Book Review: The Well and the Mine

The Well and the Mine is centered around an ungodly event that a young girl, Tessa, witnesses one day in her backyard. The story takes around the time of the Great Depression in a small southern mining town. One day, Tessa witnesses a woman dumping a baby in her family's well. She convinces her parents, brother, and sister and what she saw and takes it upon herself to find the woman.

Though this "mystery" is what first moves the plot, it soon becomes inconsequential as the purpose of the book becomes clear: coming of age is painful but you always have your family. This seems like a cliched topic, but Phillips is able to make it seem fresh and new. Also it should be noted, that this is not a "feel good" coming of age tale. The language is raw and at times unpolished; it is difficult to tell at times if the characters are likable; and there is enough hardship described in the novel that makes it far from an after-school special.

Phillips is also unique in that she creates a mystery that is about people's lives and characters as opposed to about cheap thrills and chills. The hideous event is as catalyst that changes people's lives in surprising ways and allows the characters to explore themselves and the entire community.

The story is told through various narrators throughout the novel. In other novels this technique is used but each person's segment is a chapter or a significant amount of pages. However, Phillips makes each "viewpoint" short and range from a paragraph to a couple of pages. This works in the novel because the reader is able to experience each family member's perceptions without any separation. The finished product is a chorus of voices, each with their own solo, that are not contained by chapters but instead sing throughout the novel. It creates an extremely well developed story.

-DLP

Book Review: The Museum Guard

In an effort to make way for my Christmas presents, which are almost entirely books, I have decided to go through my "to be read" pile and start picking off some that I haven't gotten to this past year. I started with The Museum Guard which tells the story of an uncle and nephew who work as security guards at a small museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The nephew, DeFoe, lost his parents in a zeppelin accident when he was eight and has since been raised by his uncle. DeFoe grew up living in a hotel with his uncle and when he finally moved out of his uncle's room, it was only to relocate down the hall in the same hotel. DeFoe's uncle, Russett, is a crotchety man in his forties who lives a fast life filled with women, alcohol and gambling. Trouble arises when DeFoe falls in love with an eccentric woman who is the caretaker at the local Jewish cemetery. When a new piece of artwork comes into the museum, DeFoe’s girlfriend becomes infatuated with it to the point of endangering her own life and sanity as well as that of the other characters in the novel.

This novel was a good read but it was very odd. The book seemed to start off with a very different story than the one that it ended up with. About halfway through the novel, the plot too an extremely unexpected turn that really changed the entire direction and theme of the novel. I greatly enjoyed the relationship between the nephew and his uncle but was not enthralled with the other characters. Furthermore, the events in the final 100 pages of the book seemed extremely far-fetched and completely out of context. Additionally, the last fifty pages are written as a series of letters which come off as being stilted. It feels as if the author wanted to the reader to have information that was outside of the narrator's purview and therefore decided to tell the final chapter through correspondence. Despite my knowledge that the book had peaked halfway through, I was still drawn to finish it.

-DLP

Book Review: Penelope Ayers

In November I review our thoughts about a book reading by Amy Julia Becker from her first work, Penelope Ayers: a memoir. Today, I read her book. Penelope Ayers: a memoir is Amy Julia's story as much as it is her mother-in-law's. Penelope Ayers was the matriarch of a native and broken New Orleans family. After a lifetime of disappointment, estranged relationships and depression, Penny learns she has liver cancer. Told through the eyes of her daughter-in-law, Penny finds her way back home to many previously long lost friends and family members. For Amy Julia, Penny's story is one of healing and hope. While the cancer is terminal, Penny rediscovers life.

Many of our first assumptions about the book were accurate - this is a work in progress. More importantly, this book serves as a catharsis for the writer, which helps and hinders it as a work to be read widely. As a writer, Amy Julia has a lot of heart and I admit, I feel a few tears spring to my eyes while reading this book because I felt the presence of strong, complicated love of family. To an extent, we all have families with broken histories and the process of healing (or in some cases, lack of healing) is powerful. For Becker, healing is inextricably connected to her Christian faith, which plays a large role in her book. While I appreciate that this book is a personal history, I felt disconnected from the prevalence of The Church, but this is Becker's story. Some parts of the story drag as Becker meticulously includes every detail and development of the journey. I have not read enough Christian literature or literature about terminal patients (though I have read Tuesdays with Morrie which I found trite with life lessons too neatly packaged) to know where this book fits into either genre. I think this book has the potential to be similar to Joan Didion's The Magical Year of Thinking in that it explores the messy relationships of family and life. Penelope Ayers needs work and more distance from the grief associated with its writing, but as Amy Julia hones her craft, this book could become much more powerful.
http://amyjuliabecker.com/

- KER

Just for fun: I love You, Beth Cooper

In order to take a quick breather from the Joyce Carol Oates reading challenge, I picked up Larry Doyle's "I Love You, Beth Cooper." It a hilarious teen comedy exploring and magnifying everything that makes high school terrifying for a nerd. This book was riddled with pop culture references and filled with laughs. It was a quick, easy read, but I love a book that makes me belly laugh while riding the train. If you cringe when you look back on high school, this will make you smile. Denis Cooverman definitely had it worse than you.

- KER

Fine Feature Films (or Not)

"Four Seasons Lodge" - about a summer colony in the Catskills formed by Holocaust survivors as a safe haven that in 2006 began breaking apart. All those who visit the lodge in recent years are aging survivors, many with a myriad of health issues. As their health declines, so do the number of attendees. Filmed with care and thoughtfulness, this film focuses on what happens many years after tragedy strikes. How do people move on? How does one build community when all family members are gone? "Four Seasons Lodge" tells the story of one group of survivors many years after the Holocaust. How will they be remembered? At times touching and humorous, it is a film worth checking out.
http://www.fourseasonsmovie.org/

"The Princess & the Frog" - Disney is back in action with a twist on a classic fairy tale in 2-D animation. Certainly a throwback for those who remember the glory days of such classics like "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty." While Disney is still several decades behind the times, this film features an African American heroine who helps save the day, but still marries a prince in order to achieve her dream. I was a little underwhelmed by the formulaic nature of the film (she and her prince make instant animal friends! who save their lives on multiple occasions! they find true love! love conquers all!) and I found the villain to be scarier than I thought a G-rating would allow. The villain is a "voo-doo" man who peddles in dark magic and trickery, making him part Jafar and part Cruella de Vil (such very pointy bones!). It's a fun romp though if you aren't too tired of fairy tale cliches.
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/princessandthefrog/

"Angels and Demons" - Dan Brown book turned film. Tom Hanks reprises his role as the "silver fox" (Dan Brown's description, not mine) from the first film in essentially "National Treasure: Vatican Edition." To sum up: the long dormant anti-Catholic secret society formed by learned men like Galileo and Raphael has reared its vengeful head just before the Catholic world selects a new Pope. They've done so by kidnapping a dangerous substance called anti-matter, that, when it touches matter, will cause a huge explosion. The Catholic Church brought down by science -- clearly Robert Langdon is the man for the job! Hijinks ensue and changes were made from the book (yes, I read it) in order to streamline the story. I read that Ron Howard felt this was much more of an action story than The Da Vinci Code, but I found it just as boring. While I do not understand the casting choice of Tom Hanks, I must say I was delighted by Stellan Skarsgård as the disdainful head of the Swiss Guard. The rompers flipped through "1001 Books to Read Before You Die" in preparation for a 2010 year long reading challenge and still managed to catch the plot, like the book, it's a light story.
http://www.angelsanddemonsmovie.org/

 "The Ugly Truth" - An ugly story indeed. I am a fan of light "chick-flicks" or "rom-coms" and love the genre across the board; from "Sleepless in Seattle" to "Ten Things I Hate About You," yet I found this movie to be disappointing. Ready for a formula film where opposites attract and eventually love abounds, I found "The Ugly Truth" to be filled with unnecessary sexual innuedos and a lackluster plot. It was part "Someone Like You..." mixed with "He's Just Not That Into You" trying to live up to "When Harry Met Sally." It failed on all three fronts. This movie is not funny, Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl have no chemistry and the characters are flat, generating no sympathy. This 96 minute movie felt long. The pay off kiss at the end is not worth it. If you are looking for a fun chick flick, look elsewhere or to a tried and true film with a truly adorable leading man. Sorry, Gerard Butler does not do it for me, particularly when he's trying to mask his Scottish brogue, which emphasizes his chipmunk cheeks.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1142988/  


- KER

Joyce Carol Oates Reading Challenge: BLONDE

Part one of my take on the Joyce Carol Oates challenge is complete! I recently finished reading her gripping novel Blonde, a fictional account of the life of Norma Jean Baker. Oates chronicles Baker's devastating upbringing with her mentally unstable mother to her foster family, early marriage and rise to fame. Throughout Blonde Oates traces Baker's evolution from an under-educated, small town orphan to the American sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. Oates's narrative is gripping on two levels - Norma Jean's crippling self esteem issues and deep seated desire to be loved, at any cost and Marilyn's sexual exploitation by the Hollywood men who create and loathe her.

Blonde is a story that is doomed from the first sentence and pulls the reader into Norma's downward spiral of self doubt and frustration. As a child, Norma's mentally unstable mother sets her up for a lifetime of doubting love - that it will be conditional and circumstantial. Furthermore, after Norma's mother is committed to a mental institution, she refuses to relinquish her rights as a parent, preventing the pretty young blonde girl from being adopted, leaving her to fend for herself in an orphanage. Eventually Norma Jean lands in a stable and caring foster home, only to be pushed into marriage at 16 because her foster mother fears Norma Jean's developing body and sexuality that follows. At this young age, Norma Jean's body as a source of male desire takes center stage. Norma Jean becomes a woman defined by how men view her.

Marilyn Monroe is the voluptous, sexy, blonde woman all American men desire, stitched into a form fitting dress displaying all her curves, full of witticisms and easy sex. However, the woman behind the Marilyn mask remains uncertain of her true identity and desires, sinking deeper and deeper into depression. During her childhood in the orphanage, Norma Jean's mentor preached Christian Scientism, which Norma Jean followed in her youth, but as the pressures of Hollywood increased, she found herself turning to drugs - for nerves, sleep, confidence, etc. As Marilyn becomes a box office hit, Norma Jean's confidence decreases, still uncertain of her role in the world.

Oates emphasizes the identities the public creates for famous figures by referring to Monroe's famous lovers as "The Ex-Athlete," "The Playwright" and "The President." Furthermore, Monroe shys away from referring to herself as Marilyn - keeping her "true self" separate from the icon Hollywood executives created. When taking a new lover, she tells men those close to her call her Norma Jean. Additionally, with each role Marilyn Monroe performs, her selfhood splits another time and gains another facet. Monroe is referred to as Rose or The Girl Upstairs or Sugar, as the situation requires. All these psydonems remain within Monroe's inner thoughts.

Part of what makes Oates's novel so compelling is the third person narrative. While she recreates conversations, it is always from a third party perspective. Occasionally the reader is privy to the inner thoughts of a character, but remains an observer, trying to piece together the truth about the scene. The reader is constantly trying to determine what is true. Which perspective represents the truth. Oates often refrains from explicit descriptions, yet her language is rich. That is, Oates implies the sexual favors required of Marilyn Monroe, without presenting graphic sex scenes. It is enough to know the degradation Monroe suffered.

I knew very little about Marilyn Monroe before I read Blonde other than basics like - married to Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller; may have been JFK's mistress; definitely sang "Happy Birthday Mr. President" to JFK; and of course, the iconic image of Monroe in the white dress with her skirt billowing. As a work of fiction, Oates's text works extremely well. I had the pleasure of googling Monroe when I wanted to verify a fact, but it was not essential to my understanding of the story - Monroe is a woman doomed by her circumstances as a flawed and desparate human being. Truly this novel made me appreciate that I do not have to make my way as a woman in the mid twentieth century. It was truly a man's world and Monroe was the victim of their whims. This is a fascinating read on so many levels. Oates complies a complex woman's story and distills the most compelling and tragic parts in an epic novel.

- KER

Book Review: The Escape Artist

The novel The Escape Artist by Judith Katz takes place over 17 years and travels from Eastern Europe to Argentina. Sofia Teitelbaum is a young Jewish girl when her poor parents decide to marry her off to a wealthy Jewish businessman who boasts of taking Sofia to Argentina where she will be treated as a princess. The wealthy businessman, Tutsik Goldenberg, is clearly not who he says he is but Sofia’s family can not offer her a better life in their Polish town so they agree to the marriage. Before Tutsik and Sofia can be wed, Tutsik takes Sofia to another village where she meets “tante Sara” who pretends to be Tutsik’s aunt. Tante Sara, Sofia, and Tutsik board a boat for Argentina on which Tutsik promises to marry Sofia. Of course the marriage does not take place, and instead Sara teaches Sofia about the art of seduction. When they arrive at the dock in Argentina, Sofia is brought to Tutsik’s sister’s brothel where Sofia will work as a prostitute for three years until she meets Hankus. Hankus, formerly Hannah, has a story of his own which Sofia tells the reader. When Sofia meets Hankus he is already working as a magician and about to take his talent to the big stage. The love between Hankus and Sofia is the crux of the story that leads to betrayal, secrets, and magic.

Katz is simply an excellent writer. She is able to describe a scene with such precision and detail that the reader can almost feel it. In addition, she peppers the text with Yiddish words which deepens the issue of Jewish identity in the novel. However, readers who do not know Yiddish will still understand the text and might even pick up some Yiddish verbiage. The story is written in sections that each have denoted years. One of the sections is specifically Hankus’ section. Yet, it is not told by Hankus but instead by Sofia as it was told to her by Hankus. Therefore, she uses the second person when writing this section which is a fantastic technique and works very well in this book.

Overall, the novel was a very good read. Still, I only have it 3.5 stars because I could not sympathize with the characters. Though they certainly developed throughout the novel, they were not likable and at times I could not even understand the love between Sofia and Hankus. However, Katz proves herself to be an excellent writer and I look forward to more works by her in the future.


-DLP

Joyce Carol Oates Challenge: Haunted

Joyce Carol Oates' Haunted is an excellent collection of stories that, for the lack of a better word, are "scary". However, these are not "scary" in the sense that Edgar Allan Poe or H.P Lovecraft are. These tales are much more like the plot of an episode of Twilight Zone with a twist at the end. As other reviewers have stated, her stories range from traditional scary stories that could to told on Halloween, to creepy tales with psychological implications, to horrific passages of violence.

The majority of the tales center around the relationship between a woman/girl and an abusive man. In most of the stories, the man and woman are related to each other though sometimes it takes a while to figure out their relationship. Though when reading these stories for the first time, the plots and characters may seem harmless. The terrifying elements lay just below the surface. Unlike in other scary story collections, Oates rarely shows the reader what is exactly to be feared. Instead, she describes and fear and panic surrounding the event and lets the reader infer. This technique makes the tales even more grotesque and horrific because there is no defined conclusion and it is up to the reader's imagination.

Oates also uses a variety of techniques that have become familiar to her readers. In one story, she begins each sentence with the word "because" which makes the tale almost seem like a free verse poem. Another story is segmented with each passage numbered as if the entire story is a list of some sort.

Though descriptions of the tales may sound interesting, the majority of the stories are incredibly upsetting. Instead of murderous hitchhikers or clawed murderers, these are stories that burrow deep into the reader's psyche and wreck havoc. These are not for readings around a campfire or for someone who wants chills on Halloween. The kinds of chills that these stories give are far deeper and are not easily ignored.

-DLP

Book Review: The Squirrel Mother

The Squirrel Mother by Megan Kelso is a graphic novel that is told in short stories or panels that give a snapshot into the lives of various girls of approximately the same age. The majority of the sections are about five to six pages with simplistic drawings that are humorous while also melancholic. Such "short stories" range from a girl learning how to dance to another adolescent girl who sadistically cleans her room. Another story is of a girl who judges her neighbors on the music that they play on Halloween. The concluding section is about the founding fathers in which Kelso mixes historical truths with modern-day romance. Overall, the collection is quite interesting, enduring, and spunky.

As other reviewers have stated, I very much enjoyed the short sections that depicted various girl and their "coming-of-age" moments. Each story was completely unique while also connecting to the overall theme of the book. If the graphic novel was comprised of only these stories, I would surely have given it four stars. However, the final section was a bit odd. Kelso's art was perfect, as is typical of her, but the storyline was a bit too bizarre for me. Had that section been left out, it would have been worthy of four stars!

-DLP

Book Review: The Wives of Henry Oades

As Johanna Moran's debut novel, The Wives of Henry Oades is wonderful! The novel begins in 1890 with Henry, his wife Margaret and their two children leaving England to go to New Zealand. The country is still considered the wilderness and the Oades find themselves in an undesirably living arrangement. Soon after they move out to the country, Margaret Oades and her children are kidnapped by a Maori tribe. After years of endless searching and mourning, Henry decides to move to California. Eventually, Margaret and her surviving children escape the Maori, discover where Henry is living, and go to join him. When they arrive, they find that Henry has remarried. To make matters worse, the whole family is brought to court on charges of bigamy.

One of the perks of the novel is that it is told from various viewpoints without being confusing. The writing is also beautiful and the characters are wonderfully developed. The first two sections of the book flew by so quickly the I wanted to re-read them immediately. It reads with the pace of a thriller but with the depth of an incredibly thoughtful and insightful historical novel. The reason why I had to give this book 3 stars is because the final section seemed to pale in comparison to the first two. It felt rushed but at the same time a bit boring. Being that it was the final section, it left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. Still, I would completely recommend it to any lover of historical fiction or just fiction in general!

-DLP

Book Review: House

In this wordless graphic novel, House by Josh Simmons, three friends decide to investigate an old abandoned mansion that has suffered great disrepair. Things quickly go from interesting, to creepy, to downright terrifying. It becomes clear that the house is actually a malicious character in the novel that begins to take over the human characters. Elements of fantasy come into play as tragedy strikes and the three friends realize that they must fight alone in order to survive.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this graphic novel is the way that it makes the reader feel as trapped as the characters. The graphics begin with a lot of white space and intricate drawings of the house. As the friends venture further into the house and are met with greater darkness, both literal and figurative, the pictures become blacker and blacker. In addition, the pictures that were once sprawling become smaller and smaller until they are only a tiny circle enveloping the characters. Similar to how the house becomes a character, the blackness becomes the text and it tells the story of the friend's descent into darkness.

However, I can only give this story two stars because the tale became a bit too odd for me. The premise was fascinating and I would love to see it polished and have a bit more depth added to it. It is possible that my complaints are merely because the novel to a turn towards science-fiction (not one of my favorite genres). It should also be stated that this is Simmons' first graphic novel and his craft may not be completely formed yet. Still, I think he will be an interesting author to follow and has great potential for the future.

-DLP

Book Review: Let the Great World Spin

At first glance (or read) Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin seems to be a collection of short stories that take place in New York City around the time that a tightrope walker walked across a rope between the Twin Towers as they were being built in the 1970s. However, the reader soon realizes that these stories are intertwined and are beautifully woven together into one overlying story told in a cacophony of voices.

McCann has chosen New York City as the setting for this novel and the diverse peoples of the city are his characters. His first character is Corrie who was originally from Ireland but moved to America and has taken up residence in the projects of the Bronx where he helps the elderly and prostitutes alike. The next series of stories involve a group of women who have lost son's in the Vietnam War. Lastly, are a couple of stories involving a young married couple who have chosen to abandon their reckless drug-riddled life and start anew in the countryside. Interspersed between these stories are vignettes about the tightrope walker and his great mission to cross between the Twin Towers. When tragedy strikes, these independent series of stories come together into one powerful overriding tale.

This is by far one of my favorite books of 2009. Each story is written beautifully and can easily stand on its own. Yet the connection between all of the stories brings together so many different voices and narrators that the overall story is overwhelmingly powerful. McCann's  descriptions of poverty, grief, love, and compassion can not go with praise. Though he is originally from Ireland, he is able to tell of life in New York City better than most actual residents would be able.

-DLP

JCO Update: First Love

As Karen previously stated, we have decided to make December the month of Joyce Carol Oates. In order to try to understand her fully as an author, we are both reading different forms of Oates' writings and discussing them here for you to see! First, I read Oates' novella First Love and will then continue with two of her short story collections and finish with her novel Foxfire. Hopefully, from reading these various forms, we can come to between understand her overall style and themes.

First Love is a disturbing novella that tells the story of an eleven year of girl named Josie whose mother leaves her father and decides to take Josie away to upstate New York where the two will live with her aunt. Josie soon realizes, that she has never met this aunt before and that the aunt is infact her GREAT aunt whom her mother has not seen for decades. Josie is an inquisitive girl, which her mother finds troubling at times, who finds it difficult to settle into her great aunt's house where there are so many unexplained rules. The majority of these rules revolve around Josie's second cousin Jared Jr. who is currently taking time off from studying theology at the local seminary and has taken up residence in the house. Josie is fascinated by Jared Jr if only for the fact that she is perplexed by Jesus Christ and his purpose/meaning in Josie's life as well as that of her cousin's. However, Jared takes advantage of Josie's interest in him by using her as a test of his celibacy. He begins to physically abuse her and often strips her naked as a way to make him stronger by not acting on his lust for her.

Though Oates' writing is as prolific and moving as always, the subject matter seems a bit too heavy even for her. Of course she has written other books with troubling themes, this novella seemed to be even more disturbing than her usual writings. First, it was written in the gothic tradition and contained numerous allusions to Satan and the devil. In many ways, the writing of the story was reminiscent of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter yet with even darker underlying themes. Perhaps, it was the form of the novella and its shortened length that gave the reader the feeling of being almost assaulted by the story. Lastly, Oates wrote this story in the second person (for the most part) making the reader feel as if these events and acts were being done to his/herself.

Overall, I did not like this work. I found it too disturbing but without much depth. The themes were, at times, insipid and the characters were one-dimensional. Clearly, Oates wanted to address hypocrisy in religion and  the hazards of naivete. Yet, this did not seem like the appropriate story to illustrate those points. The troubling plot was so overwhelming that Oates' message and theme were, for the most part, lost.

-DLP

Book Review: Skim

Skim is a graphic novel that centers around the main character whose nickname is Skim. Skim is an overweight, Japanese-Canadian, gothic, Wiccan, and high school social outcast. However, none of these descriptions are actually truthgul. As the reader becomes familiar with Skim, he/she soon discovers that she is just another misunderstood high school student who is trying to find her niche will still retaining some of her identity. The plot begins to roll when the boyfriend of the most popular girl at school commits suicide and the other popular girls decide to create various vigils and clubs in honor of this boy that none of them actually knew. Skim sees through the popular girls' false sorrow and realizes that this boy's death is just an excuse for the popular girls to alienate others and draw attention to themselves. However, this death eventually created tension and forever changes Skim's relationship with her best friend. In hopes of finding help and guidance, Skim reaches out to her English teacher with whom she falls in love. Instead of finding solace in this relationship, she only becomes more confused about herself. Companionship and understanding comes in the most surprising of places: the girlfriend of the boy who committed suicide. Skim  notices that the girl is actually suffering and yet her popular friends are doing nothing to come to her aid. An unspoken kinship is fostered between the two girls as they both struggle with trying to fit into their own skin.

The art in this graphic novel is exceptional. The detail is incredibly intricate and should be examined with as much interest as the text. Many of the drawings are not contained in boxes as other graphic novels and comics have used. Instead, pictures flow over the pages and blend into one another. It is possibly some of the most beautiful art that has ever been published in a graphic novel. Jillian Tamaki, the cousin of the author, is able to create unbelievable tones and depth to the gray sketches that remind the reader of Japanese watercolors.

This is an exceptional book. Lover's of graphic novels and traditional novels alike will find something beautiful and touching in this story. Skim is a wonderful character who is incredibly insightful while also being humorous and honest. Though the plot is simplistic and revolves around an event that most people have experienced while in high school, it is its everyday-ness that is so charming and at times compelling.

-DLP

Book Review: Shortcomings

I discovered Adrian Tomine's Shortcomings when I went to the library to get a different graphic novel. However, there was a pamphlet on "suggested" readings and Shortcomings was listed in this pamphlet. I believe that the purpose of the pamphlet was to be used for outreach to those who have never read a graphic novel but are interested in finding something new. I had read almost all of the other books in the booklet and thought that I would try Shortcomings. Personally, I was disappointed. I thought that this graphic novel might actually turn other reader's away from the genre because it upholds some people's stereotypes that graphic novels are slow-moving and do not have a cohesive purpose.

Shortcomings tells the story of a 30 year old Japanese-American man who is in a relationship with a Japanese-American woman. Though they have been together for years, their relationship is now on the rock as the two people try to understand the role of their ethnicity in their lives and relationships. The main male character finds Caucasian women to be more attractive than Japanese women, which his girlfriend believes is racist. The couple decides to separate when Ben's girlfriend goes away to NYC. After some failed relationships and one-night stands, Ben decides to follow her only to find that she is hiding her own secret (though it is an extremely anti-climatic secret). Ben discusses all of her personal issues with his Korean best friend who is a lesbian with a revolving door of girlfriends.

Though issues surrounding identity and the role of ethnicity in a person's life are certainly worthy of exploration, this graphic novel does not handle the material as well as other novels (graphic and otherwise). The characters appear insipid and shallow. Ben's best friend is portrayed as a stereotypical lesbian character with a new girlfriend each night. Ben himself is depicted as a "typical" male who tries to find himself by sleeping with and drooling over other women besides his girlfriend. His girlfriend is also a two-dimensional character who flees the relationship by literally moving away. The graphics are interesting and all in sepia which adds a melancholic mood.  Still, the pictures are not that interesting and do not add much to the text.

Overall, I was disappointed by this selection and found both the text and pictures to be lacking. The theme of the story was quite interesting and in a different context would be a thrilling read.

-DLP