Same Kind of Different as Me
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Jennifer
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Aug 07, 2007 09:40PM

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i've been meaning to check out AYA (see my to-read/s) for a minute now...

I hope that other folks will add titles and authors so we can start building a list. So, please feel free to contribute! Thanks, Vanessa.





Underground hip-hop icon Percy Carey, a.k.a. M.F. Grimm, tells the true story of his life in the game, from dizzying heights to heartbreaking losses, in this raw, brutally honest graphic novel memoir.



Well, there's a fairly plausible theory that the final layer of authorship of HoL was Johnny Truant's mother, compiling the entire thing in the Whalestoe Institute between letters to her son, which could make some of inconsistencies and errors meaningful and intentional. But I haven't read it in a couple years. Which errors were you referring to, Melissa?

There are, however, some truly scary moments in this book.

That's interesting, Nate. I've also seen somewhere (probably here) a theory that Johnny Truant is merely a character created by Zampano.
My own theory of the storylines is admittedly haphazard, due to my lack of knowledge about so many of the things referenced in the book, but it goes something like this:
So many of Zampano's references and footnotes in the story are of course erroneous, or just plain false, because he was merely inventing them to give some credence to the "myth" he was creating; the myth of "The House" films/Navidson Record - using the whole of his own vast accumulated knowledge and experience to weave the story (his personal legacy) he could leave for someone to discover. His need to leave a legacy (in the form of the House "myth") becomes his obsession.
What exactly he was trying to explain in this "myth" is kind of complicated, but in the hands and head of Johnny it represents some sort of truth that he has to face about the world, the inescapable past and the uncertainties (or dismal certainties) of the future (both for himself and mankind as a whole).

I've been revisiting the book a bit since I made that last post. At the moment, I'm leaning towards authorship being irrevocably ambiguous, but it not mattering so much since the three candidates are all interconnected and telling basically the same story. It's the one summarized by Zampano's poem on pg.563 that contains the title (one of three or four parallel meanings) and begins: "Little solace comes
to those who grieve." Especially if we're looking for Zampano's intentions for the story: he alludes to an estranged son a few times, and the core myth seems to be about Navidson almost letting his household sink into the infinite abyss of his regret and self-doubt over Delial.
Or that's one of the themes/interpretations, at least.

Conversely, another theme I see in his story of Navidson (also paralleled by Johnny's tale) is the sense that we are all still prisoners of a history we can't escape no matter how far we flee. Whether it's a result of our own choices(as in Navidon's momentous encounter with Delial) or not (the experiences of Jamestown, Williamsburg, even reaching back to the creation of the earth itself as illustrated by the meteorite/mineral information); that feeling of the inevitable - made even more apparent by Johnny's biological history (the threat of inheriting the schizophrenic condition that infected his mother).
Personally, I believe that geographical location plays an important part in the stories, with California (west, home to both Zampano and Johnny) physically representing that sense of impermanence; and the location of "the house" in Virginia (as well as Johnny's quest back east) representing a history that threatens to devour.



I would say that, similar to the "the water heater's on the fritz" and it's following pages of footnotes, the contradictions come in Johnny's own attention to detail. His refusal to go back and edit the earlier ones makes sense as - much like the movie Memento - some of the point is for us to learn what he learns as he learns it. therefore, if there aren't contradictions, we can't see his frustration and the work becomes considerably less interesting.
Only my opinions, though.





The Kitchen Help is very good! Also Little Bee offers a look at life outside the USA for people of color. Of course Fireflies in December is a classic for a reason...great read!


I tottally agree, Rhona.


YES SIRREE!