Misc thoughts, mostly on books and TV shows...

[fajrdrako]

So here I am, off work and relaxing. What did I do yesterday? It felt as if I did almost nothing but nap - I'm blaming the flu shot for that, though it may just have been general exhaustion. Otherwise:

I read A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews. Excellent novel. It reminded me very much of A Catcher in the Rye in theme and tone, though the protagonist is a teen-age girl named Nomi, living in a Mennonite town in Manitoba. Nomi's mother and her sister have taken off to parts unknown. Nomi has rebelled against religion and hates the town, but has nowhere else to go, so she stays with her beloved but frustrating father, hardly looking forward to a future working at the chicken slaughterhouse.

The theme of the novel is how religion can destroy families and lives - which makes the book sound more depressing than it is, but the theme is strong, and though its structure is odd - Nomi's musings are seldom chronologically ordered - the last chapter is particularly strong, in concept, action and resolution. I was reminded of comments I'd just read on Ursula Vernon's web page where she describes her reaction to Christianity as demonstrated by her painting The Angel of Babylon II:

At one point, I cornered James in the kitchen and announced "I think...I've realized...that I'm still pissed at Christianity."

Rather than fall to his knees gasping in dismay, he gave me a long-suffering look and said, "Aren't we all?" Wise man. I'd hoped to be beyond such a point--it's so...y'know...adolescent rebellion weenie. But, there I was, muse riding me, art stylus in hand, and...angst. Well.

I watched television. Three episodes in a row of Veronica Mars - yeah, I'd been falling behind, must have something to do with this Torchwood and Doctor Who obsession. I watched Veronica Mars episodes Hi, Infidelity, Of Vice and Men, and Lord of the Pi's. Wonderful stuff, and painful for the story to stop where it stopped. Excruciating, in fact. Enjoyed the stuff about Keith and Harmony (ironic name!), but whatever happened to Wallace's beautiful mother?

Then: Heroes, this week's episode Homecoming. It featured Peter and Mohindar fairly fully, which is good, because they are my favourite characters - along with Hiro, whom we hardly saw. Well, you can't have everything. I liked the football-playing boy in Mohindar's dreams, and the way he was as ambiguous as oracles always are. Several of Isaak's paintings fulfilled their prophecy (wonderful!). I don't find the storyline about Niki/Jessica and her family very interesting, and I don't know why not, since I like all the characters there, especially Micah.

A question about Heroes: before the show started I read that it was going to feature 'several gay characters' as heroes. But so far the only character who seems to be described as gay is Zack, who is a peripheral character at best, and not very impressive till this episode - though I loved his speech to Claire about being yourself - "I know who I am. I like who I am. And I like who you are. I just wish you liked who you are." But aside from Zack, it's just like most other American TV shows, where anyone could be slashable but none of it is canonical. Or am I missing something?