4月 08

EL本棚紹介(31) X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga, by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Terry Austin

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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You have probably seen a Marvel Comics movie or two. The Avengers, Spiderman, Captain America…but some of the oldest Marvel movies were about the X-men. X-men are mutants: people born with superpowers. In many X-men stories, the mutants represent minorities, and the comic is an allegory (寓話) for racism, anti-LGBTQ prejudice, etc. The Dark Phoenix Saga is not about a specific social issue, but it does ask questions about justice and the legal system.

The story is actually quite simple. Before this story starts, “X-man” Jane Grey gained godlike superpowers. Now, a psychic mutant is tricking her into using those powers for evil, and the other X-men have to save her. But what can (or should!) they do when she accidentally destroys an entire planet and billions of alien people?

My two cents: Unlike the Batman comics I have introduced before, Marvel comics assume you have read many comics already and know the characters and their histories. I think this will be a challenging book for you, but there are some really interesting points: (1) the art style is representative of the Silver Age of American comics, and is worthwhile just to look at, and (2) there are lots of accents, slang, and other kinds of speech that you might enjoy experiencing.

4月 08

EL本棚紹介(30) Gotham High, by Melissa de la Cruz

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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Keywords: comic book, superhero, crime

To many people, American comic books = superhero comics. Batman and Superman have been part of US popular culture for a century, and their popularity is only increasing. But how do you keep these characters interesting for so long? How do you keep coming up with new stories? Gotham High is one example.

This comic reimagines the world of Batman as a high-school drama. Of course, you don’t need to know anything about Batman or superheroes to read Gotham High: it is a regular detective story about kidnapping, attempted murder, and lots and lots of money. There are no superheroes and no superpowers. There is just billionaire Bruce Waine (Batman) and his peers Selina Kyle (Catwoman), Jack Napier (the Joker), Harvey Dent (Two Face), etc. If you already know some of these characters, it just makes the story that much more interesting.

My two cents: This is a decent mystery story with a twist ending, but you might be interested in the high-school slang and SNS usage, too.

2月 18

EL本棚紹介(29) Locke & Key: Volumes 2 & 3, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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These two volumes continue the story begun in Volume 1, “Welcome to Lovecraft,” so you should read them in order. As a reminder, Locke & Key is about a family living in a haunted mansion and struggling with the trauma caused by the violent murder of the father, as well as many mysterious secrets and supernatural happenings.

In vol. 2, “Head Games,” the family discovers a new magical key. This key can be used to open up your head so that you can add and remove memories. While this starts out as fun and games—using it to cheat on school tests—things take a darker turn when the sister uses it to remove her paralyzing fear. This volume contains some time travel and changing identities, and while it is a very interesting read, it is intended to be confusing even for a native speaker. It will be a challenge, but a worthwhile one, I think.

In vol. 3, “Crown of Shadows,” the mother’s reaction to her trauma is brought center stage as her children confront her about her alcoholism and deteriorating parenting skills. The sister pursues clues to learn about her late father, endangering her life and the lives of her friends. The series villain attacks the house directly, searching for another mysterious key and attacking the children with shadow monsters. Compared with vol. 2, this is a much more straightforward story with no time travel. It is much easier to read but relies on knowledge from the previous issue.

My two cents: If you really liked vol. 1, these two books are well worth reading. It’s okay to be confused, too: just enjoy the atmosphere and the mystery.

2月 18

EL本棚紹介(28) Stray Bullets Volume One, by David Lapham

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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Sometimes stories can leave us with lots of questions. We might think about why the characters did what they did. We might think about what will happen next. Stray Bullets offers a series of connected short stories that you will not only read, but keep thinking about after you are done.

These stories are all tragedies. They involve drugs, crime, and violence. Some of the characters are scary psychopaths—they will hurt others for fun. But other characters are driven to violence by strange circumstances. Or, circumstances not so strange—a family with an absent father, a girl being bullied at school, a mother frustrated with her children.

My two cents: If you don’t mind a bit of violence, I think these stories offer a quick and compelling read.

2月 18

EL本棚紹介(27) Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, by Alison Bechdel

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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Fun Home is Alison Bechdel’s epic memoire. It is the story of her growing from child to young adult, her relationship with her family, and her father’s apparent suicide. It is the story of the crazy old farmhouse she grew up in and the “fun home” (funeral home) her family owns. It is also the story of her discovering her identity as a lesbian.

Bechdel writes with a lot of humor, and the story goes by quickly. On the other hand, both she and her father both describe their lives through literature. Much of the wit and humor of this book leans on readers knowing a bit of writers like James Joyce, Marcel Proust, and Henry James. Bechdel’s vocabulary is also sophisticated, meaning that at times it may be a difficult read.

Warning: Although there are no scenes of violence, suicide is a major theme in this story.

My two cents: In the beginning, it seemed like the father was simply a villain. As I read, however, I was intrigued as he morphed from a plain villain into Oscar Wilde, then into Nixon and something with greater secrets.

2月 18

EL本棚紹介(26) All-Star Superman, by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, and Jamie Grant

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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Everyone knows Superman. If you want to know about American culture, you have to know a little about Superman. He was born on the planet Krypton, came to Earth as a baby, and grew up to protect the innocent from evil villains. He can fly, shoot heat lasers from his eyes, is super strong, and cannot be hurt by almost anything. Everyone on Earth loves Superman because he is a symbol of what how great humans can be.

So, what happens when Superman gets cancer? What happens when he only has 12 months to live? That is the basic idea behind All-Star Superman. These 12 short stories each tell about a different adventure Superman has before a special disease(?) takes over his body. It is a famous comic book, and there are some really nice stories in it. However, I think some of the stories might be confusing because they are full of characters you are expected to know from other comics already.

My two cents: I recommend just finding one “chapter” that looks interesting and reading it first. Most chapters are full stories in themselves, and they are not very long. If you like it, you can always read more.

1月 27

EL本棚紹介(25) The world of Edena, by Moebius

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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This book is the story of Stel and Atan, two space travelers who discover a mysterious pyramid. The pyramid transports them to Edena, a paradise world. They have many adventures there as they give up technology and adapt to living in nature. There are connections to the story of Adam and Eve in Eden (楽園), but instead of Paradise Lost, it’s more like Paradise Rediscovered. And there are lots of weird aliens, monsters, and future human civilizations.

Edena is a beautiful book. It may take you a little time to get used to the art style. But after a few pages, you will be sucked into its weird, beautiful world. It may even seem familiar: Miyazaki Hayao calls this book a strong influence on Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. You should definitely take a look at it!

Note: The first full chapter and the beginning of the last chapter have a lot of fake fantasy/science fiction words. Don’t get scared: keep reading, and the story becomes much easier to understand.

My two cents: You would never believe that this story started out as a card advertisement! It’s an amazing journey, and I highly recommend it.

1月 27

EL本棚紹介(24) The Contract with God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenie, by Will Eisner

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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Most stories are about people. This is a book about a place: Dropsie Avenue in the Bronx, New York, mostly in the 1930s during the Great Depression (大恐慌). Eisner has written three heartfelt “graphic novels” about the communities and changing face of the place where he grew up. The writing is also full of “world Englishes,” reflecting the diverse cast of characters.

“The Contract with God” is a series of short stories about a Jewish immigrant and his neighborhood. “A Life Force” is one long story about a carpenter trying to find the meaning of life by asking: How am I different from a cockroach? Finally, “Dropsie Avenue” is a history of the neighborhood. It tracks the waves immigrants and their conflicts with each other: from Dutch to English, Irish, German, Italian, Spanish, Jewish, and African American. Many of the details are fiction, but heart of all of these stories rings true.

My two cents: Don’t be scared by this thick book. You don’t have to read it all! I suggest skipping the introduction and reading a few of “The Contract with God” short stories, but all three novels are excellent!

1月 27

EL本棚紹介(23) My Brother’s Husband, by Gengoroh Tagame

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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Yaichi is a single parent living with his daughter Kana. His twin brother moved to Canada and married a man there, Mike. Now, the brother is dead, and Mike is coming to visit Yaichi for the first time. The story plays out how you might expect: at first, Yaichi is uncomfortable with Mike’s sexuality and how he reminds him of his brother. Kana accepts Mike without a second thought. Mike is caring and quickly becomes part of the family. And because this is a Japanese manga, each chapter is a short story that you can read easily on its own.

Maybe you will be surprised by Yaichi’s rejection of Mike. But what makes this story effective, I think, is how realistic it feels. Yaichi is not a bigot. He is not openly homophobic. However, when the abstract idea of “a gay person” becomes concrete when he meets Mike, he is forced to really think about what that means. By explaining Mike to Kana, he is really learning for himself.

My two cents: Gengoroh Tagame is a prominent gay manga artist, and he does not draw from a stereotypical “heteronormative” perspective. It is quite different and maybe surprising to read a manga where male bodies are drawn in the way women often are!

12月 17

EL本棚紹介(21)This One Summer, by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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Every year, Rose and her family go to Awago Beach for the summer. Every year it is a fun escape from school, work, and responsibility. But this year is different.

This One Summer follows several storylines from Rose’s perspective. One is about her mother’s recent miscarriage and the strain it puts on her parents’ relationship. Another is about the local teenagers and the drama that occurs when one of them accidentally gets pregnant. Another is the relationship between Rose and her summer friend Windy as they with grow up and grow together and apart. This involves experimenting with rated-R scary movies, talking about sex, and trying out adult language together. Filling in the details that Rose cannot see—about her parents, the teenagers, and especially Rose—is one of the things that drew me back to this book.

My two cents: Although this is a thicker book, there are very few words per page. Reading it is like a long summer vacation: you can slowly enjoy the pictures of the beach in between bursts of action and conversation.