Magenta's Adventures Underground: A Fable for the Police State

by Carol Lewis, Karen Lillis, Regine Polenz (Illustrator)

Fiction. Art. A tale of post-9/11 New York: A costumed maid (Magenta) comes upon a feral menagerie playing an ominous game ofchess in a subway station; she keeps going deeper into the city from there. In her travels, Magenta meets evidence of wars and destruction that predate 2001--a rat speaks of the horrors of urban displacement, an Iraqi pigeon begs on the A train for American mercy, a group of Vietnam Vets welcome her into their serene underground grotto. All the while, this macabre fable dares to imagine beyond conflicts and wonder about possibilities of compassion that the future could have in store.

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Karen Lillis]

"Originally serialized in New York Nights, this short novel is a lovely, surreal version of Alice, set in the subways of Manhattan with sex, veterans, and ghosts of war tossed into the mix. Regine’s art reminds me a bit of Emily Hubley’s early work. Which means it’s good, too."
~~BULL TONGUE by Byron Coley & Thurston Moore, from Arthur No. 25 (Nov. 2006)