowledges this, but states why he finds them important. And if you do find his reasoning compelling, then his conclusions seem inevitable.

More to the point, however, is the fact that Hewitt presents basic debate strategy in a format that is accessible to most people, and rather than (for example) listing common fallacies such as ad hominem and simply stating they do not work, he explains why it is a bad idea to attack the messenger rather than the message. He tells the reader how to get points of view heard, and how to present those points so that they are clear and effective.

Hugh Hewitt is a radio host, and his book reflects that. Most of the chapters are short, encompassing only a few pages, and they all explain individual points of his argument. The result is a fast read, especially since the copious appendices mean that the overall length of the book is shorter than it first appears. And, quite honestly, it fulfills its function of being a basic primer of political advocacy while being temperate in tone and manner, an accomplishment for a book that is admittedly partisan.

****/*****