BOOK reMARKS

Reviewed by John Glover, Reference Librarian for the Humanities

In this debut novel, Austin Grossman writes of the lives, loves, and traumas of superheroes. The story doesn't take place in the well-worn worlds of Marvel or DC, but the characters are all types (or combinations thereof) recognizable to anyone who knows comics: the near-invulnerable man, the mythological figure, the half-man/half-machine, the feral fighter, and so on. And what would a novel of heroes be without supervillains? The two viewpoint characters are Dr. Impossible, evil mastermind par excellence, and Fatale, a female cyborg with a cloudy past who has been asked to join The Champions, a super-group analogous to the JLA or the Avengers.

This rousing yet thoughtful novel is a beautiful counterpoint between the main characters. On one page the reader encounters Fatale's frustrations over not being able to sit in chairs that won't support her armor, and on the next Dr. Impossible is lamenting his tendency to leave crucial details of his doomsday devices unplanned until the last minute. Grossman plays his characters' agonies straight, exploring the psychology and lives of people set forever apart from the rest of humanity. Serious takes on the world of comics have been done before, in fiction and in comics themselves, but the author brings a deft hand at characterization to the project.

As much as this is a story about super-powered people, it's a story about humans in opposition, forced to live out their lives in circumstances they believe they don't deserve, or in other cases circumstances they believe is their due as the best of society. Grossman's style is economical and transparent, aside from occasional rhetorical flourishes that neatly match the action of the story. This novel will be a thrill for you if you enjoy comics and a fast-paced story that still takes time to explore the lives of its characters.

Cabell Library PS3607.R666 S66 2007

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Reviewed by John Glover, Reference Librarian for the Humanities

Hank Thompson, protagonist of Charlie Huston's slam-bang neo-noir, has not had an easy life. From a baseball accident that ended a promising career to a car crash that left him unable to drive to the bottles of booze that fill his apartment, this strangely gentle man never really caught a break. He was doing OK, though, until his neighbor left town and gave Hank his cat to watch... and the key hidden at the bottom of the cat's litter box. Various people come looking for the key, and that's when the fun begins.

The novel stands up next to James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia or Scott Smith's A Simple Plan, in both the dark settings and the violence. The seedy world of the characters includes beatings, shootings, robbery, torture, and worse yet. In this environment, it's not a question of whether a good man will go bad, but the manner in which it will happen, and how bad he'll go. Huston's narration and use of the first-person viewpoint is gripping, conveying the thoughts and fears of Hank Thompson very well. The plot twists and turns to some extent, but the action and violence of this story are what will keep you reading until 2 a.m.

Cabell Library PS3608.U855 C38 2004

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Reviewed by John Glover, Reference Librarian for the Humanities

Robert Dennis Crumb is one of the more singular artistic talents America has ever produced. His deeply weird and unfettered genius gave birth to the underground comix of the 1960s and helped to separate comic books from capes and wish-fulfillment, bringing about the field of alternative comics as we know it. His work, beloved by some, reviled by others, has had a giant impact on comics people, from writers to publishers to editors, and they've all got something to say about the man.

The style and length of these appreciations vary greatly, from Alan Moore's commentary on Crumb's impact on him as a teenager, to the Rev. Ivan Stang's vision of Crumb as trend-evading creator, to Matt Groening's relived glee as a childhood consumer of illicit cartoons. This book makes for a fine, episodic read, the perfect thing to pick up, read some essays, and put it down again for a few days. Whether you enjoy it or not depends on how much you like comics, the history of comics, general weirdness, and the reminiscences of aging hippies about the zany 60s.

Those unfamiliar with Crumb's work should probably be aware that his detractors have labeled much of it as variously depraved, racist, misogynist, and obscene. Crumb's response to such criticisms has typically been to acknowledge and apologize for his flaws. At the same time, he defends his work on the grounds artists often use to defend transgressive works — that censorship is not a good thing, and that artists need to overcome voices of repression.

Cabell Library NC1429.C83 L54 1998

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Reviewed by John Glover, Reference Librarian for the Humanities

Joseph Epstein's conversational little book is a pleasure to read if you've ever enjoyed looking down your nose at anyone, or if you've ever felt the horror of being looked on by those around you. For that matter, it's a pleasurable read if you enjoy thinking about all the weird tics and quirks displayed by people in their unceasing attempts to prove themselves ever so slightly better than their fellows. Epstein's manner is self-deprecating, but all the same, it's a pleasure to watch his own snobbism at work as he dryly skewers the sensibilities of social climbers everywhere. Almost the epitome of light reading, this book is perfect for the beach, or a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Epstein roams through every aspect of life where we check the people around us, judging those below, emulating those above. He touches on clothing (bespoke and otherwise), schools (ivy-laden or state), and home décor (Picasso or pink flamingos). Epstein's life in academia, occasionally mixing and mingling with the tony, has given him perspective to speak on a broad range of society. Whatever his own predilections, he is a compassionate observer of human foibles, whether his own or others'.

Internet Resources HN90.S6 E67 2002eb

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Celebrating Women's History Month at the VCU Libraries

Reviewed by Margaret Henderson, Education Services Specialist

American Women Afield: Writings by Pioneering Women Naturalists is a collection of writings by 25 female naturalists from the 19th and early 20th centuries, with short biographies provided by Marcia Myers Bonta. Bonta discovered these writings while doing biographical research for her Women in the Field: America’s Pioneering Women Naturalists, and she decided that people would enjoy the actual writings as well as biographies.

The biographies are very informative, covering family history, education, how the woman started her work, and a summary of the work done. It is interesting to note the wide variety of backgrounds that led to the love of nature and the urge to write about it. As Katharine Dooris Sharp wrote “She will do it because she was born to do it; because within her is the heaven-imparted kinship with Nature which is the open sesame to that kingdom of delight. But she will do it under difficulties.”

The writings show natural history at its best. Natural history was a popular pursuit during the time these women were alive, so most of the selections are in an easy-to-read style, although the author carefully chose selections and writers who would be interesting. All the selections are characterized by careful descriptions of interesting specimens, plant and animal, or wonderful locations. Many of these meticulous observations are still valid: the song sparrow behavior studied by Margaret Morse Nice, the aphid descriptions of Edith Patch, or the grasses described by Agnes Chase.

Several of the women were concerned about conservation issues before people were aware there was a problem. Susan Fenimore Cooper was warning about the misuse of natural resources in 1850; Margaret Morse Nice decried the destruction of songbird habitat; E. Lucy Braun worked to conserve eastern deciduous forests; and of course Rachel Carson fought against pesticide use.

Each author manages to draw you into her ‘world’. Wasps, aphids, spiders and other insects become quite fascinating. Anna Botsford Comstock wrote about Pantographa limata “... he was as interesting as a harlequin in his vivid costume of black and green. The black face was made grotesque by ten little eyes of assorted sizes, placed in circles, each one shining like an opal. His black legs were adorned at the joints with what a costumer would call ‘slashes’ that revealed a lining of green; on the segment nearest the body the black band was cut into gay points.” You feel the grandeur of forests we will never see again when E. Lucy Braun describes “Mountain magnolia and oil-nut, with here and there a mass of mountain laurel, are grouped with such perfection of design as only the Master Hand could plan. And all between are beds of ferns.” The need to conserve our forests and worry about the environment becomes quite clear. The passion and excitement all these women fell about their chosen subject comes through in all their writings.

Although most names in this book are not well known, some of the women corresponded with well known scientists of their day; Mary Treat corresponded with Charles Darwin about bladderworts, among other things. Others had respected scientists as their mentors; Graceana Lewis was encouraged by John Cassin, Curator of Birds at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. And some became the first female member of various scientific societies; Florence Merriam Bailey was the first woman member of the newly founded American Ornithologists’ Union

In an era when most people think women didn’t do much outside the domestic sphere, it is exciting to realize that there have always been women who like traipsing through the woods and writing about it.

If you enjoy these writings you might also enjoy more modern women afield. Margaret Lowman’s Life in the treetops : adventures of a woman in field biology (Internet Resources QH31.L79 A3 1999eb) and It’s a jungle up there: more tales from the treetops (Internet Resources QH31.L79 A3 2006eb) are excellent. In Search of the Golden Frog by Marty Crump (Cabell Library QL656.C35 C78 2000 Normal Loan) is another good biography of a female field biologist.

Cabell Library QH45.2 .B66 1995 (American Women Afield)
Cabell Library QH26 .B66 1991 Normal Loan (Women in the Field)

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Reviewed by John Glover, Reference Librarian for the Humanities

Election is elegant, funny, and eminently readable at 200 pages, and it made me want to read more of Tom Perrotta's work. The story is an engrossing stew of angst, backstabbing, politicking, jealousy, ennui, and sex, all set in the midst of a high school election. For various reasons the election turns out to be unusually hotly contested, and readers get to watch the lives of various students, teachers, and parents implode and expand in a variety of colorful ways.

Perrotta's style will quickly draw you into the narrative, and the reader's viewpoint rotates between several different characters. The events look much different, depending on who's talking at any given time, whether it's the overly entitled Tracy Flick or the hapless Mr. M. Among all the electioneering and typical high school drama, there's also a substantial amount of sleeping around and inappropriate relationships, teacher-student and otherwise. Perrotta presents his characters as humans, warts and all, and these entanglements are handled neither with simple finger-wagging nor with Nabokovian glee. This novel also inspired a film adaptation starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick.

Cabell Library PS3566.E6948 E43 1998 (novel)
Cabell Media and Reserves DVDs PN1997 .E44 2006 (film)

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