Books: 751

The Art of Murder in the Museum of Man
Alfred Alcorn
Colrain Press
$19.99

Bullets whizzing overhead alert protagonist Norman A. de Ratour and open Alfred Alcorn’s fourth chronicle of murderous events surrounding this achingly self-aware, self-centered hero, Director of the Museum of Man at Wainscott University, Seaboard, Maine. Gargoyles, caryatids, chimeras and masques adorned ancient structures; Wainscott’s are alive; they preach, harangue, speak in Voynichian-level academese. Witty, sarcastic, complex, Alcorn leads the reader a merry chase. Younger wife and budding actress Diantha is enmeshed with a rogue actor; chimpanzee Alphus (surname Ratour) intelligence lab-enhanced, nattily-dressed, converses in sign language, author of A Voice of Nature, an accusatory environmental screed he wants Norman to vet. Gangsters, local cops, Scotland Yard import Morgliesh (much roman à clef throughout) contribute. A zesty read, but seek out and peruse the previous three.)

How Do You Live?
Genzaburo Yoshimo tr B.Navasky
Algonquin Young Readers
$12.99

Hayao Miyazaki’s inspiration for The Boy and the Heron, was titled (as was the film), How Do You Live? Author Genzaburo Yoshino (1899-1981) wrote as Japan became more militarized, and restrictive; he’d been jailed, and later the book was banned. It follows fifteen-year-old Copper and school pals throughout a year. Hardly Ghibli-worthy? Similar themes pervade: death, bereavement, betrayal, bullies, power’s temptations, facing one’s flaws. A boy and his uncle discuss numerous topics; Napoleon, what constitutes heroism, Greek Buddha statues, life choices. Uncle journals thoughts for Copper to read later. “Copper”? You’ll learn the reason for the boy’s nickname along with how tofu is made in his less monied schoolmate’s family’s shop. Miyazaki’s mom gave young son Hayao the copy that later inspired his magical version.

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
Michiko Aoyama tr. Alison Watts
Hanover Square Press
$21.99

Residents of Tokyo’s “Hatori” ward may use the elementary school’s adjoining Community House’s classes and workshops or browse its “classroom-sized” library. In this latter resides librarian Sayuri Komachi; very large, enigmatic, wedged in a small space, ceaselessly felting small furred objects on hooks. To her come the five individuals of Michiko Aoyama’s novel. Male and female, different ages and stations in life, all want–something. Searching, they’ve come to the library, thence Ms Komachi. She listens, downs needles, rapid-fires a list of pertinent books plus a dividend, adds a felted gift. Each seeker is changed, not by magic or Komachi’s extra-sensory-powers, but by knowledge; of themselves, of possibilities. How, after all, can one grow, change, offer respect and love for others without first embracing oneself?

Gaytheist: Coming Out of my Orthodox Childhood
Lonnie Mann – Art by Lonnie Mann and Ryan Gatts
Street Noise
$23.99

A sensitive, often painful coming-of-age graphic memoir. Its subtitle foreshadows the difficulties facing any youngster raised in any belief that considers gayness an abomination. In Lonnie’s home life, each action, each bite of food is subject to strict kosher rules, strictures that are memorized and performed in many Orthodox homes, but how thrive under “abomination?” The dreamlike illustrations–muted tones of blues, grays, soft tans and greens, set a distance between the characters inner lives and their everyday, harsh realities. The story begins as young Lonnie relates his father dismissing his terrifying near-drowning in a neighbor’s pool. “This is the first time I remember realizing that counting on my parents could be dangerous…I learned that I had to save myself.” In the end he did.