Chicken With Plums-- Marjane Satrapi -- Review

Chicken With Plums by Marjane Satrapi is a quite interesting graphic novel. The setting is Iran in 1958. This is very different from most graphic novels I have read. It is quite serious. The comic book is an allegorical tale about the death of Nasser Ali Khan, a famous tar player from Iran. The story is quite dark. People are drawn in a stark black and white with lines under the eyes showing grief or sadness most of the time. Quite a few people are smoking.

The story begins with Nahid, Nasser's wife breaking the tar, a musical instrument given to him by his teacher. This pushes Nasser into a suicidal depression. He can find no tar as good as the one his master gives him. After the tar is broken, his slow death is told in eight chapters, each a reflection on his life.

The title Chicken With Plums is Nasser's favorite dish which his wife tries to cheer him up with. It only drives him into deeper despair. He then reflects on his brother who was a communist, his children, his wife, and his lost love. During his reflections there are two allegories he experiences the first is the allegory of the elephant in the darkened room, the second is the angel of death in India. He also has some very strange dreams. He dreams that he is sleeping with the actress Sophia Loren.

I liked this story. However, it is a very dark story and a bit depressing. I would not recommend this book for teenagers. It is about artistic despair, ennui, and the hardness of life. Marjane Satrapi also wrote Persepolis a graphic novel about life in contemporary Iran. I like her writing and drawing. I am waiting for the film of Persepolis to come out on dvd.

Goodbye Chunky Rice-- Craig Thompson-- Review

Goodbye Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson is a short graphic novel. It is done in an eclectic black and white style. There are a mix of cute animal characters and people. The story is not particularly violent. It has an oddball feeling to it. There are a few strange characters like a siamese twin on a boat. The main part of the story is about the freindship between Chunky Rice, a turtle, and Dandel A deer mouse.

Chunky and Dandel are freinds. They go to the beach together and camp out and build sand castles. When Chunky Rice looks at the ocean he gets an overwhelming urge to travel. In contrast, Dandel says, "My home is right here." This has a wistful memorable feeling to it.

Chunky packs a box and heads out to sea on Chuck's ship. Chuck reminds Chunky to travel light and get rid of excess baggage. He throws a number of Chunky's things in the ocean in a series of memorable cartoon panels.

The ocean is vast, seemingly endless in the narrative of the story. Dandel takes to throwing bottles with letters in them into the ocean which drift outward on the currents.

This graphic novel, (another fancy name for comic book), is about memory, freindship, and wanderlust. I really enjoyed reading it. Craig Thompson the writer has won three Ignatz awards. http://www.spxpo.com/ignatz.shtml This is a prestigious comics lit award. It is named after Krazy Kat drawn by George Heinman. He also has won two Harvey awards. The Harvey Awards are named after Harvey Kurtzman, the founder of Mad magazine, one of my favorite comics. http://harveyawards.org/

If you are looking for good choices if you are a librarian or bookseller these list very interesting and high quality titles to look at. The Ignatz Awards are more alternative press, and the Harvey Awards are much more mainstream and will include many superhero comics.

A pictureless image from Amazon:

Thoughts on Books, Missed Day

I missed a day for the first time. It was a chance to relax and recharge my batteries. I don't know if it had a bad impact for people.

Anyways, I recently chose not to read a couple books. I just could not get into the stories. I am getting more picky lately. The first book was M. John Harrison Nova Swing. I have got a bit tired of the science fiction book set in a bar. It has become too cliche. The original Spider Robinson Callahan's Crosstime Saloon was entertaining, but the opening gets a little old.

I am going to read Eats, Shoots and Leaves a grammar book which is supposed to be entertaining. It goes over the finer points of punctuation and how they can change the meaning of sentences. I just placed it on reserve for my library. I am surprised that someone came up with a suggested grammar classic for me.

I went to the library today and picked up Good-Bye Chunky Rice by Carig Thomson. It is a story of friendship set in a graphic novel. I also picked up Chicken With Plums by Marjane Satrapi who is the author of Persepolis, another graphic novel. Persepolis was recently made into a film which is supposed to be very good about life in Iran. Marjane Satrapi says she cannot go back to Iran because she is afraid she will never be able to leave if she goes back.

There is not a whole lot to say today. I had a cold today and stayed home from work. So, I am just going on and on.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss -- Review

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is a fantasy tome. It is the first book in a series. The book is 653 pages long. The book is the story of Kvothe a singer and musician. It is a story which combones legends, naming, magic, and music in a somewhat traditional fantasy setting. The main character Kvothe is a musician and mage.

The book starts out slowly. A person comes to chronicle Kvoth's life, a wandering scholar. The account of Kvothe's life follows in a linear fashion. This book will be part of a series. On the title page are the words The Name of the Wind: The King Killer Chronicle Day One.

The story is a tragedy and the main character suffers. There are few happy endings. Kvothe leads a nice life until his family looks into the wrong tales and is killed. He is forced to live on the streets as an orphan. Using his wits and talents he gets into the Arcanum.

Kvothe is arrogant, impetuous, poor, and brilliant at a young age. This creates many enemies for him. He develops a variety of enemies at the universities including some of the teachers and a nobleman student. He is punished regularly for his actions and sometimes nasty wit. Characters develop deep passiona for and against him. Ironically, one of his teachers leaves him a copy of Rhetoric and Logic, a book which Kvothe hates which might have helped him out of many of the troubles that he is in.

Kvothe also takes incredible risks. In one part of the story he follows a firebreathing, tree eating dragon around. In another section, he sneaks into the archives at the risk of being expelled. He was caught with open flame earlier and banned from them.

The book is 653 pages long. Throughout the book there are short poems and songs:

"When the hearthfire turns to blue
What to do, What to do,
Run Outside, Run and hide"

People have more than one distinct nationality and there are snippets of foreign languages. Also there are religious legends that provide a backdrop to the story about good and evil, demons and angels.

This is a very well written book. It is quite harsh in places. It is not a swashbuckling tale, but a story of wits, music, cunning, and magic. I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next installment in the series.

Thoughts for the Day

Yesterday, I was reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss on the train home. I missed a few stops and had to go back to get off where I needed to go. Now, that I have finished about half of the book, I found it very engrossing. It has the ability to draw you in, creating depth as you read more. The writing very much engages the reader. It is "gripping."

Today has been slow unlike most other days. I will think of more as the day goes on.