Book Reviews

Book ratings:
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		Interesting Read
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		Great Page Turner

When was the last time you were angry? On a scale of 1-10 with "1" being mildly irritated and "10" being out of your mind with rage, where do you generally live? How did you express it? This mini quiz helps right at the beginning to determine where you are at! If you are prone to denial, please click away now.

Okay assuming you are still here, and have made a decision that you do not want to be angry anymore, read on. According to the author there are usually five coping mechanism for anger; suppression, visible aggression, hidden aggression, reaching out and resolution. She uses personal example from her everyday life to illustrate that pride indeed goes before a tantrum.

My favourite chapter is "Is honesty always the best policy?". She is not advocating that you lie, but before you say anything one must ask oneself, is it true, kind or necessary. There is also an excellent chapter in this book that most mothers could relate to.

I like the book because the chapters are simple and not preachy. Ms Chapman keeps it real, and fills it with personal example the 'everyday' reader can relate to.

My verdict: I said the book was simple but I never said it was for the faint-hearted. Pick up only if you want to change.

By Genstacia Bull
bookbuff1.blogspot.com

Swedish graphic artist Emma Rendel demonstrates her creative genius in vivid and highly textured splendour in her volume 'Pentti and Death Girl', comprising of two stories. As the artist cites her frame of reference from disney and Tintin to Chekhov, Russian iconography and Finnish Tango the emalgamation of these sources in her work is striking and strange on the eye as she uses simple, often bestial images to render themes of social disfunction and emotional destruction. Using sparse text as succintly as she uses colour and design, Rendel's interwoven demonstration of talent produces sights to marvel at with every page turn.

Pentti is the story of two Finnish brothers called Juha and the eponymous character Pentti, who live together in a machismo environment of hard labour in the day time and excessive amounts of beer at night. When two men move into their village to share a house together Pentti is fired to violent disgust as he concludes they must be gay and nothing his more tolerant brother can say can convince him that the actions of his neighbours have no bearing on his existence. Pentti's agression is feared by all who surround him. Rendel renders the community impression of this man with subtle suggestion. A solitary line of her artistry has the power to delineate whole deluges of human emotion. charting past, present and future social disharmony. The story that immediately strikes as a prototypical tale of overtly masculine homophobia takes a surprising and heartwrenching turn marking Rendel as not only an original graphic artist, but a great one.

Death Girl, the second story in the volume, is the sad tale of a lonely school child who's character is so far removed from her peers that she simply cannot function in a normal school environment. The format chosen by Rendel to show this disenfranchisement is a series of wrongly spelt. childish scrawls that form Death Girl's diary entries. Charting her idealistic school girl crushed on one of the popular boys at school Rendel uses few words to capture reams of juvenile heartache. The reader is thrown into the world of an unpopular girl forced to spend her break times alone in the toilet as she conjures excuses for her inconventional behaviour, incase someone should question her actions. Sadly, no-one affords her enough interest to know what she does, or why she does it.

The child's disjointed relationship with wordly realities and the humdrum of young life is manifested in the work by a morbid fascination with death and anything with the power to destroy. She is fixated by stabbing, beheading and poisoning and Rendel demonstrates these preoccupations with frank and disarmingly child like honesty. By depicting such horrors in a child's hand the reader is invited to pall at the normality she affords her interests and sympathise with her concerned parents that she can't make friends and enjoy happiness and normality. The world of Death Girl is unrelenting throughout the tale, the reader is granted no respite. The impression we are left with as the story unfurls sits uncomfortably and remains indelibly printed in the mind long after the book is shut. Rendel's power to convey so much and engender such reader empathy in short, simple squares is a testament to her great talent. You could read this volume again and again and remain nothing but incredulous at her precision and clarity of intention.

By Annie Capper

Fresh off the back of the critically acclaimed graphic novels, 'Pyongyang' and 'Shenzhen', Guy Delisle and his sketch pad are off on another out of the ordinary adventure filled to the brim with amazing culture, bizarre politics and err... giant toads.

'Burma Chronicles', the new travelogue from Delisle, is not exactly going to replace the various 'Lonely Planets' or 'Rough Guides' out there, but, it does offer a fascinating and truly unique insight in to one of the planets most secretive countries. Not to mention a brilliant look in to the mind of the intrepid traveller, a world of headaches, sleepless nights and sunburn!

Delisle recounts the year he spent in Burma, officially known as the Union of Myanmar, with his wife and son. The story follows a lonesome, almost isolated Delisle as he explores the strange land he inhabits. With almost childlike indifference and innocence, his humorous observations are a true delight, whether it be the "exoticism" of the foreign supermarket or the globalization of Laughing Cow and Karen Carpenter.

The sketchy, minimalistic drawings corroborate perfectly with his seemingly mundane thoughts; beautifully simple and yet unimaginably perceptive. He paints an invaluable account of Burmese life, from Theravada Buddhism and pirate DVDs to torrential rain and mind boggling bureaucracy.

Delisle does not shy away from the more sensitive issues of censorship, concealment and drug abuse which, for many, are central to life in Burma. His skill is to deliver it all in one package, that of real human empathy and laugh out loud humour. It is this juggling act that makes this graphic novel so successful.

Both informative and incredibly easy and enjoyable to read, 'Burma Chronicles' is an intelligent and accurate take on a country known little to many, overflowing with those simple and peculiar oddities that make life interesting.

By Michael Preston

Alison Bechdel has been writing and drawing her wonderful, funny and perceptive 'half op-ed column and half endless serialized Victorian novel', as she describes her ongoing soap-opera of lesbian life in the United States, for over twenty years now. The bimonthly one-page strips have been gathered in a series of collected volumes over the years, of which 'The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For' is the twelfth. Previous volumes have contained the preceding two or three years' strips plus a bonus stand-alone narrative: either an autobiographical piece such as 'Serial Monogamy' ('Dykes To Watch Out For - the Sequel') or a complementary one, such as 'Sentimental Education' in 'Unnatural Dykes To Watch Out For,' the sixth volume in the series, which delves into the early lives of her protagonists and describes their meeting for the first time..

The Essential, perhaps owing to the rise in wider critical appreciation of Bechdel's work following the publication in 2006 of her graphic memoir, 'Fun Home,' as well as featuring the last three years' strips also includes the vast majority of the previous twenty years' stories, allowing a newcomer to catch up with the sagas of Mo, Lois, Sparrow, Clarice, Ginger, Toni and their friends and families over a generous 393 pages. It is prefaced by an honest and entertaining cartoonist's introduction, in which Bechdel discusses the origins and reception of the strip across the years. While 'Dykes To Watch Out For' has always been a good funny read, Bechdel's initial impulse arose from the extreme poverty of representations of lesbians in American life back in the late 80s. 'I saw my cartoons as an antidote to the prevailing image of lesbians as warped, sick, humorless, and undesirable,' she says. 'By drawing the everyday lives of women like me, I hoped to make lesbians more visible not just to ourselves but to everyone. If people could only see us how could they help but love us?!' To anyone who has read 'Dykes' over the years, she has succeeded in her mission beautifully.

How well does a collection of one-page strips work as an overall read? The answer is, remarkably well. The, warm, likeable characters develop and work their way wittily and touchingly through life's many difficulties in ways anyone can relate to: romances, marriages and divorces; work and money problems and career crises; motherhood; breast-cancer, aging and deteriorating parents among many others - often against the backdrop of such topical issues as 9/11 and the Iraq war. (Strips not included in this collection are mostly those that focus on hot topics of yesteryear that have lost their bite: the Monica Lewinsky controversy, for instance).

Perhaps most fascinatingly, because it has always been a contemporary project, the strip charts the slow shifts in progressive ideologies and lifestyles that have taken place across the last two decades with wonderful precision. This, combined with the increasingly rich characterization and dense plotting, elevates 'Dykes' into being genuine literature while never compromising the unpretentious, entertaining directness of the comic-strip format. Wonderful, and charmingly drawn.

By John R. Gordon

In the last few years, Hollywood's obsession with comic book blockbusters has reached a new level of insanity. It seems that recently, the general public cannot view the year's new releases without being confronted by an onslaught of Marvel/Frank Miller film adaptations. This year alone, we have already witnessed Alan Moore's graphic novel 'Watchmen' hitting the big screen and we still have 'X Men Origins: Wolverine,' 'Iron Man 2,' 'The Green Hornet,' 'Priest' and 'Green Lantern' in the pipeline for 2009 /10. With 'The Dark Night' grossing $158,411,483 in its first week at the box office it is perhaps, no surprise that the trend continues.

It is for this reason that it seems particularly fitting that David Heatley exclaims "I need a movie deal" on the inside sleeve of his debut 'graphic memoir', 'My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down.'

Nevertheless, Heatley's work sets itself aside from the conventions of your typical superhero escapade. Heatley takes front seat as the protagonist in this coming of age, autobiographical account which sees him confront the individuals and circumstances that have moulded his "self destructive behaviour", and ultimately, led to his "spiritual awakening". Laced with surrealism and sexual imagery, Heatley launches his reader into an obscure journey spanning five, intimate sections of his life.

In the first (Sex History), the reader is able to gain a no holds barred insight into Heatley's expansive sexual encounters. His honest approach examines his own self doubt, bi-curiosity, young crushes and general teenage angst. Unashamed and unabashed, Heatley's animations in this section remain heart warming and engaging, modestly censored by small pink strips.

Black History progresses to confront childhood friendships, altercations and the racism underlining both, whilst Portrait of My Mom, Portrait of My Dad and Family History delve into the sometimes complex and often awkward dynamics of Heatley's domestic life. Brazen and poised, Heatley's engaging narrative and straightforward images refrain from ever becoming stale or mundane.

Sharing its title with a Ramones track; 'My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down' is consistent in affirming Heatley's love for both his wife and god but is never shy of disclosing the obstacles which have stood in the way of both. Like identifying with stories told by a close friend, the reader cannot help but emphasise with Heatley as they inevitably draw parallels with their own experiences of adolescence.

Already having his work published in both 'The New Yorker' and 'The New York Times,' it seems that Heatley's career is heading towards great success. The only question that remains is whether or not Heatley will get the movie adaptation his work deserves.

By Peter Melicher

Alison Bechdel is best known for her much-loved long-running, two-decades-plus cartoon series of everyday lesbian life, Dykes To Watch Out For. In and around Dykes she has over the years written a number of brief autobiographical pieces such as 'Coming Out Story', 'The Power of Prayer' and 'The Mitt' (collected in The Indelible Alison Bechdel). Now she has written and drawn an excellent book-length graphic memoir, Fun Home, detailing her troubled relationship with her father, a closeted bisexual who was killed by a speeding truck while Bechdel was in college.

Bruce Bechdel was dragged back from a romantic newly-wed life in postwar Paris by the death of his father to manage the family business, a funeral home, (the 'Fun Home' of the title), in a small town in the Appalachians, and it was above this funeral home that Alison and her brothers grew up. Early on she would look at Addams Family cartoons and not get the joke: her home looked much the same as theirs: there was no ironic juxtaposition of the Gothic and the suburban, or no more ironic than her own lived experience.

Bruce Bechdel obsessively restored the family home to its former Colonial-era glory, a never-ending triumph of artifice which, to his daughter, paralleled the artifice and dishonesty with which he conducted his own life. Alison Bechdel follows a series of narrative and conceptual inversions through which she relates to and challenges her father as she comes to awareness of her own sexuality, and his is revealed when he is arrested for 'offering a beer to a minor' – one of a number of handsome young students he befriended from the school where he taught – and only evades prison by agreeing to see a psychiatrist. Alison is 'Spartan to his Athenian… butch to his nelly', and comes to despise ornamentation and feminine frippery.

Bruce Bechdel obsessively restored the family home to its former Colonial-era glory, a never-ending triumph of artifice which, to his daughter, paralleled the artifice and dishonesty with which he conducted his own life. Alison Bechdel follows a series of narrative and conceptual inversions through which she relates to and challenges her father as she comes to awareness of her own sexuality, and his is revealed when he is arrested for 'offering a beer to a minor' – one of a number of handsome young students he befriended from the school where he taught – and only evades prison by agreeing to see a psychiatrist. Alison is 'Spartan to his Athenian… butch to his nelly', and comes to despise ornamentation and feminine frippery.

Fun Home is also a more universal tale of the challenges of growing up, puberty and sexual awakening against a backdrop of a disintegrating marriage. The young Alison develops obsessive-compulsive disorder, and this is simply and honestly presented. She is candid and self-revealing about the extreme ambivalence she feels towards her father, and the difficult relationship she had with her mother. It is Alison's coming out to her mother while at college that triggers her mother's revelation about her father's sexual misconduct, and therein hangs this beautifully-honest and compellingly-written tale.

By John R. Gordon

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LATE NIGHT THURSDAYS
Late night openings at the Whitechapel are Thursday until 9pm with free music, poetry & talks and events. Whitechapel, 80 – 82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX (tube: Aldgate East). Adm: Free. Info: 0207 522 7888.

SPEAKEASY RELOADED
1st Monday of every month. East London’s premier poetry and spoken word event. Venue: Marie Lloyd Bar, 289 Mare Street, London E8. 7.30pm. Info: 07946 776 925.

RESPECT THE MIC
Every 1st 2nd and 4th Wednesday. An intimate Open Mic for lyricists singers and poets. With live music and a DJ after the show. Venue: Ruby Low, 23 Orchard St, Lodon W1. Adm: £5. Info: 07726 886 406.

Every 1st and 3rd Monday of the Month
SPOKEN CABARET
Spoken Cabaret is a new North London open mic night, which has forged it's own path attracting a varied and entertaining mix of established performers and fresh new poets to the mic for an enthusiastic up-for-it audience. Previous performers have included Nathan Penlington, Paul MacJoyce, Joshua Idehen, Noah Vale, Guy Jackson, and Tamsin Kendrick. Hosted by Dorna Aslanzadeh Venue: Oh! Bar, 111-113 Camden High Street, Camden, London NW1. Adm: FREE. 6.30 sign-up, 8pm start. Info: spokencabaret@yahoo.co.uk or see / www.myspace.com/spokencabaret. Forthcoming Spoken Cabaret shows are on: 17th July, 7th August, 21st August, 4th September, 18th September.

First Monday of Month
V.O.I.C. EXPRESS
Venting.Out.Internal.Creative.Energies isa Monthly open mic and live music showcase with spoken word artist shortMAN and hosts LITTLEman & Edge. Youcan find the best in established to the unsigned and up and coming, you will see and hear some of London's hottest acts first. Venue: Jamm, 261 Brixton Road, SW9. Nearest tube: Brixton/Oval Bus: 133, 333, 159, 59. Info: 07985 468 999.

Wednesday
'UTTER!'
Last Wed of the month Richard Tyrone Jones Poet, host and Co-organiser of this monthly event. Venue: Salisbury Pub, London N4 1JX. 8pm. Adm: Free. Info: richardtyronejones@gmail.com

WANT TO FIND AN ARTIST?

Aime Hansen   http://www.myspace.com/aimehansen
(Dancer, performance poet and artist, deeply touching and idiosyncratic).

Jude Cowan Montague   http://www.myspace.com/judecowan
(Captivating, striking songs from this Singer Songwriter).

Denise Heinrich Lanev   installation/live artist, actress and poet)
art  www.deniseheinrich-lane.blip.tv   acting  www.uk.castingcallpro.com

Aoiffe Mannix    http://www.myspace.com/aoifemannix
(Renowned performance poet and novelist, passionate and awakening).

Agnes Meadows   http://www.myspace.com/agnesmeadows
(International performance poet and host of Loose Muse and Angel Poetry).

Pyepi and his band   http://www.myspace.com/pyepi
(Haunting, soulful flute player and band).

Sista Shashi    http://www.myspace.com/sistashashe
(Vibrant heart felt music, time to dance).

Guitar fever    http://www.myspace.com/guitarfeverduo
(Hypnotic, bluesy rhthyms and soulful songs).