Sula

 Sula by Toni Morrison (1973) 174 pages

I previously listened to Morrison's Beloved, but didn't grasp much of what it was trying to say. When The Atlantic published a "The Great American Novels" list in 2024 including Sula, I decided I should read another of Morrison's books. I'm from Ohio too. Medallion, Ohio is a fictional town, but I read it could be based on Lorain, Ohio to the west of Cleveland where Morrison grew up. Morrison explores the social changes in a black community called the "Bottom" between 1919 and 1965. There is a good bit in the beginning and end of the novel that does not focus on the title character, Sula. Instead, we meet Shadrack, who is a traumatized WWI veteran. He cannot readjust to living in "normal" society. Morrison's descriptions of the community are vivid. She then traces the lives of four women that are central to the relationships of the "Bottom." Eva is a mysterious figure who has a promiscuous daughter named Hannah amongst many other children. Hannah is the mother of Sula, who dies when Sula is still young. We spend quite of bit of time getting to know Sula and her friend Nel, but also Sula leaves for ten years for college. After college, Sula passes through many big cities, but is unable to find a man that she feels really connected to, so she returns to the Bottom. There is no straightforward plot, but a loose set of occurrences that resist simplistic notions of heroes or villains.

Another selection of graphic novels read in Apr.

Planet of the Apes: Visionaires by Dana Gould, adapted from Rod Serling's scripts, with art by Chad Lewis (2018) 112 pages

I love the original Planet of the Apes movie and Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. Based on the first couple drafts of Rod Serling's script, this adaptation is fascinating. You can clearly see what stayed the same and what changed through other writers altering the final production script. I really enjoyed the art here. I liked the larger role for Dr. Zira. The ape city, the fact that they drive vehicles, and fly helicopters is closer to Pierre Boulle's description in the novel. Cornelius is introduced much later, his archeological dig is similar, but it would have required a much higher budget for the movie to bring it to life like illustrated here. The action, the twists and turns, all stunning. I appreciated the design notes at the end.

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf (2020) 280 pages

I went to Kent State for grad school in the early 2000s. Wanted to read this before we reach May 4 this year. It is an event we should never forget. Backderf did a ton of research to present the truth. He explains his sources and sites them all in detail at the end. I've seen some short films about the event and the aftermath on campus and off campus. This is full of background details that bring the days leading up to the event to life in a way none of the filmed interviews do. Bill, Allison, Sandy, and Jeff (the four who would end up dead) are alive on the pages of this graphic novel. The culture and the history of 1970 is vividly explained. "There are, incredibly, five law enforcement agencies working on or around campus in 1970." They are afraid of local radicals and are constantly assuming complete lies warrant using more force. The Ohio National Guard, when called in, are mismanaged, create a lot of tension with students, and are also letting false hearsay ramp up their fear. Then the horrific tragedy of May 4 is tracked with intricate detail. Every fact that is known is presented. It is violent and heartbreaking. In the aftermath it feels as if justice has never been served because of the silence and denials of the National Guard.

X-Men: Days of Future Past by Chris Claremont with art by John Byrne (1981) 184 pages

Many of the stories have little bearing on the two part Days of Future Past. Elegy involves Cyclops reciting memories of past X-Men adventures at Jean Grey's funeral. A clips episode with Cyclops leaving and Kitty Pryde arriving. Nightcrawler's Inferno gives backstory on Nightcrawler, but is really for fans of Dante's Inferno. Doctor Strange helps four of the X-Men as they face the challenges of the different levels of hell. Pretty exciting, but didn't love the religiosity. Something Wicked This Way Comes is about Kitty training and Wolverine and Nightcrawler going to Canada. They meet up with a version of superhero team Alpha Flight and fight Wendigo. This spans two issues. Then Days of Future Past holds a lot of promise as a concept with older Kitty Pryde's mind going back to younger Kitty Pryde's body to try to prevent the political disaster that leads to a dystopian future. I can't believe this only spans two issues. Some excitement with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but I was let down by the way it ended. Then a Christmas issue with a Demon (that reminds me of the Brood) attacking Kitty alone at the mansion is tacked on. Life and death challenge has some good moments, but has no continuity with previous time travelling adventure.

Next-Door Nemesis

Next-Door Nemesis by Alexa Martin (2023) 338 pages

Collins Carter, a native Ohioan, is living back in her childhood bedroom after a tumultuous breakup with Peter, her boyfriend in Los Angeles, after he took a script she had been working on for years and sold it as his own. She was enraged. A neighbor in LA filmed her as she was vandalizing Peter's car while sob-singing, wearing high heels and a silk robe. The video went viral, pretty much assuring her of being blacklisted in the industry.

When she finally reappears in public in her Ohio subdivision, she's blind-sided again, this time by Nate, one of her best friends from childhood, who had suddenly unfriended her in high school. Now he's a realtor and also sits on the board of the neighborhood's homeowners' association. They spar often, especially after Nate gives Collins a citation for planting a tree in her parents' yard without getting approval from the homeowners' association. This means war! She decides to run for president of the association, an office he is also running for. It's a humorous hate-to-love story with a cast of colorful characters, including Ashleigh and Ruby from high school, as well as Collins's parents and myriad nosy neighbors.

Horrorstör

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix (2014) 243 pages

What if a large store with a huge winding showroom - say a store that's similar to an Ikea - was haunted? What if the store manager, whose store keeps having incidents of damage over the night hours, wants to find out what's going on, and tasks the deputy store manager to carry out a quiet investigation before the head honchos from corporate headquarters come to find out why this location has such high losses? Well, that's what Horrorstör is all about.

The book itself looks like an Ikea catalog, with the beginning of each chapter advertising a piece of furniture, dimensions included. The store is called Orsk.

Basil, the deputy store manager meets with two employees to ask them to stay with him and patrol the store from 10 pm that night until 7 am, to see if they can figure out what's going on, since security cameras have not recorded any of the vandalism. Ruth Anne is 47 years old, a longtime cashier who treats everyone well. Amy is 24 and somewhat miserable; life is not turning out as she'd hoped. She despises Basil, who is the embodiment of the Orsk culture, and she is afraid that he is close to firing her. The story is told from Amy's point of view.

Amy and Ruth Anne agree to stay for the night shift, especially when enticed with double pay. By the time 11:30 pm rolls around, some strange things are starting to happen. A couple other employees have snuck in with cameras and electronic equipment to track ghosts. Need to stop here to avoid being a spoiler, but both the front and the back covers show this horror story is encased in a framework of dark humor.

 

Outsider

Outsider by Linda Castillo, 320 pages

On the run from the crooked cops she works with (and who framed her for murder, among other things), Gina Colorosa can think of only one person to turn to: her former roommate Kate Burkholder, who is chief of police in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere Ohio. Unfortunately, before she reaches Kate, Gina gets caught in a snowstorm and ends up rescued by an Amish widower and his children, who are out on a sleigh ride. Thankfully, he knows Kate and pretty soon these two outsider women are snowbound with the Amish, attempting to sort out Gina's escape to safety before she's caught.

This wasn't a great book by any means, though it's also the twelfth in the Kate Burkholder series, so perhaps I would have appreciated it more if I'd read those first. But reading about a snowstorm as I'm sweating my way through July? That was a nice way to cool off. So there's that.

The Hollows

The Hollows by Jess Montgomery, 343 pages

Newly elected sheriff Lily Ross already has her hands full as a single mom, but when an old woman falls (or was pushed) onto a train in a remote part of Lily's jurisdiction, Lily suddenly finds herself tracking down the woman's identity, and getting swept up into a war against the racist women of her small community. Set in 1926, this historical mystery offers a peek at the racial and political climate of southeastern Ohio, including the Women's KKK, unionization and integration efforts at the coal mines, and the changing role of women during those years between WWI and the Great Depression. It's a fascinating story, with solid characters and a wonderfully twisty mystery. Yes, it's a sequel to Montgomery's The Widows, but you don't need to read that one to enjoy this one.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance, 257 pages.

Vance's paean to his family and the land they came from. Vance grew up in Jackson, Kentucky, and in Ohio, bouncing around between living with his mother and her series of boyfriends, and staying with, or at least seeking shelter with, his Mamaw and Papaw. Colorful and honest, it is a good story. Many of my coworkers have read and commented on this book, and it has received a lot of attention elsewhere. I liked it, thought it was excellent in parts, and I will just let what others have said about it stand in for my comments. The audio was capably narrated by the author.