53.
Title: [My Friend Dahmer]
Author: Derf Backderf
Genre: Nonfiction/Graphic Novel
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library
Date Completed: June 26, 2014
Rating: ****1/2

Jeffrey Dahmer was once a child, and an awkward teenager. He once hiked through the woods around his house, and went to school.  There, he remained on the fringes of the adolescent teenage social hierarchy, where he gained a kind of acceptance by a few, thanks to his tendency to fake seizures and spasms, which his classmates found hilarious.  This acceptance did not mean the others saw him as a friend - just that they did not actively torment him, as others were wont to do. Backderf's assertion that Dahmer was once his "friend" is a very loose, and generally careless, assertion - he frequently relates how he would avoid socializing with the young man, even as he would at times seek out his diversions. But hindsight is much clearer than foresight, and it's likely that Backderf's present analysis that he "always knew" that something was wrong with Dahmer - that he could sense a kind of threat - is a reaction to the reality that he once sat next to a serial killer in class, snuck him into school pictures where he didn't belong, and called himself a member of the "Dahmer Fan Club."

The title aside, Backderf's well-drawn and well-paced graphic novel provides an interesting perspective to true crime studies. The text generates a level of sympathy for the reviled man, without begging for leniency or arguing that Dahmer has been misunderstood.  Instead, Backderf frequently and consistently recognizes his "friend's" crimes, and looks for roots of his later desires in an ugly and complicated childhood. Backderf asks specifically "where were the adults?" when Dahmer's strange behaviors (such as skinning roadkill and killing small animals) escalate, or his daily binge drinking on school grounds goes unchecked. There's a sense of anxiety in Backderf's history as he tries to alleviate a sense of guilt, which he then projects on to the missing authority figures in Dahmer's life.   

If the honesty of the book is at times drawn into question, the interest of the text remains, and My Friend Dahmer is successful in drawing a portrait of the young man who would become a famous serial killer. 

47.
Title: [Out]
Author: Natsuo Kirino
Genre: Fiction
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Pages Read: 150
Reason Abandoned:  Lifeless characters, and a general sense of drudgery. 

48.
Title: [Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth]
Author: Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou
Genre: Graphic Nonfiction
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Pages Read: 151
Reason Abandoned: Greater responsibilities.  Logicomix, a graphic account of the life of Bertrand Russell and the "search for absolute truth," has great promise.  The art is well-suited to the subject, and the authors carefully balance reader expectations to provide significant information and necessary explanations, while respecting a general sense of intelligence.  This is of the sort of graphic text to which I gravitate, and I hope to return to it once my summer classes have completed.  But for now it must go back to the library. 

49.
Title: [Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End]
Author: Jennifer Worth
Genre: Memoir
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: June 17, 2014
Rating: ***

This text marks the end of memoir and the beginning of fiction, as far as the PBS show is concerned.  What I appreciate most about this volume is the finality it provides - here, Worth not only tells of her patients, but of the future lives of the nuns, Trixie, Chummy, and the rest.  This kind of resolution is often unavailable for memoirs, and is all the more satisfactory for it.  If for nothing else, I'd recommend this book for just those ends. 

50.
Title: [Zine]
Author: Pagan Kennedy
Genre: Memoir
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Early Review
Date Completed: June 20, 2014
Rating: **

You had to be there, I think.  To a reader greatly removed from the culture which first inspires Pagan Kennedy's 'zine, and suffering from the blog over-saturation which can be attributed to this kind of self-publishing, the text seems shallow.  The reprint includes the original introduction, in which Kennedy cites a few years of "growing up" and growing away from her 'zine, which of course leads her to publish a response and a collection.  As an artifact, it is interesting - I've known of the phenomenon, but only ever witnessed the tail-end, so I did appreciate the opportunity to see the reproductions of one such self-publication.  The content, however, held no interest, and it became a great chore to wade through the original publications to get to her later responses and self evaluations.  Kennedy's memoir is interesting, but I'd far prefer her current reflections than her past work.

All of that being said, I think this would be a wonderful text for someone more invested in this particular cultural movement, the history of social texts, or the recent history of self-publishing.  

51.
Title: [The Dark is Rising]
Author: Susan Cooper
Genre: YA Fantasy
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Pages Read: 100


52.
Title: [The Private Letters of Countess Erzsébet Báthory]
Author: Kimberly L. Craft
Genre: Nonfiction/History
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Purchased
Date Completed: June 15, 2014
Rating: **

Craft herself, in her introduction, states that this collection of letters is intended to serve as a supplement to her text Infamous Lady.  For those, like myself, who have not read her book, Craft provides a brief synopsis, and then jumps into the translated letters of Countess Báthory. I purchased the book in the interest of gaining insight into a feared historical figure, but with no preconceived notions - I was not looking for a gory confession, but had an inkling that a sympathetic scholar may try to salvage her reputation in some way.  The body of material Craft has to work with is distressingly small, which is no fault to her - most of Countess Báthory's letters have been lost or destroyed, so the body of evidence is slim. 

Ultimately, though, this volume is less a text of Báthory's, and more a text of Craft's; the points of interpretations and analysis suffocate the letters, and casts shadows of doubt on the translations themselves.  The text does not well represent Báthory's voice, but rather uses the voice Craft has constructed for the historical figure.  Craft's presence in the text detracts from the interest, and ultimately the book fails to be truly a collection of private letters, and is instead another analysis of Countess Erzsébet Báthory. 

46.
Title: [I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced]
Author: Delphine Minoui
Genre: Memoir
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: June 10, 2014
Rating:

As the title so clearly states, I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced tells the story of a young girl from Yemen who, on her own, seeks help from the legal system to free her from the early and abusive marriage arranged by her father.  Her actions inspire other young girls to seek the same help, and has helped the women's rights movement take a step forward in recognizing the dangers and damage of this "custom."

To review the book itself is difficult.  Admittedly illiterate, other than a few characters in Arabic and the ability to write her own name, Nujood's voice is not the voice of this memoir.  The story itself is practiced, and organized in a literary tradition that I highly doubt Nujood would recognize, and the narration is that of a literate adult (who, for example, pokes fun at the way Nujood says "bizza" instead of "pizza").  However, naming her as the author of her own story allows her further autonomy, and apparently the royalties have allowed Nujood and one sister to attend school.  And ultimately, the book is just that - an extended news expose that allows for royalties.  Provided that Nujood really is the one who benefits, I applaud the decision, and also the careful way the book serves to introduce the unfamiliar to a serious human rights concern. 

45.
Title: [Audition]
Author: Ryu Murakami
Genre: Pulp
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: June 8, 2014
Rating: ***1/2

Audition tells the tale of a widower who, seven years after the death of his wife, holds auditions for a new wife.  While the actresses lining up to audition for a film don't know that's Aoyama's intent, he and his friend Yoshikawa reason that this is the best way to find a woman who is accomplished, confident, and single.  Of course. And, of course, Aoyama falls mindlessly in love with a former ballet dancer who seems too good to be true.

I enjoyed Audition, but not for the thriller Murakami seemingly intends it to be - rather, I found it to be a highly amusing farce.  The author has absolutely no confidence in his reader, and treats the reader as if he is the same kind of idiot as his protagonist.  The blatancy of the plot hits the audience in the face from the very beginning, and continues through to page 167, when the true "horror" begins.  The final few pages are appropriately squirm-worthy, but the remainder of the novel is good for a laugh. 

44. 
Title: [Shadows of the Workhouse]
Author: Jennifer Worth
Genre: Memoir
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: June 1, 2014
Rating: ****

Having read one Worth before, and as an avid fan of the television show, the stories found in Shadows of the Workhouse are neither new nor surprising, but remain deeply moving. The stories told here show greater depth and consideration than what I've read and seen before, and I appreciated the additional details, and a great sense of "Nurse Lee" as a person. I cried more than once reading this book. 

43.
Title: [Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane]
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: May 27, 2014
Rating: ****

The second in the Underland Chronicles series, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane follows the titular character when he returns to the Underland, believing his toddler sister Boots has been kidnapped by cockroaches.  As prophecy has dictated, Gregor finds himself again at the service of Regalia in their constant struggle with the gnawers, and sets out to hunt down and kill the Bane.  With stronger pacing than the first, The Prophecy of Bane is a more engaging read, and promises further growth.  The colleague who first recommended Collins' series suggested that one can find ghosts of her now-famous Hunger Games characters in this underground world, spotting strong similarities in character between Haymitch and Ripred and the like.  It's fun to see where some personalities first make their appearances, and I will probably always imagine Ripred drinking himself silly, and Haymitch with a tail.  

42.
Title: [Real World]
Author: Natsuo Kirino
Genre: Fiction
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Pages Completed: 65
Date Completed Abandoned: May 27, 2014
Rating: *

One morning a teenage girl hears a crash next door, and finds out later that the woman living there has been beaten to death; her son - called Worm - is suspected.  What follows is four girls' involvement with Worm in the aftermath of his crime.  I can appreciate gritty and noir, but I've had enough of dead mothers and self-centered angsty teenagers.  Every page was tortuous for its unrelenting self infatuation; I didn't even care to keep reading to find out why he did it (or if, in fact, he really did).  On to better things.