Folklore, American Vampire, and the Once Upon a Time Challenge

I read American Vampire (Volume One) back at the end of March (review) and it has stayed on my mind.  A lot.

In the various musing on it that I have done, I realized that it is perfect for the "Folklore" category of Once Upon a Time Challenge and I'm shocked that I didn't see it at first.  That's the thing about a book like this, though.  It is so layered it takes months to peel away at it; and the more I peel, the more I find.

Folklore takes the customs of a group of people and tells it in story form, usually (to my layman's mind) using a lot of exaggeration and showing that particular people to be something special.  Think of the Jack tales, if you will.

Snyder and King (especially in King's half of the novel) have taken the vampire legend and made it something completely American, indigenous only to this breed of people.  In short, they've created a new folklore.

If you like vampire stories, or the Wild West, or revengeful women, or. .. heck, just as long as you like to read but don't mind a little gore (okay, even if you DON'T like to read; this might be a good starting point), give this one a try.  Let it marinate for a while afterwards and see where it takes you.

Darn fine book.

In the Garden of Beasts

In the Garden of Beasts
Erik Larson 
Hardcover: 464 pages 
Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (May 10, 2011)
reviewing ARC, courtesy of Amazon Vine
5/5 stars

In the Garden of Beasts is an amazing book.  It is a nonfiction account that reads with the ease and entertainment of a good novel.  When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.  When I was reading it, I was engrossed.

Larson uses letters, journals and papers to tell the story of William Dodd, U.S. Ambassador to Germany in the thirties, of his daughter (Martha), and of Hitler's rise viewed through their eyes.  Martha, socialite and party to many romantic escapades, found herself in a position to garner information that the Ambassador couldn't know and become the center of several intrigues herself.  As for Ambassador Dodd, as he became more disillusioned with (and ultimately more fully aware of) Hitler's Germany, he became more of an outcast with the "in crowd" of the State Department, creating an entirely different, but important, conspiracy of sorts.

Despite knowing the ultimate outcome of the Dodds' adventure, In the Garden of Beasts is still a page turner and thoroughly fascinating.  It was with reluctance that I turned the last page, and said good bye to these people that had consumed my mind so completely.

Larson's apparently has the ability to write a biographical account in such a way that makes it more enjoyable than most fiction.  (I've not read The Devil in the White City*, but that has been moved to the top of my to-read list.)  I can not recommend this enough, regardless of your interest in the subject.  My initial interest was not high, but I came away with new understanding and knowledge of the time period, US and German politics, and ultimately, human nature. In the Garden of Beasts is a must read.

*I did read The Devil in the White City and it was a five star read!

Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family

Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family by Nicholas Pileggi

It's impossible to review this book without mentioning Goodfellas, the movie it spawned. And since the movie has now been mentioned, let's move on.

Wiseguy is the life story of Henry Hill, a half-Sicilian Brooklyn boy who became what he always wanted to be: a mobster. A wiseguy. Over his criminal career, he rubbed elbows with the worst hoodlums in the Mafia Mecca of New York. He stole, cheated, schemed, scammed, and busted heads alongside made men.

Contrary to popular belief, working for the Mob is much harder than holding down a nine-to-five. Wiseguys are always on duty. For thirty years, Henry Hill was always on the lookout for the next big score. He describes the elaborate thefts and cons with relish, but the message is clear: it ain't as easy as it looks. And in the end, when the cops had all the information they needed to put him prison until the Resurrection, Henry Hill made a deal - he entered the Federal Witness Protection program and testified against his former partners.

Wiseguy is a fast read, if you are at all interested in the subject matter - I knocked it out in a day. The writing is tight, the pace is swift, the language is authentic. You don't want it to end.

But end it does, right where the movie does, with Citizen Hill living in the suburbs like an ordinary schnook. The roller coaster comes to a halt and the credits roll, and a darned good book is finished.

But wait, there's more!

The rest of the story is not as much fun, so it's not covered in the book. Hill was kicked out of the Witness Protection program after just a couple of years. He has been in and out of trouble, mostly due to drugs and alcohol, ever since. For a guy who was in fear for his life, he keeps a high profile. He's always on TV or radio somewhere, sells tie-in products over the internet, owns restaurants. He's in the American Gangster Museum. If the Mafia has such a long memory, why is he still alive?

The guys he sent to prison are mostly dead, so maybe nobody has a beef with him. Maybe the Mob has gotten kinder and gentler.

Starship Troopers by Robert Anson Heinlein

Starship Troopers by Robert Anson Heinlein

Heinlein was the dean of Science Fiction writers, dominating the Golden Age and remaining enormously influential even today. Starship Troopers is his most controversial work, and perhaps his greatest.

The story follows Johnnie Rico, a soldier of the 'Mobile Infantry'- sort of a juiced-up Marine Corps with portable nukes and bad-ass combat armor. As Johnnie matures in the service, we learn surprising things about the world he lives in and the government he serves.

It has been derided as "Heinlein's Utopia", and I was surprised by the scorn heaped upon it by his contemporaries. Heinlein describes a society in which only veterans are allowed to vote, where public floggings are common and Moral Philosophy is a required school course. He supports these positions with impeccable logic and masterful storytelling.

"Masterful storytelling" refers, in this case, to the writing and construction of the book - sadly, Johnnie's story doesn't have a real ending, it just sort of winds down amid the continuing war. This may be on purpose - the war will go on and so will Johnnie Rico - but it feels rather abrupt.

The best parts of Starship Troopers are the explanations of theory, of Heinlein's opinions of society and how he thought it could be improved. It can be fairly argued that the entire book is an excuse for the expository speeches, but the whole thing works. (Troopers was published just a couple years after Atlas Shrugged, and the contrast is stark - the difference being that Heinlein can write.)

Juicy red meat for libertarians, and real lessons waiting to be learned for citizens.

Sunday Salon: Book List Infographic

While I rarely agree with book lists (the best of, everyone should read, most popular, blah blah blah) I am a list junkie and find them simply fascinating.  Information is Beautiful did a really nice job with this cloud, using fifteen different lists to generate it.  The best part of it, to my mind, is that you can access the lists used via Google docs.

Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood
Paperback: 376 pages
Publisher: Anchor; first edition (March 30, 2004)
for mature readers
4/5 stars

When Oryx and Crake first opens, the reader meets the narrator (Snowman) and is immediately aware that there has been a disaster of gigantic proportions.  The information about Snowman's past and this event trickle slowly, through his reflections and memories, at first more tantalizing and mysterious than informational and explanatory.  By the time Oryx and Crake is finished, everything has become crystal clear for the reader, through a delightful process of hints, deductions and knowledge told outright, and then Atwood laughs at the self-satisfied reader with yet another conundrum as it ends.  If you have read The Handmaid's Tale then you are familiar with this particular delicious style of Atwood's.  Oryx and Crake delivers a fully satisfying, if often unsettling, reading experience.

Margaret Atwood

I can't say that I "enjoyed" all of the novel, as the pre-apocalyptic world of Oryx and Crake is one not so much an alternate reality but a possible future was unnerving to me. Kiddie porn sites and snuff films are common viewing material for even young teens.  The division between classes has become such that the elite live in guarded compounds which are like small cities.  Personal freedoms have been lost, or more accurately, cheerfully given up; scientific discovery, often frightening and unnatural, has become the most important advancement for society.  Probably the scariest part of the book is the close resemblance to our current society, and the question that poses of just how easy would it be to find ourselves in that situation, led their by the banner of "progress".

Oryx and Crake is a thrilling, terrifying and often uncomfortable read.  It is not for the faint of heart or apathetic of mind, but makes excellent material for much thought and discussion.

American Vampire, Volume One

American Vampire Vol. 1
Scott Snyder and Stephen King, authors
Rafael Albuquereque, illustrator
Hardcover: 200 pages
Publisher: Vertigo (October 5, 2010)
Mature Audience
5/5 stars

I wish there was some way to convince those who raise their eyebrows and wrinkle their nose in distaste over graphic novels to just give them a try. I was one of those, and am so thankful I was a big enough fan of Neil Gaiman's novels to give his Sandman series a try. I've read some really good ones--few, if any, better than Britten and Brülightly--and some pretty poor quality ones as well.  I'm happy to say that American Vampire is creme de la graphic novel creme.

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There are two stories, told simultaneously in American Vampire.  The first, Snyder's part of the novel, is the story of Pearl trying to make her way in Hollywood during the 1920's.  Pearl falls victim to a vampire attack and a strange man vampire, Skinner Sweet, helps her out.  Sort of.  Pearl seeks revenge, thanks to Sweet's gift, and the reader watches her go from lovely, gentle flapper one moment to disgustingly grotesque and violent the next--and cheers for her the whole way. 

The story that begins with the second chapter is written by Stephen King, and is Skinner Sweet's back story, taking place some forty years early in the Wild West.  Through it, the reader finds out how and why Sweet became a vampire, and what is motivating him--and what makes an American Vampire different from the European vampires. As is to be expected, a hard new country like the United States creates a hard new kind of vampire.  In addition, he writes an excellent introduction, validating the graphic novel as a medium.  A very good read for those not convinced that it is a legitimate literary medium.

The stories are told alternating, first a chapter about Pearl, then a chapter about Sweet, so that they finish up together in the last two chapters.  It may sound awkward, but the back-and-forth flow was actually excellent, with a certain amount of parallels between the two stories.  Both Snyder and King write a good story, with solid characters, riveting plot lines and some terrifying instances.

Albuquereque brings it all to life with his drawings, full of bold lines and brilliant colors and lots of scary bits and gore.  His vampires are frightening and horrible and they do unspeakable (but not undrawable) things to their victims.  As the reader takes in the background, and sees the horror of the scenes, at times it's enough to turn the stomach.  On the other hand, his ladies are very lovely, he drew some strong heroes and used some very effective, unusual angles and compositions.  As for Skinner Sweet. . . well, darn it, despite King's introduction all about how American Vampire reclaims the evil vampire from the sexy mold it's been placed in of late, Albuquereque draws Sweet as rather desirable. Even seeing Sweet at his worst, I could turn the page and see him turn on the charm and forget just how evil he really was--and then be whammed again by his horrible actions.  I think that was the artist's intent: another way to show just how dangerous these American vampires are.

The collaboration between these three was wonderful and produced a story both haunting and satisfying.  American Vampire does reclaim the vampire from it's present fictional state, and successfully gives it new blood with this new American breed. I look forward to following Sweet's further adventures in American history, with pleasant trepidation because I expect the story will be creepy and icky but sensational, just like this volume.  (I already have Volume Two on pre-order!)

~~Read for the Graphics Novel Challenge.~~