Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not

Read November 2009.
Photo courtesy Wikipedia

The Scoop: Written by three of the creators (and stars) behind Strangers With Candy. Published in 2003 by Hyperion Books in the US.

The Ingredients: Russell Hokes, "author", secures a book deal and finds his inspiration in Wigfield, a small town that pretty much lacks any town-like qualities and actually just exists off the side of the highway. Wigfield's existence is being threatened by flooding due to the scheduled destruction of the town dam. This is a narrative of Hokes telling his story of writing the story of this town's potentially doomed future, spliced with interviews with town locals and photographs by designer Todd Oldham.

Serves: Adult.

Introduction: Prior to embarking on the voyage of discovery that is this book, a quick but gripping note about me: My name is Russell Hokes, author. [3.5/5 A good preface for what the book is like - sarcastic, satirical, verbose]

Result: I didn't really know what to expect of the book but had vaguely high expectations due to the comedic prowess of the authors, so that might have let me down a bit. I do hear that the audiobook is the way to go with this though, because the authors' voices lend quite a bit of personality and character to the story. I definitely would want to hear that in action. This is a rather funny read, all in all, but not necessarily a book you won't want to set aside - it took me some time to work my way through it. There are some parts that I thought really funny but occasionally the humor/writing gets a bit old, or maybe I just didn't quite get it. The format and concept is inventive, and along with the very interesting photographs, perhaps perusing it slowly is actually the way to go. If you are a fan of Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, or Paul Dinello (I am not too familiar with Dinello as I've only seen one episode of Strangers with Candy), you will probably enjoy it for the most part. Just take it for what it is. [3/5 Probably won't pick it up again (unless I find the audiobook) and won't highly recommend it to others, but still entertaining while it lasted.]

Lullaby

Read August 2009.
Photo courtesy Wikipedia.


The Scoop: Horror-satire novel by Chuck Palahniuk (US), best known for Fight Club. Published by Doubleday in 2002. Nominated for Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel in same year, and won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award in 2003.

The Ingredients: Reporter Carl Streator goes on assignment to write about a series of infant deaths and links them all (including his own wife and child's deaths) to a 'culling song'. With this knowledge, Streator becomes increasingly powerful and sets out to destroy all copies of the song, with real estate agent Helen Boyle by his side, Helen's assistant Mona, and Mona's boyfriend Oyster. They also endeavor to find the original grimoire which is the source of the culling spell, though each has his/her own reasons.

Serves: Adult audience. Contains very mature content (e.g. necrophilia and other sexual acts, violence, murder, etc.) with strong, explicit language.

Prologue: "At first, the new owner pretends he never looked at the living room floor." [4/5 Short but definitely inspires much curiosity.]

Result: A variation of a "frame story", Palahniuk starts at the end of the story and frames the series of events that led up to that endpoint within it. In other words, Carl Streator as narrator, tells us where he is and delves into the story of how/why he got to that point, and so it continues to alternate between the present time (distinguished by italic typeface) and the backstory. If it sounds confusing, it is. To a point. Of course the present story is full of foreshadowing, and everything is tied together at the end, leading to a huge 'aha' moment, which in and of itself is quite rewarding. Though many parts were hard to get through, and I just found myself confused and trying to make sense of what I was reading, I liked it. Lullaby, surprisingly, is the first of Palahniuk's novels I read, and if it is indicative of what his others are like, I am very interested in reading them. I am drawn to his writing style; I love repetition (he uses a style here referred to as 'choruses') and his succinct sentences and vivid detail are very satisfying. The themes and issues Streator explicitly questions are very thought-provoking (leading to me to actually take time out to ponder things like censorship, power, free will, addiction, the role of media). It is a dark novel that speaks of the degradation of our modern society. There are definitely a lot of strange, cringe-inducing, crazy, violent scenes, but if that doesn't deter you, give Lullaby a read. [4.5/5 High reread value because of its complex storyline and characters, and I'd like to re-experience it from the start knowing what I know now. Also made me want to read more of Palahniuk's superb writing.]