Lives

JulyAugust 2011 169 to domestic comicbooksfeaturing much lower production values. Thoughmanycreators worked and continue toworkin thealbum form, fewmastered it so gracefullyand tosuchentertaining effect as Jacques Tardi. This recent release from Fantagraphics, entitled TheExtraordinary Adventures ofAdeleBlanc-Sec, collects thefirst twoofTardi's Adele adventures into something that could easilybe mistaken fora graphic novel. Inthis popular storyline, Tardi explores fin-de-siecle Paris with a mixture ofgothic imagery andludicrous plottwists, propelled bya droll heroinewith a penchant for entangling her elaborate schemes with the ineptitude ofbuffoons. Firstpublishedin the 1970s, Tardi'sworkhereis truly timeless, rendering hischaracters in Herge's ligneclairestyle but embedding thebackground witha virtuoso's attention todetail. Thisisimportant becausethestorydrawsso heavily upon thesetting - Parisin the latenineteenth century - to give it a depththatallows the workto transcend its oftenridiculous plot devices.In the firststory,"PterrorOver Paris,"Adele's quest to recover stolengoods (forherown gain) becomesbound up in the unlikely appearance ofa pterodactyl thatbeginsassaulting thecitizens ofParis. While the fundamental elementsof thepterodactyl storyline arebrought toa closebythealbum's end,Adele'sowninterests continue on intothenextstory, "TheEiffel TowerDemon."Thisestablishes a precedent by whichthe readeris abletogaina senseofclosure from each individualstorywhilebeing invitedto followthe largerstory concerns on intothenext.Thereis something silly aboutthewayTardi weavespetty crime and supernaturalhoo -ha tocreate these stories, and yethis delivery makesthereader feellikehe orsheis inon thejoke, rather than thebutt ofit. It is tempting, fromthisdistance intime andplace,tohopethat Tardi'sworkhereis representative ofthegeneral quality ofFrench BD fromthisperiod.Tardi was then and remains todayoneofthegreat masters ofhisartform. Very little of thenon-Tardi bande dessinee contemporary totheAdeleBlanc-Sec stories holdsup withthesamepoise,both to his creditand our disappointment . Readersinterested in some ofthebestofwhatFrench BD hasto offer shouldseize thisopportunity tomakethisandother Tardibooks now availablein Englishpart of their library. RobVollmar University ofScience & Arts ofOklahoma HNigel Thomas. Lives: Whole andOtherwise . Toronto. TSAR. 2010.146pages. Can$20.95. isbn 978-1-894770-61-3 Inhisnewcollection ofstories, Lives: Whole andOtherwise, H NigelThomas (author ofSpirits intheDarkand Return to Arcadia) continues hisexploration ofthelivesofCaribbean immigrants livingin Montreal. Already knownforhisCaribbean-Canadian chronicling, Thomas's characters struggle toliveina hyphenated state betweenmultipleworlds - prostitute , outsider, agendapusher, homosexual .It'stohiscredit that Thomas is abletowrite skillfully aboutsuch complicated lives. In "Maude,"Thomastakesaim at multiplepowers - the Catholic Church,the Canadian government - as a powerful prostitute outlinesherproposedmemoir . Aging Nota Bene Benjamin Kwakye The Other Crucifix Ayebia Thethird novel ofBenjamin Kwakye, The Other Crucifix chronicles thelife ofprotagonist JojoBadu, a Ghanaian native studying inanelite liberal arts college in America. The novel raises important questions about identity andbelonging as it discusses both Badu's individual struggles andthemore generalized experience of the modern African man. Martin Malone The Only Glow ofthe Day New Island Based or? Rosanna Night Walker, aradio play byMalpne, this novel details thedifficult situation, of"wren woman" Rosanna Doyle, who lived intheharsh Curragh grasslands during the winter of 1863, hoping toreunite with her lover. Thehistorical events were documented byjournalist Richard Tone, who was commissioned by Charles Dickens. yetcunning, shelistskeyfigures in order toinfluence political powerto herfavor. A young, biracial woman atthecenter of"Shaky attheKnees" wrestles tofind inner strength after growing up in an unstable householdwhereherwhitemother and blackfather constantly flung racial insultsat each other.In "Graduations ," animmigrant mother andher stern employer constantly fight with theimmigrant's adolescent son;but whenhe finally receives hisgraduationcertificate , botharesurprised tofindoutthetrueresults oftheir battle. Inoneofthestrongest stories of thecollection, "Percy'sIllness," a womanrecounts her friendship witha troubled youngimmigrant, beginning withtheir sharedsexual miscueandprogressing tohisseriousmental illness stemming from an identity crisis. Ifthere's one complaint about thecollection, it's thatthe stories tendtobe tooshort. Thisis meant to be a compliment: one wishes Thomaswould spend moretime exploring thefascinating liveshe's created. Yearsfilled withrichemotionsand eventsareoften abbreviatedintoshortparagraphs . Where writers such as Edward P. Jones and DeborahEisenberg willspend pages exploring pivotalmoments in a character's life, Thomastends tocompress. As a result, hisstories leaveemotional surface dents where theymighthave leftcraters. But theseare minorcomplaints. Lives: Whole andOtherwise does an admirable jobofinvestigating liveslived insecrets andhonesty, complication andsimplicity. Armando Celayo Norwich , United Kingdom DavidFoster Wallace. ThePale King. NewYork. Little, Brown. 2011.x+ 548 pages.$27.99. isbn 978-0-316-07423-0 LateinDavidFoster Wallace's Infinite Jest (1996),seventeen-year-old Hal Incandenza contemplates a Sisphyean future: walking downhisdormitory hallway againandagain, eating and excreting "dayafter dayafter day." Day-after-day-after-day becamethe stuff ofWallace's2005Kenyon Collegecommencement address, which spokeof making a meaningful life in thefaceof working-world routine . Thataddress, we cannowsee, has a strong relation to thisunfinishednovel :routine, itsdiscontents andrewards

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