Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
I have always had a great affection for graphic novels born mostly from my love of comic books. I never miss an opportunity to look one over before I put it on the shelf in the library. I picked this one up and began leafing through it trying to decide which section to put it in and was immediately captivated.
It’s not a beautiful book. The artwork is sparse and somewhat abstract. The characters aren’t particularly heroic and don’t bulge with muscles. The writing is good, but it’s not the most spectacular thing I’ve ever read or reviewed. It is quite simply much greater than the sum of its parts. It is the story of a middle aged man going through a midlife crisis sparked by a fire destroying his apartment. Through a series of flash backs we learn that he is divorced, had a twin brother die at birth and is a former professor of architecture. Meanwhile in real time he leaves his apartment and begins a new life though he is constantly pulled back to his former life.
It is not an exciting book, but it is splendid. A glance into a man you might pass in the street without knowing it, and definitely worth your time.
Asterios Polyp may be found in the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library under FIC MAZ.
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
This is the best audio book ever. Really. No argument allowed.
This book is semi-autobiographical and concerns Bill Bryson’s experiences growing up in Iowa in the 1950’s. He finds an old green jersey in his basement with a lightning bolt on it (the sacred jersey of ZAPP!), dons it, and becomes the self titled “Thunderbolt Kid” who not only can vaporize people who annoy him (don’t we all wish) but has x-ray vision. The book consists of wonderfully funny anecdotes about the 1950’s, his parents and his friends, providing information hinted about in his earlier books. This combined with Bryson’s sense of humor and exaggerated style made for an excellent book.
What put this over the top for me was Bryson’s delivery. He has an excellent speaking voice and his timing was perfect. I tend to listen to audio books when I drive. When he relayed the story of a prank that his friend “Willoughby” pulled that went disastrously awry, I laughed so hard I had to pull over. Anything that Bryson writes is a treat, but this is a gourmet feast for the ears.
This audio book may be checked out from the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library.
Most time travel romances start when the heroine picks up an enchanted object and travels back in time to meet the man of her dreams. Not so with this one. The heroine wakes up in another body in the future with no preamble. The premise is exciting. Jane Mansfield wakes up in 2009 with no idea what is going on around her. People are calling her Courtney, her body doesn’t look like hers and she has no clue how to use a phone, a computer or what electricity is.
The book goes on over the course of a week or so while she figures out what to do and finds out why she is there.
The book is interesting, though Jane/Courtney’s continuing confusion with all things modern wears a bit, Rigler is able to overcome it by giving Jane/Courtney “cellular memory” to enable her to do such things as drive and operate a computer. Further, the narrator does a great job of differentiating between Jane’s internal monologue (English accent and all) and Courtney’s flat California accent. The book is well written and amusing and I suggest it to anyone who like me, enjoys a romance novel.
It is available in audio book format from the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library.