Super-Cannes: A Novel by J.G. Ballard
Posted: December 1, 2013 Filed under: Books, Fiction | Tags: Books, English, J.G. Ballard Leave a comment
Dark and violent, focused on hate, intolerance, and madness, Super-Cannes reveals the other face of corporate psychosis – once in a while you see a newsreel about a man with a shotgun or an assault rifle on a killing spree in a cosy air-conditioned 24 hour-lit paradise of an office building, and you think, whoa, another asshole in town – but in Ballard's world, oh boy, that man doesn't seem an asshole at all.
Sheer madness is the new cure – the trendy senior exec way of letting go of work and career stress by hurting and even killing people in a rogue vigilante style, picking on immigrants and the poor, all in a well organized project management way, with meticulous planning, coordination, role play, video documenting and all – practiced by the top brass of a huge business part on the French Riviera.
The novel has its twists, so I'll avoid spoilers – but somehow, the subject is quite close to J.G.'s High-Rise, as recently reviewed here. Two books by Ballard in a row was a way for this to become too obvious – still, it was quite a read.
'The dream of a leisure society was the great twentieth-century delusion. Work is the new leisure. Talented and ambitious people work harder than they have ever done, and for longer hours. They find their only fulfillment through work. The men and women running successful companies need to focus their energies on the task in front of them, and for every minute of the day. The last thing they want is recreation.'
====
'God?' Halder smiled into his elegant hands. 'The people here have gone beyond God. Way beyond. God had to rest on the seventh day.'
'So how do they keep sane?'
'Not so easy. The have one thing to fall back on.'
'And that is?'
'Haven't you guessed, Mr. Sinclair?' Halder spoke softly, but with genuine concern, as if all our time together, the extended seminar he had been conducting with full visual aids, had been wasted on this obtuse Englishman. 'Madness – that's all they have, after working sixteen hours a week, seven days a week. Going mad is their only way of staying sane.'
The Black Well by Jamie Tanner
Posted: November 17, 2013 Filed under: Comic, Fiction | Tags: Comic, English, Jamie Tanner, kickstarter, Osamu Tezuka Leave a comment
Hmm, quite an interesting horror comic indeed, a random purchase at comixology that worked just well.
Capitalizing the content and a bit even the style of Osamu Tezuka's perennial Ode to Kirihito, one of the best Tezuka's novels of all time, Tanner tells a tale of a man who befell dog head illness and a strage story that followed.
For a debut novel that was crowdfunded via kickstarter, as I later found out, it's a tiny gem – great drawing style, good dialog, interesting story twists. Totally enjoyable.
Scarlett takes Manhattan by Molly Crabapple and John Leavitt
Posted: November 16, 2013 Filed under: Comic, Fiction | Tags: Comic, English, John Leavitt, Molly Crabapple Leave a comment
A light-hearted flirty comic book that served a great intermission in my reading of two violence driven J.G. Ballard's novels (I'm halfway into Super-Cannes now).
Fifty-page long colorful delight, no strings attached. Best viewed via iPhone's, not iPad's comiXology app, it seemed to me.
Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Posted: November 9, 2013 Filed under: Comic, Fiction | Tags: Books, English, Jeff Lemire 3 Comments
A brilliant, thick in pages, but fast in page turning, melodramatic family remembrance story, going across the span of four generations of various Essex County, Ontario, residents.
This is indeed the best of Jeff Lemire's work, better than his commercially successful serialized Sweet Tooth and latest and much less commercial The Underwater Welder.
In a sense, Essex County is a perfect gateway book for those not familiar with “serious” no-superheroes-kind of graphic novels, on par with Art Spiegelman's world-acclaimed Maus, Jason Lutes' Berlin, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home and different stuff by other prominent Canadian comic book writers like Chester Brown, Seth, and Joe Matt.
Funny enough, as I predicted, this book is full of hockey – plucks flying in and out of frozen lakes and NHL ice rinks, fists punching faces. But still, it's main theme is family, family that matters most – and how it is never late to care and forgive.
High-Rise by J.G. Ballard
Posted: November 7, 2013 Filed under: Books, Fiction | Tags: Ben Wheatley, Books, English, J.G. Ballard 1 Comment
Surprisingly enough, J.G. Ballard's High-Rise lost virtually none of its value in almost 40 years since its first publication in 1975. Indeed, this is a rare quality for a fiction novel, depicting in rather gruesome detail how a huge 40-storey apartment block of some two thousand people went violent, primitive, tribal, and cannibalistic. Lights go off, heat goes off, garbage chutes and elevators no longer work, and that's when bats, knives, metal chairs, home appliances and even bare hands come into play.
For an avid J.G. Ballard reader like yours truly (not sure that I deserve this “avid” description though, as I've read less than, I dunno, 15% of his books), it's encouraging to see how certain themes migrate through Ballard's body of work – from perverse mutilation of cars and limbs in his iconic Crash into no less exciting vandalism of a communal home and both mental and physical rape of its residents by its residents – or the air of the mass hysteria and clansmanship so similar to Ballard's last novel Kingdom Come, another must-read.
Googling to get some background info as I always do, I realized there is a rumor (not confirmed by imdb though) that Kill List's Ben Wheatley is set to make High-Rise into a motion picture as early as in 2014. Despite the disappointing Sightseers, if indeed Ben the hammer horror man takes upon himself with this task, this flick will be on top of my watchlist from the same day.
As both these men, Wheatley and J.G., know too well how to fill the atmosphere with acute anticipation of violence – and followed by actual violence. Scary.
A few people leaned on their railings and watched Laing without expression, and he had a sudden image of the two thousand residents springing to their balconies and hurling down at him anything to hand, inundating Laing beneath a pyramid of wine bottles and ashtrays, deodorant aerosols and contraceptive wallets.
The Game by Neil Strauss
Posted: October 27, 2013 Filed under: Books, Documentary, Non-fiction | Tags: Books, English, Neil Strauss 1 Comment
At the risk of being sandbagged by all of you, yes, I confess, I did read Neil Strauss's The Game. In my defense, my reasoning was three-fold:
(a) it's not the first Strauss's book I've read – hell, I've read Jenna's bio – so I know the guy can produce good chewing gum fictionalized bios, which I like – though I put his Manson's bio on hold, as it seems too outdated;
(b) Strauss was recently up on Tim Ferriss's blog, in June, and that kinda stuck in my mind; and
(c) right about the same time, mid July, Mr. Alex S, sitting in Le Club 55 in Saint Tropez, was telling everyone that the routines really work;
… so, when (b) and (c) kinda coincided in my time and space, I bought the book and put it in my kindle backlog.
Well, interestingly and unbelievingly enough, Mr. Strauss, who previously mostly ghostwrote rock and porn stars, decided to make a total star of himself. Not sure how much in the book is life and how much is fiction, but if it's all life, man, he did a hell of job!
As the story goes, Neil joined a secret internet community of pick up artists, i.e. guys that know how to get the girls date 'em and break down seduction techniques down to routines and social science – and excelled at the game. It resulted in his transformation into the Master pick up artist, who later co-founded a sort of “Fight Club” of pick up, based in L.A. and called Project Hollywood. Whoa, un-frigging-believable.
Just to add some flavor – Miss Courtney Love couchsurfed Project Hollywood for weeks, if not months – so, yeah, this book is a modern Cinderella story – how the ghost writer journalist becomes a total Casanova.
All in all, an interesting read – wouldn't say, for all of you AFCs out there (google the term yourself), that this book is very instrumental in the game of pick up – but I'm pretty sure much more solid step-by-step advice can be found in the satellite products Mr. Strauss, a now turned Tim-Ferriss-styled businessman, published as follow up. Enjoy!
Lost Dogs by Jeff Lemire
Posted: October 19, 2013 Filed under: Comic | Tags: Books, English, Jeff Lemire Leave a comment
On one end, a disturbing story with a morbid looking drawing style of red, black and white only. Easy to guess, why red. On the other, though, I’d say – nothing too entertaining.
I need to read Essex County, though. Looks like a must read, now that I’ve read both Sweet Tooth and The Underwater Welder. Bought it already, just need to move to page one of this 500+ something beauty.
March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell
Posted: August 21, 2013 Filed under: Comic, Documentary, Non-fiction | Tags: Andrew Aydin, Books, English, John Lewis, Martin Luther King Leave a comment
The power of coincidence – I read Mikhail Trofimenkov’s unexpected and unexpectedly long review of March Book One in last week’s Kommersant Weekend – and then the book simply popped up right at me in comiXology new releases section – so I just couldn’t stop myself.
It’s a great piece of work on the racial equality movement in the late 50s, beautifully drawn and told with proper pace and style. However, in light of the splendid and very detailed review linked above (Russian speakers must read it), I decided I will not bore this blog with another, certainly an inferior one.
One thing though I guess it makes sense to add. Clearly and sadly, the self-prolaimed leaders of the Russian opposition here in Moscow have not read or preached the rules of non-violent resistance – and police, like everywhere else, doesn’t like having stones and parts of sidewalk thrown at them. Provocateurs or no provocateurs, no-one like stones thrown at you.
Nothin’ Ugly Fly by Marvin K. White
Posted: August 18, 2013 Filed under: Books, Poetry | Tags: Books, English, Marvin K. White, Poetry Leave a comment
A short intermission in my reading of Jonathan Littel's Les Bienveillantes. I guess I needed a quick pause in constant killing and butchery. Just three short poems, no more – and back to communal graves in Ukraine.
I picked three in a particular short style that I like – doesn't mean all are like this though.
make my neck hurt
oooooooh baby
i love the soul food about you
neck bone
rib
rump
black eye
liver about you
but ohhhhhhh
those chicken legs
going for blood
we punk
we pump
we vein
we flow
get well soon
can't sleep
can't eat
stomach notting
skin botching
sweating hot and cold
can't remember the last time
i been in love like this
PS … and now, the ultimate bigotry test (dedicated to our country's recent laws). Marvin K. is a well-known gay activist – does that change his words for you? Well, who could've guessed.
Blood by Ryden
Posted: August 18, 2013 Filed under: Art / Photo, Books | Tags: Art, Blood, Books, English, Mark Ryden Leave a comment
This was an impulse purchase. A quickie. Thinking back, I attribute this impulse both to the outstanding quality of the book's cover (it has a child's Necronomicon feel, leatherish with ornaments, and a girl crying blood), as well as me having a chance to flip through other Ryden's books on the same shelf (not bloody at all) and enjoying the style.
It's like Tim Burton who turned Emo or Gothic or both, and now working exclusively for those with both a strong stomach and a good sense of humor. Sadly, I will have to put it on a top shelf for now – not sure the kids are ready for it. Yet. Necronomicon must wait its turn )))
“Blood is very powerful. While meat is the substance that keeps our living souls in this physical reality, blood keeps our meat alive. Blood is liquid life. When blood escapes our bodies we are alarmed to the very core of our brains. It is life leaking out of us. It is frightening and makes red a profoundly intense color.” Mark Ryden, 2003
P.S. if you don't want to buy the book, you can see all the paintings and drawings here http://www.markryden.com/paintings/
nomiresdebajodelacama 