School Book: Death of a Transvestite

When I originally bought Ed Wood's Death of a Transvestite, I was assurred I would enjoy it. Everyone who had read it said it was a fun read. So I expected it to be good.

What I wasn't prepared for, but in hind sight should have been, was for this book to read like Ed Wood's movie Glen or Glenda but with a LOT more sex. It definitely didn't help that the main character was a transvestite named Glen as a man, and Glenda when he was in drag.

The book opens with Glen in jail, about to be executed via electric chair. He makes a deal with the warden to tell his story if the warden will let him die in the clothes he loves. As there is just enough time, the warden agrees. What follows is Glen's/Glenda's story of his/her life after leaving the crime Syndicate he/she worked for as a hired killer, and right before he/she got caught.

I was expecting some wild and crazy antics of a killer in drag. What I wasn't prepared for was the sex. Everytime you turned around, Glen/Glenda was either having sex with someone, or someone was reminiscing about the fantastic sex they had with Glen/Glenda. It felt like being in Ed Wood Fantasy Land, and it got a bit rediculous after awhile.

Death of a Transvestite wasn't a terrible read, all things considered. But you're probably better off without it. It was a bit hard to get into, and nothing really seemed to happen throughtout it. Ed Wood fans might enjoy it, but for the majority of people, I'd say pass this one by.

School Book: The Prophet's Camel Bell

I have to admit, I was extremely biassed towards this book. I have read two of Margaret Laurence's books, one in high school, and one in a Children's Literature class, and I do not like her writing style. And so I began reading The Prophet's Camel Bell expecting to hate it. I couldn't have been more wrong!

Laurence's The Prophet's Camel Bell tells of the author's experience in Africa. Her husband at the time took a job in Somaliland to build water resevoirs in the desert to help the people get through the dry season. Laurence accompanied him, and together they met many interesting people and saw the life that the Somali people dealt with. A deeply religious people, they lead their harsh lives as best they can, trusting in God's will. Laurence and her husband gain the friendship of their work crew, overcoming language and cultural barriers as best as they can. Laurence becomes interested in Somali poetry, and works to translate it while her husband constructs the resevoirs.

I think my one complaint is that the book tends to throw people at you without properly telling you who they are. Pretty much everyone is explained at the end, but when many of the Somalis are first brought up, you are left guessing as to who they are.

But all in all, The Prophet's Camel Bell was an extremely interesting read, and I am incredibly glad that I have read it!

School Book: Beautiful Losers

I knew I was in trouble with this book when I read the first line on the back cover: "One of the best known experimental novels of the 1960's." I know I'm biased; I like more traditional novels. You know, non-experimental types. But I had to read this for Canadian Prose, so I had to give it a shot.

Well, I did give it a shot. And Leonard Cohen's Beautiful Losers was what I thought it would be. Experimental. It is a book about this bizarre love triangle between the unnamed narrator, his wife, and his best friend. The only other character in the book of note is a Native American saint named Catherine Tekakwitha who was alive about 300 years before the other characters in the book.

The first part of the book follows the unnamed narrator. Part way through his narration, I came to the conclusion that he was insane. There were a few chapters that made no sense, but I persevered through them in case they were important to the plot. They weren't.

The second part of the book is a letter from F., the narrator's friend. The letter explains a bunch of stuff that is going on, while raising many other questions. The final part of the book is the epilogue, which is written in the third person.

Beautiful Losers is a smutty book. There is a lot of sex within its pages between all the three main characters in all sorts of combinations. But beyond the sex, there wasn't a whole lot else except for the story of Catherine Tekakwitha. (Which, in my opinion, were about the only parts of the book that were interesting and made sense). The story of Catherine Tekakwitha, as told within Beautiful Losers, seems to be fairly accurate.

By the end of the book, I had lost sympathy with the three characters within the love triangle. I was also left wondering what exactly had happened. This was a very confusing book, and I'm glad I will not have to read it ever again.

Library Book: Rapunzel's Revenge

When I was at work the other day, I came across Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale. It sounded absolutely ridiculous so I had to give it a try. And having just finished it, I'm really glad that I did!

Rapunzel's Revenge tells the story of Rapunzel. She grew up in a villa like a princess, but bored to tears. On her 12th birthday, she climbed the wall that surrounded the villa and discovered many shocking truths. Mother Gothel was ruling the land by controlling the growth of plants. Mother Gothel had kidnapped Rapunzel from her parents. And Rapunzel's real mother was still alive but a slave. Highly objecting to this, Rapunzel was taken into a forest and locked up in the trunk of a very tall tree. Four years later, Rapunzel has managed to escape with the help of her incredibly long hair. So now she's out to free her mother and stop Mother Gothel once and for all!

Yes, it was an incredibly ridiculous tale (I mean, the heroine defeated everything by whipping it with her stupidly long hair!) But it was also highly entertaining, and definitely worth reading. Especially if you like fairy tales with a twist!

Library Book: Justice Vol. 3

And so ends the Justice storyline in Justice Vol. 3. The Justice League has gathered their forces and are ready to strike; their goal is to save not only their loved ones, but the entire world.

Armed with suits of armor of varying types (alien, organic and mythic) to protect themselves from Brainiac's mind-controlling nanotechs, the heroes have but one chance to stop Brainaic from destroying the world. If they succeed, then no one will die. But if they fail...

Although a bit tough to follow in a few places, overall I enjoyed the whole Justice story. It was a very intriguing idea and I'm glad I read it. Again, I have to mention the artwork; it was fantastic throughout all three volumes. I still think the story was missing more of the Joker though. And even the Riddler, who seemed important in Volume 1, disappeared somewhere after escaping Arkham.

But all in all, Justice is worth reading. Or at the very least, it is worth getting a hold of just to marvel at the artwork!

Library Book: Justice Vol. 2

Out of the insanity that is Jim Krueger's Justice Vol. 1 comes Justice Vol. 2. The heroes of the Justice League were attacked simultaneously so no one was able to help each other. Yet they managed to survive, mainly with the help of some members who are kept as back up. So as the League struggles to reconvene at a safe location, the villains step up their plans. They have created several cities where they have invited humanity to reside in an age of peace. Simultaneously, they have rounded up the loved ones of all the heroes they failed to kill....

Justice Vol. 2 continues the intriguing story of what happens when the world's supervillains team up as a force of good. The pencils of Doug Braithwaite and the paints of Alex Ross continue to amaze me as I read. I can't wait to see how it all ends in Volume 3!

Library Book: Justice Vol. 1

A friend from work recommended Justice to me. He said that the story was fantastic. What he failed to mention was the artwork. Alex Ross and Doug Braithwaite do a stupendous job on the entire series; the pictures throughout the graphic novels are of cover quality.

That said, I'm not so sure I agree with the story being super fantastic at this point. Sure, I've only read part 1 of 3 so far, but it seemed a bit hard to follow in places. It was also difficult in some places when I was unfamilliar with various characters (although there was a handy section at the end of this volume that gave info on a lot of the villians I didn't recognize).

Justice starts out with a terrible nightmare that is being shared by all of the villians. In the nightmare, the Earth dies; all of the superheroes fail to save the planet. And so, the villians of the world unite, creating their own version of the Justice League. They go about doing good deeds for the normal humans of the world, helping the crippled walk, bringing plants to the desert, and random other acts of kindness. Meanwhile, they infiltrated the Justice League's computers to find the secret identities of all of the superheroes...

Justice Volume 1 is a fast paced story where you are never sure just who is really on the 'good' side. It is an intriguing concept, and I can't wait to read more!