Herman Melville & Janet Evanovich

In the previous post, I shared with you the three novels I finished last week. These were:

1) Omoo by Herman Melville,
2) Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich, and
3) Nova Classic: Volume 1 by Marv Wolfman.

Of the two literary novels on my list, the one that seems best suited to the values society prizes at the moment is last year's Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich. 

As women make up a larger percentage of readers than men, Tricky Twenty-Two seems ideally suited to today's market. This novel, as with all in the Stephanie Plum series, plays on the romantic triangle of heroine Stephanie Plum, her cop-boyfriend Joe Morelli, and her rich, handsome mentor Ranger with a mysterious past. It also offers up bucket-loads of humor. Yet, as the overall plot is structured around Stephanie's career as a bounty hunter, the books are shelved in the mystery section. According to a recent survey, conducted by the Sisters of Crime organization, sixty-eight percent of mystery readers are female. So it makes perfect sense that Janet Evanovich's novels about bounty hunter Stephanie Plum have sold so well, and made the author a household name.

I suspect it would be impossible to count how many books have been bestsellers throughout the centuries. Many of those celebrated authors are no longer known to contemporary readers. Some of those books may be available in print or online to varying degrees. Even more are most likely lost to history. Stories designed to slot into a desired category don't necessarily survive the passage of time. Will Janet Evanovich's books survive, to take their place alongside those of Herman Melville, Jane Austen, or H. G. Wells? Would Herman Melville's novels still survive, had later critics not revisited Moby Dick, and decided it was one of the most important novels of the nineteenth century? 

Who cares? And does that even matter? Janet Evanovich sells lots and lots of novels, whereas Herman Melville was forced to stop writing for a living, after Moby Dick failed to catch on with the readers of his day. One thing's for sure. As long as Janet Evanovich continues writing those entertaining Stephanie Plum novels, I'll keep reading them. But I'll also keep reading other novels, by authors long since gone, to remind me that great stories can be about contemporary tastes, demographics, and values.

To peruse the full list of what I've read this year, see the sidebar feature to your right labeled Books I Enjoyed in 2016.

Dragon Dave

Recent Reads & an Appearance by Stan Lee

Every Thursday on her blog, American Fantasy author Jane Lindskold hosts a conversation with a reader from New Zealand. Then, every Friday, she shares what books she's been reading lately. Last week's conversation covered how readers often judge older stories by contemporary values, and criticize such works if they fail to live up to current standards. On Friday, I shared with Jane Lindskold the novels I had read that week in her Comments section. Given their discussion, I thought it would be fun to judge these novels as critics might if they had been written today. 

1) Omoo by Herman Melville. (Published 1847) No strong female characters. Whaling Industry Employees stereotyped as layabouts and scoundrels. Assessment: Must be rewritten for today's diversity-conscious readers.

2) Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich. (Published 2015) Stephanie seems more capable than ever before. Her mother reveals herself as a kick-ass heroine. Morelli portrayed as weak and fragile. Conclusion: suitable for today's readers.

3) Nova Classic: Volume 1 by Marv Wolfman. (A graphic novel, made up of comics published in the 1970s). Early adventures of Nova, who gained his powers from the Nova Corps on Xandar, as shown in the recent movie "Guardians of the Galaxy." Bronze Age superhero fare in the tradition of Stan Lee's early Spider-Man stories. Sadly lacking in strong female superheroes, naked people, or characters with TV sets for heads. Warning: Reading Volume 1 could lead you to purchase Volume 2.

With regard to Nova, my remark regarding a lack of naked people, or characters with TV sets as heads, was intended as tongue-in-cheek. One of the books Jane Lindskold listed in her weekly reads was a graphic novel compilation of issues of Saga, a Science Fiction comic book series geared to adults. I read the first issue, and a few later ones, and didn't feel attracted to the story, let alone such outrageous character types. But others find value in  it. Not only is the series successful, but the first graphic novel compilation of Saga issues won the prestigious Hugo award in the Best Graphic Story category. 

Regular readers may remember my posts on Sam Alexander, the newest Human to bear the mantle of Nova on Earth. Sam is a fun character, created by author Jeph Loeb, and subsequent writers have preserved the young boy's charm. His adventures tug at the heart, as he seeks to defend Earth, find his father (a retired Nova who has gone missing), and keep up his grades in school. These stories, while original in themselves, build upon the stories contained in Nova Classic: Volume 1, in which Marv Wolfman introduced readers to High School student Richard Rider. 

When a dying Nova Corps agent arrives in Earth orbit, he transfers his powers to Richard. Like his successor, Richard would fight to defend his fellow Humans from super villains, preserve a family struggling financially, and keep up his grades. Unlike Sam, he had close friends, and when those friends were threatened, he used his powers to come to their aid. Also unlike Sam, Marv Wolfman created new villains to fight his new superhero. There's even one episode where Richard flies to the Marvel Comics office in New York, and tries to convince actual writers, artists, and production staff to portray his real life adventures in their comics. Who should ultimate axe this brilliant idea? No one other than Marvel's sunny Editor-in-Chief Stan Lee!

With its preponderance of male heroes, villains, and supporting characters, Nova Classic may not represent contemporary readers' hunger for strong, female characters. But it's a lot of fun, and shines a light on life in the 1970s. Unlike Saga, it features no nude characters, or people with TV sets for heads. But hey, it features special appearances by Marv Wolfman and Stan-the-Man Lee. And really, what could be better than that?

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries
Falling in Love with a New Nova: Part 1
Falling in Love with a New Nova: Part 2

Related Internet Links
Jane Lindskold's blog

The Christmas War

In the Janet Evanovich novel Visions of Sugar Plums, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is drinking coffee one morning when a stranger materializes in her kitchen.  Unlike Chris in the story “Miracle” by Connie Willis, this man is six foot tall, with an athletic body, long blond hair, and rugged good looks.  His name is Diesel.  While he introduces himself as the Spirit of Christmas, we eventually learn that his reason for being sent to Trenton, New Jersey involves more than just infusing Stephanie Plum with a dose of holiday cheer.  That is not to suggest that Stephanie could not use some help in dealing with the Christmas season.

Diesel finds no Christmas tree in her apartment: she doesn’t even own any ornaments.  Like Lauren’s friend Evie in “Miracle,” Stephanie complains that she doesn’t have the money or the time to truly celebrate Christmas.  She hasn’t sent out any cards, nor has she started shopping for presents, even though Christmas is four days away.  While she is too proud to admit this to Diesel, secretly she yearns to fully participate in the Christmas season.  She’d love to have a Christmas tree in her living room, a wreath on her door, red candlesticks on her kitchen table, Christmas music playing on her stereo, and her closet filled with wrapped presents for her family.  Instead:

“Every year I chased after Christmas, and every year Christmas barely happened.  My Christmases were always a mess of badly wrapped last-minute Christmas presents, a chunk of fruitcake sent home in a doggy bag from my parents’ house, and for the last couple years I hadn’t had a tree.  I just couldn’t seem to get to Christmas.”

I couldn't fit this tree
into my living room this year.

Some years I’ve been organized like Lauren in “Miracle,” mailed off my cards the first week of December, and purchased all my gifts for others well in advance of Christmas Eve.  Other years, like Stephanie, I haven’t even gotten around to decorating, my Christmas cards were sent off in a reactionary fashion (if at all), and gifts were barely purchased in time.  Some years I’ve felt like Chris in “Miracle,” that I could afford to just sit back, enjoy some eggnog, watch a Christmas movie, and enjoy the season.  Other years I’ve rushed about, desperate to mark all the items off the Must Do list like Lauren.  Yet each year had the same number of days (excepting one extra for leap years).  Nor did my preparedness (or lack thereof) and emotional state necessarily track with my work, family, and social demands.  What then made the difference in how I approached the holidays?

I grew up in a Protestant church, which followed the secular tradition that the Christmas season started on the day after Thanksgiving and ended on Christmas Day.  Later in life I discovered that Catholics, Orthodox, and Anglican Christians designate the four weeks leading up to Christmas as the Advent season, and view Christmas Day as the beginning of a twelve-day season that culminates in Epiphany.  These two traditions could not be more different: one sees Christmas as the end of a process, the other as the beginning.  

I’ve heard it said the historic Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung claimed that because Catholics lived the cycle of the church year, they were less neurotic than Protestants.  (Personally, I’ve never viewed myself as neurotic, but thanks for that insight, Carl!)  As Evie points out in “Miracle,” stress-related illnesses and suicides are more prevalent during the holidays than at any other time of the year.  Having practiced both approaches to the Christmas season, I can attest that each tradition has merit.  Advent not only acknowledges the tension that naturally arises with the end of any season or time period, but celebrates it.  “You’re facing stress arising from the imminent coming of Winter, the end of the year, and each year’s biggest celebration of life?” Advent asks.  “Great!  Embrace that apprehension: it’ll only make Christmas more enjoyable!”  Whereas the Protestant/Secular model argues: “Let us see the period leading up to Christmas as one of sharing love and joy with those whom we care about.  All of the stresses we face arise from our desire to express how much others mean to us.  So put up that tree, buy those gifts, hold Christmas parties, and enjoy Christmas now as we await the actual day of celebration and gift-giving.” 

"If you light it, they will come."

Each tradition has champions who will argue that their approach to Christmas is better.  The fact that we have two competing traditions illustrates the Christmas War that breaks out in our hearts during this season.  Christmas, coming at the end of the year, is a natural time to compare where we are now to where we were last year at this time.  At the same time, it signals the opportunity for the new beginning we all desire.  The Biblical story of God giving his son to the world serves as a metaphor for how much we would like to give those we love.  Yet, due to the constraints of time and money, the fragility or rigidity of interpersonal relationships and social mores, no matter how hard we try, it seems that we can never give them enough, or express to them adequately, how much they mean to us.  

Throughout the novel, Stephanie Plum will repeatedly try to do what she can to celebrate the Christmas season.  She will buy Christmas trees and presents for people, only to see them destroyed in any number of hilarious ways.  And yet, despite how all her attempts bomb, when Christmas finally arrives, it meets all the emotional and interpersonal needs she hopes it will address.  Our efforts may not be aided by a supernatural man who materializes in our kitchens and rescues us when our efforts fall short, yet one of the things I take away from the novel is that, as insane as her life is, at least Stephanie tries to celebrate the season and express her love to her family.  She doesn’t abdicate in the Christmas War: she keeps on fighting.  And because she tries (and tries, and tries), her efforts are rewarded.  

When Christmas comes, it can meet all our needs.

Whatever personal, family, and religious traditions you practice, I wish you success this year.  Whatever circumstances you find yourself in, may you fight your hardest to embrace the season, may you give your all for yourself and those you care for, and may you emerge victorious in the Christmas War.

Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich, is available from St. Martin’s Press.

Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis, is available from Bantam Books.

Previous entries on “Miracle” by Connie Willis 

True Humility For Christmas

Opening Our Eyes to the Miraculous

Saving the Environment at Christmas

Achieving Our Christmas Goals