Historical Fiction: Noir by Christopher Moore

A new Christopher Moore novel is always a welcome sight. When reading one of his books, you know you are in for a fun ride with more than a few twists and turns, and with plenty of off-beat characters and witty dialogue. So when Noir came out a little over a week ago, I did my best to get it onto DSN as soon as possible.

The Situation: Sammy "Two Toes" Tiffin tends bar at Sal's in San Francisco. Though his boss, the aforementioned Sal, was nice enough to give Sammy a job after World War II when jobs were in short supply, the two men do not much care for each other. And since Sal knows the truth about Sammy's past, he decides to make his employee do his dirty work when he agrees to do a favor for an Air Force General. The timing could not be worse though as Sammy has just fallen head over heels for a woman ("Yeah, a dame, that's how it starts..."). And miracle of miracles, Stilton (like the English cheese) seems to like Sammy too. If he can manage to not screw anything up, and pull off the favor for Sal, he will be able to keep his job and have the woman of his dreams. 

The Problem: Of course Sammy manages to screw it up, and it seems Stilton is done with him when contact stops and she is not at her job or her apartment. But this becomes only one of his problems when the local racist cop gets in a scuffle with one of Sammy's black friends, and a deadly snake, whose shipping crate was addressed to Sammy, is set loose on the city. Add in a government cover-up, a creepy cult, a foul-mouthed kid, and the eccentric uncle of a friend who is far to eager to result to murder, and Sammy has a situation on his hands that will require every colorful character he knows and their particular set of skills. 

Genre, Theme, History: This is a historical fiction novel, set in San Francisco in 1947, that is more often put under the category of humor than anything else. Moore is known for taking real events and people and putting them into unique and hilarious situations of his own creation. And with this book, he has it all done in the vein of the noir genre. Many of the characters, though fictional, are based off of real people that Moore either read about, or knew at some point in his life. There was a racist cop who was known for his intention of keeping the population San Francisco as white as possible. And the character of Thelonius Jones, a giant but soft-hearted black man, is based on someone Moore knew as a child. And because this story is set in 1940s America, racism and sexism abounds. From the various pet names that men insist on calling women (lots of "toots" and "doll"), to Sal's insistence that one of Sammy's friends is not welcome in his bar due to him being Japanese (and he's actually Chinese), some of the dialogue and descriptions in the novel will perhaps make many people cringe. But Moore makes sure to warn the reader beforehand, and it becomes clear throughout the novel that this is not behavior condoned by the author.

My Verdict: The intricate plot line is there, as are the diverse characters with various quirks, and the quick-witted and sometimes hard-to-follow dialogue. Yep, it's a Moore book alright, and yet there were often parts of it that I found to be a bit boring. Perhaps it was the narration which was sometimes told from Sammy's point of view, and other times by a narrator who went unknown until about midway through the book. Or it could have been the complicated plot. Or it could have been because there were many moments where an interesting character and their situation was introduced, only for the story to quickly move on to something else, forcing the reader to leave the new and interesting character behind for a something less dynamic. It is funny, it is entertaining, and it certainly has enough going on, but even so, certain parts lagged, while others felt forced and/or rushed. Either way, still worth checking out, especially for those with an affinity for the noir genre.  

Favorite Moment: When Thelonius Jones reveals Sammy's nickname of "snowflake."

Favorite Character: Moore gives Thelonius Jones an incredible backstory as well as a heart of gold. He loves his mother, as well as her cooking, and uses his incredible strength and size to look out for his friends. 

Recommended Reading: I still need to visit a lot of Moore's earlier work, but I recommend The Serpent of Venice, which is currently my favorite book by the author.        

Graphic Novel: The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

Every year, there are books that simply get away from me, and The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui was certainly one of them for 2017. I am always on the lookout for more graphic novels, or in this case graphic memoirs, to read and make space for on this blog. It is a format I would like to become more familiar with, and I always get excited whenever I do find one I can fit in. Today's selection was no exception as I was excited to explore Bui's story as an immigrant from Vietnam attempting to find her place, along with her family, here in the United States.

Genre, Themes, History: As mentioned, this is a memoir presented in the graphic novel format. Bui tells the story of her parents and their journey from war-torn Vietnam, to their new lives in California. The story actually opens up as Bui prepares to give birth to her son, with her mother and her husband by her side. Suddenly she is struck with the sense of now being the parent, even though she still feels like the child who came to America so many years ago. Bui then moves backwards, beginning with her younger brother, and talks about the birth of all of her siblings, even the two sisters that did not survive. She then jumps to when her father was a young man in Vietnam, and begins to tell the complete story: how he grew up in a country constantly in turmoil; how he ended up being raised by his grandfather; how he met Bui's mother; and ultimately, how they got themselves and their four children to America. Bui did not initially choose the graphic novel format. When she first wrote the story down she felt it to be too academic. She wanted to present a history that was relatable and not oversimplified. Though choosing the graphic novel format meant having to learn a completely different medium, she pushed forward anyway. The final product is more than a story about immigration. It is about Vietnam; the importance of home; the importance of family; the expectations we put on ourselves and each other; and what it means to sacrifice for those we love.

My Verdict: This is everything I hoped it would be. It is a moving and intriguing story that beautifully, and sometimes tragically, details the events that led Bui to write this memoir. The narrative is easy to follow, and the art gives the book a somber feeling, even on the better moments of the family's history. And while Bui tells her family's story, she also talks about how difficult even attempting such a thing can be. Talking to each parent separately as well as together, Bui ran into several challenges when trying to put the whole story together. Admitting to even those trials lends the whole thing a sense of honesty that is necessary in a book like this. It is certainly a different approach to this type of story and Bui pulls it off extremely well.

Favorite Moment: When Bui's mother and father are able to use their limited English to help other refugees make their way through the airport.

Recommended Reading: For more graphic novel goodness, I recommend the adaptation of the novel Kindred by Octavia E. Butler.

 

Nonfiction: Educated by Tara Westover

I received Tara Westover's Educated as part of a giveaway on Goodreads. Although it was already on my to-read list, all book lovers know how easily that list gets out of hand, and sometimes great titles can still be overlooked. Receiving it for free from my favorite book website simply helped guarantee it a spot on this blog. And its focus on a young girl from a survivalist family who does not step foot in a formal classroom until she is 17 is what garnered my interest in the first place. 

Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book, more specifically a memoir, in which Westover talks about her life and how it was shaped by her family and their belief's, as well as the effects of her father's mental illness. Westover grew up on a mountainside in Idaho, and was raised by Mormon parents who did not believe in public education, government assistance, or modern medicine. Her father firmly believed that to visit a doctor was to turn against the Lord, and even worse than someone who saw doctors was someone who tried homeopathic remedies, while also visiting doctors to seek their opinion. It was either one or the other. So Tara would grow up more or less homeschooled before acquiring admittance into Brigham Young University at the age of 17. She would eventually go on to receive a PhD from Cambridge, just as the book jacket says, but that is not really the point of the book, or even the point about education. It would take years, and much counseling, before Westover would realize that the education she missed out on was the ability to own her own memories, reality, and identity. Sure, she would not hear about the Holocaust or the Civil Rights Movement until college, but she also would be made to question her own memory of tragic and abusive events in her life, and the part some of her family member's played in that tragedy and abuse.  

My Verdict: This book had everything that a memoir should. It was honest; it was interesting; it offered a different look at life that we usually do not get to see; and it was filled with doubts over the author's memories, yet filled with a certainty that not only did those things happen, but they had an effect that some may want to deny, but they are only lying to themselves if they do. Be warned though: This book will infuriate many, trigger some, and cause great heartache for a fair amount of readers. It is a reminder that the people closest to us sometimes hurt us the most, and then they will claim it was for our own good. It is also a reminder that healing rarely comes quickly, and that education is a life-long journey, not a destination, and certainly not something contained within a school. Well-written and hard to put down, Educated is even more fascinating than the book jacket suggests. 

Favorite Moment: Any moment when someone in authority, whether it was a religious figure, a counselor, or a school administrator, exhibits faith in Westover's abilities and intelligence, whereas her father would do what he could to keep her at home working for him, and her mother would only mumble in agreement.

Favorite Quote: "I had started on a path of awareness, had perceived something elemental about my brother, my father, myself. I had discerned the ways in which we had been sculpted by a tradition given to us by others, a tradition of which we were either willfully or accidentally ignorant. I had begun to understand that we had lent our voices to a discourse whose sole purpose was to dehumanize and brutalize others - because nurturing that discourse was easier, because retaining power always feels like the way forward." - Westover on her brother's casual use of the word "nigger" as an insult, after learning in class what the word actually represents.  

Recommended Reading: While Educated is mostly set in Idaho where Westover grew up, Ruth Wariner's story as told in The Sound of Gravel takes place in Mexico, where she also grew up in a Mormon household in an environment of abuse and control.   

Young Adult Fiction: Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia is one of the many young adult books from 2017 that I missed and am now circling back to. Thanks to my annual trip to BookPeople in Austin, Texas on Christmas Day, I finally snagged myself a copy and gave it a place on this blog. There is of course the usual excitement of potentially discovering a new favorite YA author, but also, the premise alone sounds pretty amazing, and I was ready to root for a shy, creative, and awkward protagonist.

The Situation: Eliza Mirk is a high school senior in Westcliff, Indiana, and she hates it. High school that is. Actually, she is not all the fond of Westcliff either. And the best thing about being a senior is it means high school is almost over. Eliza does not have a high school crowd, or even a few small friends to eat lunch with. Her two closest friends live far away, and she only interacts with them online. The thing about Eliza is that she is shy, socially inept, a little strange, and the creator of one of the most famous web comics on the Internet, Monstrous Sea. But outside of her family, and her two online friends, no one knows that. And Eliza prefers it that way. Even when the new kid at school turns out to be Monstrous Sea's biggest fanfiction writer - as well as smart, and nice, and kind of cute - Eliza decides to continue to hide who she is.

The Problem: Hanging out with Wallace Warland, or rainmaker as he is known online, comes really easy for Eliza. For one, he is less interested in speaking to people than she is. And two, he loves Monstrous Sea, so they have plenty to talk about, or write to each other about. The longer she hangs out with him, the more she begins to come out of her shell, even attending a few social events and making new friends. Being more of a joiner is something Eliza's super athletic and outgoing parents always wanted for her. Thinking that Monstrous Sea is no more than a little hobby, they would prefer if their daughter stepped away from her computer and phone more often and joined them outside. They are pleased she has made a new friend, but still do not understand her, and she does plenty on her end to keep them in the dark. As long as Eliza maintains the tenuous control she has over her life, she will be able to make it to graduation in one piece. One small change could make her feel unbalanced. And a big one just might cause her to fall apart completely.  

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult novel set in the fictional small town of Westcliff, Indiana, where Eliza lives with her parents and two little brothers, Sully and Church (named after Ed Sullivan and Winston Churchill, respectively). Eliza is incredibly anti-social, preferring to retreat into the fictional world she created known as Monstrous Sea. Her fans only know her as LadyConstellation, but her moderator Max (Apocalypse_Cow) and the manager of monstroussea.com Emmy (emmersmacks) know her as Eliza (MirkerLurker), the creative and awkward girl who posts pages every Friday that continue the story. Eliza is not like every other teen in that she has a huge online following and prefers drawing, writing, and being online to pretty much everything else in life. But she is like almost every other teen in that she feels like her little brothers hate her, and that her parents just don't understand. Her identity is wrapped up in LadyConstellation and the story she has created, which is somewhat of a problem as she does not let anyone know that she is LadyConstellation, not even Wallace. Eliza comments that the beginning of the comic was her beginning, and that it is her responsibility to continue it. So what happens if it ends? What happens if her secret is found out? What happens if Wallace finds out?

My Verdict: I have to be honest and say that I did not like Eliza for probably the first half of this book. To me, she was a brat. And whiny. And incredibly selfish. I mean this was worse than typical teenage stuff. I can usually feel for the shy, socially awkward, creative type, but she was too much. Ever so slowly though, Wallace helps her to come up for air once in awhile, if only for a little bit at a time. Eventually, I did begin to feel for her, and root for her, and scream on the inside for her whenever things went wrong. And giving her a secret identity as a creator of a popular web comic added a new and fresh dimension to the story. Of course people are different online than they are in real life, but this was something else entirely. We may not all have insanely popular web comics, but everyone can relate to the desire to retreat to a place where we feel understood and cared about. 

Favorite Moment: *spoiler alert* When Sully confronts his parents with what they have done to Eliza and how little they truly know her. I think what is most messed up about this scene is that we know Eliza is the hero, and at this point her parents are the villains. No 13 year-old boy should ever have to yell at his parents about how they do not know his sister.

Favorite Character: I can honestly say I would never have called this at the beginning of the novel, but Sully and Church ended up being my favorites, even though they really aren't in the story all that much.

Recommended Reading: Many aspects of this story remind me of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, one of my favorite YA books, and certainly my favorite book by Rowell.