THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN: COMING HOME -- J. Michael Straczynski

Graphic Novel
Pencils: John Romita, Jr. Inks: Scott Hanna
Marvel Comics -- tpb
New York -- ©2001 -- 149pp
ISBN: 0-7851-0806-8

Spiderman faces his strongest, most impressive foe ever and uses brains rather than brawn to defeat his enemy.

I checked this out from my library because it helps me get my comic book "fix" to read an occassional graphic novel. My first reaction is that I am so incredibly under-impressed with the "style" of art in comic books/graphic novels today. I don't know if this style has been defined in any of the comic-related media, but I think of it as "comic book dwarfism" -- body parts, particularly heads, often larger than the rest of the body. While the coloring and inking might be better than that from the comics of the 70's-80's, they actually look less realistic to me.

Then there is the story. While moderately well-told, I couldn't help scoffing at the notion of yet ANOTHER foe, bigger, badder, stronger than anything Spidey has ever faced. How often can we keep coming up with new villains that are more villainous than anything before? The "twist" was that Spidey had to use his brains to defeat this one, and not his might. But what the heck was up with the other super freak? Where did he come from? Why did he die in such a pathetic manner?

Over-all pretty wimpy.

STAGGERFORD -- Jon Hassler

Ballentine Books -- pb
New York -- ©1974 -- 294pp
ISBN: 0-345-33375-6

Life in rural Minnesota is explored for one week, focusing on the events happening to one high school English teacher.

I really enjoyed reading this novel, it had a sense of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon. If it never achieved the status of Lake Wobegon mythos, it's because the writing is just slightly uneven -- enough to prevent it from reaching best-seller status.

It's also quite possible that I enjoyed this more because I live in a small town, not un-like Staggerford, and was able to identify each of the characters, whereas someone who can not relate might not enjoy this book quite as much.

Still, I highly recommend this book.

PEPPERLAND -- Mark Delaney

Peachtree Publishers -- hc
Atlanta -- ©2004 -- 184pp
ISBN: 1-56145-317-X

A young girl, trying to deal with the death of her mother, finds a letter that her mother wrote to John Lennon but never sent. The girl decides to get the letter to John Lennon herself.

This is a typical YA book, full of pathos, passion, and drama -- mostly ego centric. I don't care for this kind of book, but I understand it's place in YA literature. That in mind, this was a decent book. I enjoyed the attention the young girl had for music. The relationship she had with her friend (who may or may not be gay, it was never clear ... only that he kept insisting he wasn't)was off-beat and took away from the story, though I admit that it lended a sense of realism to the story (life doesn't wrap everything up neatly and friends are unpredictable).

I was wishing that she would be able to get the letter to John Lennon, but it seems more appropriate that she isn't able to do it.

A decent read for this sort of book. Recommended for all teen-age girls living a dramatic life.

SILENT NIGHT: THE STORY OF THE WORLD WAR I CHRISTMAS TRUCE -- Stanley Weintraub

The Free Press
New York -- ©2001 -- 206pp
ISBN: 0-684-87281-1

An account of the make-shift, impromptu truce between German and English soldiers on the front lines during World War I.

This was a very interesting magazine article that has been padded to make a book. I felt that I was reading the same material over and over but in slightly different ways.

The most interesting part of this book was the all-too-brief section that indicated that a young Adolph Hitler served in an area where peace broke out during the Christmas holiday and that he had little tolerance for it.

The idea for this book was interesting, but there really wasn't enough original material for a book length manuscript.

THE SECOND MRS. GIACONDA -- E.L. Konigsburg

Aladdin Paperbacks (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) -- tpb
New York -- ©1975 -- 138pp
ISBN: 0-689-82121-2

A story of Leonardo DaVinci, his servant Salai, and the events leading up to the painting of the Mona Lisa.

There are very few authors whose books I will seek out, but Konigsburg is near the top of my list. Everything I've read of hers has been slightly different, and certainly far from "traditional" in the YA genre.

Here Konigsburg offers up some "historical fiction" about Leonardo DaVinci. I rather like the way Konigsburg handles this -- while the book seems to be about the painting of the Mona Lisa, it really is about the events leading up to the how and why of the painting. In fact, we don't meet the woman who sits for the portrait until the very last sentance of the book. This makes complete sense to me because it offers explanation (without being exposition) as to how Leonardo captures the smile and the "inner" soul of the model.

The drawback to this, of course, is that there really needs to be an understanding, on the part of the reader, who/what the Mona Lisa is, and why the painting is famous. Without this knowledge, and without, perhaps, some classroom study, the average reader most likely isn't going to understand what the books leads up to and why it ends just as we meet the title character.

Not my favorite Konigsburg book, but I'd still take a less-than-her-best Konigsburg over most other writers any time.

Recommended.

GILEAD -- Marilynne Robinson

Farrar, Strauss and Giroux -- hc
New York -- ©2004 -- 247pp
ISBN: 0-374-15389-2

An old man, a minister, writes a long letter to his very young son.

I struggled to keep my attention with this book. I had looked forward to reading this as it was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2005, but was certainly under-whelmed by it.

Some very nice themes going here, which certainly helped it to win the prestigious prize, but I felt that the telling of it droned. The old man's "voice" was very one-note and it demanded attention to focus on what he was saying. Often I wasn't willing to give that attention because I didn't feel interested in what he was saying.

That the book was a looked-for, oft-requested best-seller doesn't surprise me. Many people buy books in mob mentality. That it won the Pulitzer doesn't surprise me, either. It's weighty themes and slow style seem tailor made for major book prizes. What will surprise me is if this book is remembered or studied even a decade from now -- if it becomes the "classic" that the booksellers promote it as.