"Holden's Bookshelf" is one of a few new features I'm test-driving...in this case, book reviews. I've had a lot of fun on here with Sunday Comics, and intend to continue that fully, but comics are by no means all I read: I love books. A lot. To the point where I have to resist bookstores because I know if I go in, there's somewhere around a 90% chance of me buying something, whether I had intended to or not. I even hold a BA in literature, which is a fancy, officially notarized way of saying "I read a huge stack o' books for college credit."
So it only makes sense that I should do something involving plain old text-type books here too. However, these will be reviews--good and ill and in-between will be found here (though still, probably, mostly good). If you go back to look at Sunday Comics entries, you'll note I'm pretty insistent on calling them spotlightings rather than reviews, because with that particular feature I wanted to focus exclusively on comics I had enjoyed and would recommend. (Mocking terrible comics, on the other hand...well, no one does it better than Linkara, and I'm happy to leave him to it.)Also, just as I'm hesitant to include comics "staples" in Sunday Comics (popular superheroes and the like), I want to shy away from well-known literary classics here, because heaps of things have already been said about these. So as much as I do totally love, say, Orwell's 1984 or Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing or Salinger's Catcher In The Rye (responsible for part of my namesake), they're very unlikely to show up here, for two reasons. A, I don't think I'd have much to say about a time-tested "classic" that hasn't already been said over several decades by several other people, and B, from a reader's perspective, I myself know I'd want to read more about something I might not have heard of before, something new to me.
Also, before we move on to how the categories will work, I should note that this need not necessarily be just about novels--I'm sure short stories and plays will find their way in here too, albeit more rarely.
There are many methods to tackling how to review and discuss the merits of a work of literature. I'm going to use a system not unlike the fairly simple one I've already got in place for Sunday Comics. The categories, after covering basics like genre, content rating, and a synopsis, will be:
Characters: How interesting and engaging are the characters? Is their dialogue well-written? Do they feel "whole" in accordance with their role in the story?
Story: Was the plot itself of interest? Did the characters function well within it? Could I figure out what the plot was? (In the case of metafiction, heavy postmodernism, and very theme-heavy "commentary" works, did it matter what the plot was?) Were there any gaping holes or loose ends that needed to be tied for full comprehension?
Handling of Themes: Every story, no matter how simple, has at least one or two themes. Whatever the author was trying to write about, did it seem like they succeeded in some way?
Each of these categories will get their own rating, with an "overall" rating at the end. The "overall" rating is not cumulative.
Good. Let's begin.
Hairstyles of the Damned, by Joe Meno
Genre: General slice-of-life fictional narrative, with strong undertones of a coming-of-age story.
Content Rating: R, as most more believable (or cynical, depending on who you ask) depictions of high schoolers are wont to be.
Synopsis: Follows the exploits of Brian Oswald, a discontented-but-outwardly-obedient Catholic-high-school kid, and his best friend and secret crush, Gretchen; a loud, coarse, violent punk girl (and the head of pink hair pictured on the cover), during the very early 90s. Much like Catcher in the Rye, from which it draws some obvious inspiration, the whole of the narrative is Brian's own inner monologue, occasionally blended with notes he scribbles on the backs of his school papers. Predominantly, this is Brian figuring out who he is, and trying to find a way to communicate his feelings to Gretchen without jeopardizing the friendship between them he's come to enjoy so much (or earning scorn from her, since such an admission would be just as likely to recieve her mockery as her discomfort).
Characters: Honestly, my first time reading this, I had a lot of difficulty with Brian in particular. He has a habit of constantly namedropping bands and lyrics throughout the book, and while that's relevant to aspects of the plot it was very distracting initially. Part of it was being entirely new to this author--for some reason, it came off as a desperate attempt by the author to prove how musically knowledgeable he was. However, after reading more of Mr. Meno's work, and rereading a second time, I see it more in the context of a narrator that music happens to be very important to, not some projection of the author's. That said, Brian isn't someone you're rooting for the entire time, which can be a good or bad thing depending on how you like your stories--he does have some moments of being a definite jerk.
Gretchen, on the other hand, makes a more believable troubled high schooler--some might see her badass posturing as a bit over-the-top, but it's fairly true to some people I've known, and provides a good contrast against her more tender, vulnerable moments when she's not such a tough little punkette. Other, more minor roles, such as Rod (an oldies enthusiast and semi-friend to Brian), Bobby B. (the greasy yet inexplicably popular guy all of us have known at some point), and Kim (Gretchen's more promiscuous counterpart) are fun, varied, and well-fleshed-out for the amount of page time they're given.
Character Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Victory Points
Story: From what Joe Meno stories I've read, he has a knack for taking relatively simple plots that could be condensed into shorter works if he really wanted to--and expanding them without making them feel overly stretched or fluffy. Switching up the straight narrative with occasional asides into Brian's school notes or relevant music playlists he's made also helps (and while not providing much further insight into the character, does lend him more of an air of "authenticity" as a high schooler). Still, this was, from what I understand, one of Meno's earlier novels, and it shows. (If I can say that, being that I've yet to publish a full novel myself.) I can't quite pinpoint exactly what causes it, but the story could still work slightly better, even if it's mostly just a vehicle for the character relations. I feel like there were still aspects of the majority of the relationships that could have been touched on. Maybe I'm just being picky. Either way, it still lacks just a little unidentifiable something.
Story Rating: 3 out of 5 Victory Points
Handling of Themes: While a coming-of-age story, Hairstyles of the Damned is also in some ways a bit of a subversion of the standard tale (intentionally, I believe, due to patterns in some of Meno's other work)--while Brian does undoubtedly mature in some ways, he's still got a ways to go, and the story does try to at least present a harsher, more cynical world than these stories typically contain, even after Brian's maturity has begun to settle onto him. The "discovery of oneself" theme usually goes hand-in-hand with this genre as well, and this is no different as far as containing aspects of that theme, but it's debatable how much of a true sense of unique self Brian really has gained by the end. Just because he's a "newer person" doesn't mean it's all good changes. Once again, however, I'm sure this is intentional on the author's part, and therefore does fine for it.
Theme-Handling Rating: 4 out of 5 Victory Points
Overall: Hairstyles of the Damned, overall, earns a 3 out of 5 Victory Points. It's definitely not something I'd recommend to everyone, but it also certainly isn't something I'd tell someone to stay away from. It depends largely on your cup of tea--if you are a fan of adolescent maturity tales, and like to see some of the conventions of them tossed aside for fun, then give this a whirl--it's not perfect but should be properly satisfying. If you have mostly fond memories of high school this is definitely not recommended, however. Leave it for those of us who remember it with fewer smiles. Some degree of musical knowledge (mostly related to rock, particularly punk) is also recommended to bring on board for the sheer number of band and song references Brian tends to make.
[Holden Out.]
No comments:
Post a Comment