Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred D. Taylor

Mildred D. Taylor – Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976)
Novel – 210 pages – my copy (hardback; 1987) bought for £1 from Shabby Chic, Plymouth, during January 2012
#35 of 2011-12 - #156 of All Time
- 3 nods out of 5 -



Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a children’s novel that manages to deal with some very grown up issues. Set in the American South during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the novel follows the story of a black family, the Logans. They are a peculiarity in their area: they own the land they farm on. However, resentful families are surrounding them, wishing to take it back and assert their control on those of different colour, as was the situation before the American Civil War.

The book is narrated by Cassie, the only daughter of the Logans: perceptive and thoughtful, she gives the reader an account of life in the south in this era. Through her eyes the author – Taylor- is able to weave together an interesting and thought provoking novel. As seen in his snippet:

“Cassie.” Mamma did not raise her voice, but the quiet force of my name silenced me. “Now,” she said, folding my hand in hers, “I didn’t say that Lillian Jean is better than you. I said Mr. Simms only thinks she is. In fact, he thinks she’s better than Stacey or Little Man or Christopher John…”
“Just ‘cause she’s his daughter?” I asked.
“No, baby, because she’s white.”
Mamma’s hold tightened on mine, but I exclaimed, “Ah, shoot! White ain’t nothin’!”
Mamma’s grip did not lessen. “It is something, Cassie. White is something just like black is something. Everybody born on this earth is something and nobody, no matter what colour, is better than anybody else.”

In many ways, the book follows the typical “coming of age” story; yet set in the sinister and threatening period of this era: Taylor allows this threat and suspense to grow and grow. Blood is soon coming, it is known and smelt: but the book’s ending manages to get in a twist, without the reader feeling cheated.

For all that, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, isn’t a heavyweight of fiction. But it is a good book to read if you wish to allow the “little guy” to prevail over “the man”. Its progressive, non-violent values makes it clear to see why the book is studied in schools. Taylor has other books, continuing with the Logan family tale (Let the Circle Be Unbroken and Song of the Trees): the Worm intends to read more of these books in the future, to revel in the trials and tribulations of the Logan family, as well as the triumph of equality.


Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Roll-Thunder-Hear-My-Cry/dp/014034893X

30s & 40s Britain - John Guy / Plymouth: A Miscellany - Julia Skinner

John Guy - 30s & 40s Britain (2005)
History – 40 pages – my copy (paperback; 2005) bought for 80p from a charity shop in Cornwall during February 2012
#33 of 2011-12 - #154 of All Time
- 1 nod out of 5 -



30s & 40s Britain is just one in a series of short booklets on British History recently published. Its pattern follows double page spreads on features of life in these decades: the widely noted Devils Decade of the Great Depression, followed by the devastation of the Second World War, Britain’s eventual victory, and the austerity of the later 1940s.

The author – John Guy – is an accomplished historian who covers the main issues and events of this time: ‘Food & Drink’, ‘Fashion’, ‘Health & Medicine’. Yes, each one rather mundane in itself; however, Guy’s touch allows the reader to embrace the lighter side of history during these heavily weighted times.

Of course, with such a short book, the writer is unable to fully capture the imagination. The reader is briskly taken throughout these decades, made to gasp, before being pulled along page by page until we are out of the door at the ending cover. Double the space could have provided double the nods; but in quickly encapsulating an age it provides the reader with more interest and entrainment than a search on Wikipedia or the internet.

Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/British-history-30s-40s-Britain/dp/B004ZKW97I



Julia Skinner – Plymouth: A Miscellany (2006)
History – 60 pages – my copy (hardback; 2009) a present at Christmas 2011
#34 of 2011-12 - #155 of All Time
- 1 nod out of 5 -



And we move onto the other book in today’s review: a miscellaneous collection of history and tidbits on the naval city of Plymouth. Its very cover lays out its stall: ‘Fascinating Facts, Quiz, Historical Photographs, Ghost Stories, Sport, Recipes, Regional Dialect’.

It is interesting to note the book actually has an author (or at least, an editor): its modest pages follow no set pattern – certainly no chronology – and even typeface and print size appear to change, page to page. Its “stories” are far too short to become absorbed in; whilst its self-acclaimed recipe leaves much to be desired (trout with almonds and cream, anyone?). Its saving grace are the glossy photographs from the Francis Frith collection; however, the small size of the pages mean even this highlight is stunted in enjoyment.

Such a book was always going to fail on the Worm’s stern nodder test; however, its purpose was never to thrill or remain in the memory, but rather do its job of being an hour’s long entertainment. In three words: Perfect Stocking Filler. Or rather, the perfect filler for local history enthusiasts and anoraks.

Get in early for Xmas 2012 and buy it here:
http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/julia+skinner/did+you+know3f+plymouth/6726575/

The Great Crash 1929 - John Kenneth Galbraith

John Kenneth Galbraith – The Great Crash 1929 (1954)
History – 210 pages – my copy (paperback; 1975) bought for £1 from the Shabby Chic coffee-shop during January 2012
#32 of 2011-12 - #153 of All Time
- 3 nods out of 5 -



‘Some years, like some poets and politicians and some lovely women, are singled out for fame far beyond the common lot, and 1929 was clearly such a year. Like 1066, 1776, and 1914, it is a year that everyone remembers.’

And so begins Galbraith’s both excellent and humorous history on the events of the great Wall Street crash of 1929. This year has become all the more relevant in recent history, as the world battles in the midst of what could well become known as the Great Depression of the twenty-first century.

Initially written in 1954, and subsequently updated in 1975 (bringing forth an amusing account of the book’s originally publication, in the form of a preface to the second edition), Galbraith is a fantastic guide through the run-up to the chaos of 1929. Normally, economic terms can send readers into shut-down (the Worm admits to all, that he is such a reader); but at no point does the author threaten to over-burden us with technical terms, nor even patronise the lack of prior knowledge.

The lead-up to the crash is recounted – the countdown clock beating down, year by year, month by month, day by day – to the black week in October 1929; to the point at which Galbraith modestly acclaims: ‘Things Become More Serious.’ Analysed is the myth of boom and bust, as well as the enduring myth of suicides from the resulting fallout. Although Galbraith breezes by the actual nitty gritty of October 1929, for a book of a mere two hundred pages (a fast read indeed), what is contained is worthy and enlightening.

Entertaining and knowledgeable throughout, Galbraith’s history has its limitations. But for those who wish to step inside the world of the 1920s bull market, of the collapse of finance and the beginnings of what would become the Great Depression of the twentieth century, readers will be lucky to find a better book. And so we end on Galbraith’s warning of the use of history in helping us avoid our mistakes:

‘Yet the lesson is evident. The story of the boom and crash of 1929 is worth telling for its own sake. Great drama joined in those months with a luminous insanity. But there is the more sombre purpose. As a protection against financial illusion or insanity, memory is far better than law.’

Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Great-Crash-1929-financial/dp/014103825X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330859266&sr=8-1

Read an alternative review here:
http://reviewingbooksandmovies.blogspot.com/2009/06/great-crash-1929-by-john-kenneth.html

Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary (1857)
Novel – my copy (read on my kindle) during December 2011 to January 2012
#31 of 2011-12 – #152 of All-Time
- 4 nods out of 5 -

For the British reader, there is always something quite intimidating about the French novelist. For centuries these two nations have fought wars and battles, rivalled one another for significance of their time zones and spheres of influence, as well as sniffing their noses at various culinary delights. But language seems to play that more crucial and higher role in the British-Franco relationship.

Mr Flaubert remains one of the world’s, and in particular France’s, most celebrated novelists. In a year – 2012 – when the English speaking world is trumpeting the achievements of Charles Dickens, Flaubert is a writer who produced work in the very same time period. But rather than the cheeky, squalid low-lives of Dickensian London, Flaubert went for the tragic of our mundane lives. Madame Bovary is the noted classic of Flaubert’s back catalogue; a book that has been read the world over, and adapted – with various successes – to the silver screen.

The book charts the life of Charles Bovary, a provincial doctor whose wife dies whilst young. He remarries, to a farmer’s daughter called Emma. The new Madame Bovary grows listless and tired of her married life, forever daydreaming of a more cherished, spoilt future dancing with aristocrats, receiving complements, and supping on the finest that the world had to offer. She would read of ‘love, lovers, sweethearts, persecuted ladies fainting in lonely pavilions, postilions killed at every stage, horses ridden to death on every page, sombre forests, heartaches, vows, sobs, tears and kisses, little skiffs by moonlight, nightingales in shady groves, “gentlemen” brave as lions, gentle as lambs, virtuous as no one ever was, always well dressed, and weeping like fountains.’ As with other noteworthy realist - and naturalist - novels of the nineteenth century (including Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth), Emma never fulfils such fantasy; instead succumbing to a horrible, prolonged death of her own making. Not even this suicide lived up to the romantic expectations that she had read so feverishly in books and stories:

‘Then he recited the Misereatur and the Indulgentiam, dipped his right thumb in the oil, and began to give extreme unction. First upon the eyes, that had so coveted all worldly pomp; then upon the nostrils, that had been greedy of the warm breeze and amorous odours; then upon the mouth, that had uttered lies, that had curled with pride and cried out in lewdness; then upon the hands that had delighted in sensual touches; and finally upon the soles of the feet, so swift of yore, when she was running to satisfy her desires, and that would now walk no more.’

In hoping to escape her life, Madame Bovary takes various lovers; including the duplicitous Rodolphe, and the withdrawn Leon. Each relationship never fulfils its initial promise, with Emma envying the males that surround her. ‘She hoped for a son; he would be strong and dark; she could call him George; and this idea of having a male child was like an expected revenge for all her impotence in the past. A man, at least, is free…’ Even in this, she did not succeed; giving birth to a daughter.

In Madame Bovary, Flaubert has created a heavyweight of characters from the pages of novels; a mystery that is hard to unwrap and solve. This is shown nowhere more clearly than in the main character’s very own name. Just who is Madame Bovary? Is the first wife who dies early in the novel; or Charles’ very own mum; or perhaps Emma, who does all she can to escape the very same surname. As Rodolphe exclaims to her:

“Ah! You see,” replied he in a melancholy voice, “that I was right not to come back; for this name, this name that fills my whole soul, and that escaped me, you forbid me to use! Madame Bovary! Why all the world calls you thus! Besides, it is not your name; it is the name of another!”

Madame Bovary is a woman at odds with the world, her own identity and destiny; as well as her very own name. But despite such tension, the text is not one full of warmth in which the Worm longed to return to the following evening. Despite Flaubert’s – seemingly self-congratulatory – talent for description and prose, the book has its shortcomings. In the very same dreary humdrum way of Madame Bovary’s very own life, the end of the book is one, like the central character’s herself, are glad of escape at its final close.

Is this simple British fear, snobbery, envy, dislike of a renowned and celebrated French novelist? Please, dear reader, delete as appropriate and send your answers on a postcard for the Worm to retort aloud.


Buy it here in paper form:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Madame-Wordsworth-Classics-Gustave-Flaubert/dp/1853260789/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329774687&sr=8-1

Or download it on your Kindle, free of charge!:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Madame-Bovary-ebook/dp/B000JQU7LW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1329774687&sr=8-2

The Failure of Political Extremism in Inter-War Britain - Andrew Thorpe (ed)

Andrew Thorpe (ed.) - The Failure of Political Extremism in Inter-War Britain (1989)
History – 90 pages – my copy (paperback; 2003) borrowed from Plymouth University library during January 2012
- 3 nods out of 5 -



Political extremism has made a come-back, of sorts, in the past decade. We have the efforts of Islamic fundamentalism, as well as the growth of the English Defence League, to talk about in chin-stroking discussion, in heated debate, and to read about in our paper of choice. The focal point of this book is the extremism of Britain’s inter-war period (1919-1939): two decades of chaos and havoc. The same two decades saw the emergence of Hitler in Germany, of Stalin in Russia, of Mussolini in Italy, and of Franco in Spain. Yet in Britain – in our own moderate way - we continued voting and supporting the same parties and the same politicians; of whom none were extremists waging ideological war. Even Ramsay MacDonald, Labour’s first Prime Minister, snuggled up in bed with the Tories in his later parliamentary career. Just why this was: Messrs Thorpe, Harmer, Coleman and Thurlow set out to answer.

The editor of this collection, Thorpe, writes a summarising introduction, as well as the first section: ‘The Only Effective Bulwark Against Reaction and Revolution: Labour and the Frustration of the Extreme Left’. The other sections are equally enlightening, full of probing debate, including Harry Harmer’s ‘The Failure of the Communists: The National Unemployed Workers’ Movement, 1921-1939: A Disappointing Success’; Bruce Coleman’s ‘The Conservative Party and the Frustration of the Extreme Right’, and Richard Thurlow’s ‘The Failure of British Fascism’. Each article – initially presented at a one-day conference held at the University of Exeter during 1988 – brims with brilliant analysis. The reader is given a well versed drilling in the communists of Britain in the 1920s, the rise of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists during the 1930s, as well as the principal figures of the centre parties during the period.

As we all know, such extremes failed in overthrowing or gaining hold on the British state; but what were the reasons for such failure? Thorpe writes on ‘security from invasion, economic and demographic factors, the maintenance of Britain’s self-esteem, and a workable constitutional system’ as helping the country to avoid turning to political extremes for the answers to our ills. Of great interest are the arguments used by Thorpe and Coleman in their analysis of Labour’s relations with the communists and the Conservatives relations with the fascists: the stability of these mainstream parties prevented the growth of the extremes, with one of the key points being the middle class values of the leaders of the centre parties. The likes of Ramsay MacDonald and Clement Attlee were a world away from the horrors of Communist Russia, despite sharing ideological common ground. The middle classes, then, were important in stopping extremism gaining a stranglehold on British politics; yes, the same middle classes who are castigated by the upper crust and the working poor (As many children born between siblings would tell you, it’s not easy being in the middle!).

Without one extreme rising, the other extreme failed due to not being required by the public. For example, on the continent (particularly Italy and Germany), the rise of the communists led to voters moving towards a seen “saviour” - such as a Mussolini or a Hitler – in order to rid them of the far left menace. The two extremes appear to need the other in order to survive, in order to complete them and vouch their entire existence. Without the rise of one, they are both doomed to the history pages as a minor occurrence, no more than a blip on the political landscape.

A small book, but a book busting with information and insight. For fans of political history in this country, the Worm urges you to buy these articles to reflect and look at political extremism from a fresh perspective.

Buy it here:
http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Failure_of_political_extremism_in_in.html?id=9-pPmUVFswIC&redir_esc=y

King Lear - Ian Pollock

Ian Pollock – King Lear (1984)
Illustration – 140 pages – my copy (paperback; 1984) borrowed from Plymouth University library during January 2011
- 3 nods out of 5 -



Shakespeare in the play-house; Shakespeare on the small screen; Shakespeare on the silver screen; Shakespeare on paper; Shakespeare in schools; Shakespeare on the internet…and as in the case of this book, Shakespeare in illustrated, comic form!

The Worm found a collection of such books whilst glancing on the shelves in a library. Immediately, the venture sounded like a good deal: any which way you want your Shakespeare, it appears to be catered for. I scanned the books on offer: The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, and King Lear. The last one was enthusiastically selected.

For regular readers of this blog, you will have noticed that in the past few months the Worm has upped his reading on Shakespeare (in the form of the trilogy on Henry VI) as well as graphic novels (including the sublime Alan Moore comic Watchmen). This enterprise, then, sounded like a great fusion. In order to set the scene, illustration is provided by the renowned artist Ian Pollock, whilst the text is from the hand of William Shakespeare himself. The essence of the play is unchanged, in that the characters and plot remains. Of course, in the translation to comic form, such text is cut up to fit into the box panels of the page.

One might think it would be interesting to see a representation on the likes of Lear, of Edmund and of Edgar; however, the pace of the book is uneven throughout. The blame, if such a strong word could be used, must be laid at the hands of Pollock himself. Whereas previous reads (namely Watchmen and Batman: Year One) fill the page and seamlessly move onwards, Pollock’s book is more snap shot images, with the action pacified. Furthermore, Pollock’s choice of framing of characters is confusing to say the least. The majority of panels appear unconnected to the next, with the reader scratching the top of their heads in wonder at just what is going on.

The immediate answer here lies in the likes of Batman & Co drawn by comic artists who are used to the action sequence. This is not to diminish Pollock as a creator of image – the gouging of the eyes of Gloucester is a truly wonderfully frightening panel – but rather that he was the wrong choice of artist for such collaboration.

Unfortunately for the actual story itself, such confusion overshadows the plot and Shakespeare’s prose. The madness of King Lear is mostly obscured by the hectic, unconventional framing (and the Worm does not entertain the suggestion that such an effect was Pollock’s overall intention). ‘Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes spout! Till you have drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks!’, Lear rages to his companion, the Fool. More disappointingly is the reluctance to engage with the theme of generational conflict and the throwing away of the old to make way for the new. Whilst Edgar’s concluding statement is diminished by the childlike sketching of the character on a barren landscape; undoubtedly, such a statement is better served on the stage or on the screen. (NB: Edgar’s final words: ‘The weight of this sad time we must obey / speak what we feel, not what we ought to say / the oldest hath borne most: we that are young / shall never see so much, nor live so long.’

As a whole, the Worm has concluded that such annoyance means Shakespeare is not for comic form, and must remain on the stage or screen. 5 nods for effort and inventiveness; but a sobering 2 nods for the final product.



Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/King-Lear-William-Shakespeare/dp/0283990775/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1327677922&sr=8-3

Read a more flattering review of the book here:
http://picturesfromanoldbook.blogspot.com/2011/03/king-lear-ian-pollock-part2.html

Twentieth Century Britain: A Political History - William D. Rubinstein

William D. Rubinstein – Twentieth Century Britain: A Political History (2003)
History – 350 pages – my copy (paperback; 2003) borrowed from Plymouth University library during December 2011
- 3 nods out of 5 -



Ah, British History: what bookshelf would be complete without a volume on the past of these small islands of ours? Of course, much of history writing has been targeted towards the good and the glorious; for instance, the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1689 and the ‘Good War’ of 1939-1945. Amidst all this congratulatory back-slapping there is also the British history book that dares venture further, away from the celebration and glitz to turn to the side our past does not wish to reveal: the squalor, the inequality, the pain and the suffering.

Twentieth century political history has had its fair share of the good, the bad and the ugly. Britain won two world wars and one world cup; but it also denied women the vote for its first two decades. Britain was a superpower with the largest world empire; yet it trampled upon the beliefs of others to do so. Contradictory responses are to be found in abundance, and any new book to add to the cannon that seriously studies this period is always welcome.

And so we turn to Rubinstein’s effort to condense one hundred years into a few hundred pages. The author narrates large, stretching themes in this political history: the decline of the Liberal party, the rise of Labour, the defeat of extremism, and the overall outstanding consistency of the Conservatives. More than this, Rubinstein dotes upon the key figures in this century: Balfour, Asquith, Lloyd-George, Bonar Law, MacDonald, Baldwin, Chamberlain (all 3 of them!), Churchill, Attlee, Macmillan, Thatcher, and enough space for a brief cameo from our good friend Tony Blair (or perhaps not such a close friend anymore). There are the forgotten Prime Ministers (anyone remember Campbell-Bannerman? Thought not); as well as the desperate (Oswald Mosley of the British Union of Fascists included).

Rubinstein’s history is a throughout good book, as the reader would expect from an esteemed academic. However, it never moves beyond this to consume the reader, to bring the past to life, to throw the reader into its story and consume them. Furthermore, the Worm found a growing irritation in the author’s devotion to the first fifty years of the century (pages 1 to 230), whilst the final fifty years are given little more than one hundred pages to survive on. The Worm holds his hands up to admit that the first half of the century is home to two world wars; but in contrast, Mr Andrew Marr solved such a problem by the publishing of two books (The History of Modern Britain and The Making of Modern Britain).

If not a recommended read for the new reader, Rubinstein’s effort is one to be enjoyed by fans of British politics. No doubt it will unearth some unknown, hidden gem of trivia or knowledge; after all, this is the era of the likes of dynamic politicians such as Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George. Looking around him at the current state of politics, the Worm has little to no confidence that a volume could be printed on the exploits on the likes of Cameron, Clegg and Miliband.


NB: The Worm apologises for ending this review on the pitiful names of the above “politicians”; please accept his full hearted request for forgiveness.


Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Twentieth-century-Britain-Political-William-Rubinstein/dp/0333772245/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327677578&sr=8-1

Games People Play - Eric Berne

Eric Berne – Games People Play (1964)
Psychology – 180 pages – my copy (hardback; 1968) borrowed from Plymouth University library during December 2011
- 4 nods out of 5 -



There was once a time when it was believed a good theory of psychology could solve the problems of the mind and the world. From Freud onwards, the twentieth century was awash with bespectacled, chin stroking thinkers who stated they had the brain all worked out; all that people need do was buy the book and apply the theory in practice.

Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis is one such theory, and it can be found in this book, Games People Play. Now more than fifty years old, TA has retained followers into the new millennium; more than can be said for the voluminous books of the sixties that have promptly followed the conveyor belt to a shredder. Berne notes three basic ego states, slightly akin to Freud’s Ego, Super-Ego, and – the always fascinating – Id): the Parent (prejudices and values), the Child (impulsive and creative), and the Adult (rational and logical). The Adult is the goal for all conversationalists to reach: it is impartial and in search of the truth. But this is not to say the others are to be dismissed, but rather celebrated each in turn for their uniqueness. As Berne notes: ‘Thus all three aspects of the personality have a high survival and living value, and it is only when one or the other of them disturbs the healthy balance that analysis and reorganization are indicated. Otherwise each of them…is entitled to equal respect and has its legitimate place in a full and productive life.’

Games People Play is an analysis of the different states we each become when dealing with our family, our partners, our friends, and extended people around us. Berne contends that we all play games, with surface interactions, as well as deeper, hidden intentions. Written in what is now vastly dated language (especially when referring to male and female models), the book runs through a variety of “games” that have been discovered when treating patients in TA therapy. The book is worth it for just the names alone: ‘Frigid Woman’, ‘Yeah But…’, ‘If It Weren’t For You,’ and the Worm’s personal favourite: ‘Now I’ve Got You, You Bastard.’ As the reader immediately notices, there is no cloud of psycho-babble to confuse the patient: TA gives advice straight up and with no catches.

Here is Berne in action describing ‘A Typical Game’ between spouses:

‘His prohibitions and her complaints frequently led to quarrels, so that their sex life was seriously impaired. And because of his feelings of guilt, he frequently brought her gifts which might not otherwise have been forthcoming; certainly when he gave her more freedom, his gifts diminished in lavishness and frequency…At any rate her married life had proved one thing to her that she had always maintained: that all men were mean and tyrannical. As it turned out, this attitude was related to some daydreams of being sexually abused which had plagued her in earlier years.’

Or how about Mr and Mrs White’s implicit contract:

Mr White: “You must always be here when I get home. I’m terrified of desertion.”
Mrs White: “I will be if you help me avoid phobic situations.”

Much is written on the relationship between husband and wife. If the 1950s/1960s were years of phobia and neurosis, it is safe to assume that Berne would be in his element in the modern world. Though it does descend into the absurd:

‘There is a bit of Jerk in everyone, but the object of game analysis is to keep it at a minimum. A Jerk is someone who is overly sensitive to Parental influences…In extreme cases the Jerk merges with the Toady, the Show-off, and the Cling.’

One has the impression Berne is simply making up terms and words on the spot to get to the end of the book. But that is to do Berne and his study a disservice. Games People Play is undoubtedly an interesting book with great topics of interest; some perfect coffee-table fodder over those hot drinks in the cold months ahead.

Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Games-People-Play-Psychology-Relationships/dp/0141040270/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327336400&sr=8-1

Batman: Year One - Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli

Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli - Batman: Year One (1988)
Graphic Novel – 104 pages – my copy (paperback; 2001) borrowed from University of Plymouth library during December 2011
- 3 nods out of 5 -



‘It rose into space
Its wings spread wide
Then fell, its wings
Now a fluttering cape
Wrapped tight about
The body of a man’

Batman has been made topical and attractive once again. Christopher Nolan’s recent rendering of the Dark Knight has captured our imaginations on the big screen; expect Batman-Fever to heat up in the coming months as the final instalment of Nolan’s trilogy is released. But to paraphrase the often used quote in the majority of every superhero film: Every end has a beginning. And Nolan’s version of Batman has a beginning that can be clearly stretched to the 1980s.

Celebrated comic book writer, Frank Miller, brought a new, realistic version of Batman to readers in the late 1980s in the ‘Year One’ story (originally printed in Batman issues 404-407). The nitty gritty decaying streets of Gotham are detailed, with the words brought to life by artist David Mazzucchelli, with colouring from the hands of Richmond Lewis. This collaboration shows just how far Batman has walked since the less hate-filled, more innocent days of Bob Kane’s original creation.

‘Year One’, as you might expect, sees the beginnings of Bruce Wayne’s fight on crime. He returns to the city of Gotham and takes up training, hitting the streets before deciding how he needs a costume to instil fear into the thugs of the city: alas, the bat-suit. But, somewhat interestingly, Wayne and his caped crusader beginnings take a back-seat to the rise of Commissioner Gordon. Gordon is a new cop in the city who refuses to take bribes, bringing him into conflict with his corrupt colleagues on the force. Bit by bit, Gordon’s star rises; although is beset by personal problems. Through misunderstandings as to Batman’s role, the pair form an alliance at the book’s end.

The problem with Batman: Year One is the flapping of loose threads (including Selina Kyle in the background, first as domineering prostitute, later as Catwoman) that actually makes the book unable to successfully stand alone as a graphic novel. And although Miller’s influence reinvigorates the Batman myth and legend, there is the question mark hanging over the heads of comic book crusaders and their shelf life. Hollywood and publishers appear content to retell the story, again and again, albeit modernise it with a different setting and/or circumstances. DC Comics have recently rebranded once again: don’t these characters have greater scope to move forward with?

As talk of The Dark Knight Rises grows until it reaches a never-ceasing wail, Batman fans would do themselves a favour by purchasing a copy of Batman: Year One. Trace Nolan’s origins, and applaud the Batman myth.

Buy it here:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Batman-Year-One-Frank-Miller/dp/1852860774/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323257847&sr=1-6

The Drowned and the Saved - Primo Levi

Primo Levi – The Drowned and the Saved (1986)
Autobiography – 170 pages – my copy (paperback; 2001) borrowed from University of Plymouth Library during November 2011
- 5 nods out of 5 -



Allow the Worm a first, manic and loud-mouthed comment on Primo Levi’s The Drowned and the Saved: "Read it now!" That being said and digested, let us move on and review this book. Levi – a survivor of Auschwitz – reflects on the Holocaust, almost forty years after its occurrence. Levi became an internationally renowned writer in the post-war period, bringing truths to light, never letting this momentous, horrific period in history be forgotten. The Drowned and the Saved – the first work, although certainly not the last, on which the Worm has had the pleasure to read – was Levi’s last published work in his lifetime: he died afterwards in what remains uncertain circumstances. Many believe he took his own life; others that he accidentally fell down a staircase. But that is, as they say, a different story.

Much has been made of Levi’s guilt: at surviving when so many good, worthy ones died at the hands of the Nazis. Here he writes on the issue: ‘I must repeat – we, the survivors, are not the true witnesses. This is an uncomfortable notion, of which I have become conscious little by little, reading the memoirs of others and reading mine at a distance of years. We survivors are not only as exiguous but also an anomalous minority; we are those who by their prevarications or abilities or good luck did not touch the bottom.’

Using his own experience, Levi brings Auschwitz alive like no other. He analyses the ‘Orwellian falsification of memory’ of the Nazi state, in their ‘war against memory…falsification of reality, negation of reality’; of the ‘grey zone’ in which prisoner becomes both victim and persecutor, thereby confusing ‘our need to judge’; as well as the horrific description of the Jews who burnt the dead, gassed bodies of their fellow man and woman:

‘Conceiving and organising the squads was National Socialism’s most demonic crime. Behind the pragmatic aspect (to economise on able men, impose on others the most atrocious tasks), other more subtle aspects can be perceived. This institution represented an attempt to shift on to others – specifically the victims – the burden of guilt, so that they were deprived of even the solace of innocence. It is neither easy nor agreeable to dredge the abyss of viciousness, and yet I think it must be done, because what it was possible to perpetrate yesterday can be attempted again tomorrow, can overwhelm ourselves and our children. One is tempted to turn away with a grimace and close one’s mind: this is a temptation one must resist. In fact, the existence of the squads had a meaning, containing a message: “We, the master race, are your destroyers, but you are no better than we are; if we so wish and we do so wish, we can destroy not only your bodies but also your souls, just as we have destroyed ours.”’

Levi further expresses this idea of the victim becoming stained with the blood of the murderers: ‘before dying the victim must be degraded, so that the murderer will be less burdened by guilt.’ These words are so well expressed that Levi shares the talent of a poet brought against the harsh reality of evil, of chaos, and of despair.

And whilst we’re bathing in the colour of his prose, how about this:

‘Hateful also, but not insane, were the means foreseen to achieve these ends: to unleash military aggressions or ruthless wars, support Fifth Columns, transfer or remove entire populations, subjugate them, e them, or exterminate them. Neither Nietzsche nor Hitler nor Rosenberg were mad when they intoxicated themselves and their followers by preaching the myth of the Superman, to whom everything is permitted in recognition of his dogmatic and congenital superiority; but worthy of meditation is the fact that all of them, teacher and pupils, become progressively removed from reality as little by little their morality came unglued from the morality common to all times and all civilisations, which is an integral part of our human heritage and which in the end must be acknowledged.’

Make no mistake, this is a heavy read of a momentous, heavy period. However, Levi is the perfect host to guide the reader through the shock and the shame. Amongst such passages are more amiable memories, of correspondence with Germans, of his own personal, moral philosophy. What he has to say is never easy to swallow; but it is a dish we must feed on, and once started becomes addictive. He repeats the same message again and again: ‘It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say.’ It is a statement that is needed to be made; Levi was – and remains – a defender of the memories of the Holocaust. It is now up to the next generation to take on the mantle, to read Levi, to discuss Levi, to promote Levi. The Worm repeats: "You will read this book." The Worm repeats: "You will devour this book." The Worm repeats: "You will love this book."


Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drowned-Saved-Abacus-Books/dp/0349100470/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323257828&sr=1-1