“The Correspondent” is a masterfully and elegantly written novel about a woman I don’t think I would enjoy knowing. Taking place when the subject is elderly and written in the form of letters sent and received by her, her personal and family history are gradually and skillfully revealed, including the events that have shaped her life, personality, and her many regrets.

The idea of writing a novel in the form of letters is not new but author Evans elevates this form through a skillful mix of wit, pathos, drama, and tragedy. Sybil, the main character, now in her 70s and situated in a comfortable Annapolis home with a view of water, controls through her letter writing what she wants others (and us readers) to know about her. That control by itself helps us learn how others—including the reader—perceive her. That includes not only the people she encounters in the course of her career but members of her own family and her few current-day friends.

There are many “life lessons” one can take from reading this book. Perhaps the simplest and most direct is to pay attention to the feelings of others and to resist the temptation, especially when one is younger, to view everything in life through the lens of one’s own ambition. And when bad things happen, don’t be afraid of reaching out to others with honest sharing. Otherwise one might end up in old age, like the main character of this book, realizing that making up for lost time cane difficult.

NOTE: While I often use ChatGPT for work (chiefly research and analysis associated with client business development) I occasionally use it in connection with my book and movie reviews. In this case I finished reading this novel this morning, wrote the review out in longhand, scanned the two pages of writing, and uploaded the.pdf file to ChatGPT with the prompt, "please convert this handwritten book review into an editable text file." The immediate response was a text file that I copied into Squarespace, where I made minor edits and uploaded a copied image of the book cover. Since do a lot of writing via longhand and a fountain pen, the ability to generate an editable text file directly from the scanned handwritten file has proven to be a big timesaver.

Review copyright (c) 2026 by Dennis D. McDonald

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This novel picks up where The Three-Body Problem left off. Earth knows it will be invaded in 400 years and must prepare, despite the ever-present “sophons” that monitor and suppress technological developments that might enable Earth to defend itself.

The story follows several key figures over centuries (made possible by a process of “hibernation”) as humanity prepares for the coming invasion. This novel is less technology-driven than the first, but it still delivers powerful emotional blows that deepen the reader’s sense of dread about what lies ahead.

There are nevertheless plenty of high-tech ideas to satisfy any hard science-fiction fan, especially in the vivid descriptions of Earth’s mighty space armada. The novel also tackles weighty cosmological and philosophical questions, particularly the “dark forest” problem and its implications for interstellar communication.

I remember being blown away by the first novel’s depiction of harnessing the sun as a tool for interstellar communication; we get much more of that here, presented in ways that genuinely surprised me.

I do have one complaint: this novel does not offer quite the same level of strong character development found in the first book. The focus here is far more on the sweep of time and events, even though several characters from the original novel do carry through.

In summary, my reactions to the two novels are different, with the second feeling more like a “slow burn” extension of the first. Still, the concepts explored here are profound—and deeply unsettling—in how they confront the question of humanity’s survival.

Review copyright © 2026 by Dennis D. McDonald

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There is a short list of writers whose thinking I greatly respect: Dante Alighieri, George Orwell, Umberto Eco, Barry Lopez, and Hannah Arendt.

This brief biography offers a thoughtful account of how Hannah Arendt’s thinking evolved over time, beginning with her upbringing in prewar Europe and continuing through her life after coming to the United States with other European Jews to escape Hitler and the deprivations of World War II.

Arendt’s views on totalitarianism and the evils of Nazism were complex and deeply nuanced. Her work first came to my attention through Antisemitism: Part One of The Origins of Totalitarianism in which she examined the political, social, and economic precursors to the rise of European fascism in the twentieth century.

Some short biographies merely skim the surface of their subject’s life. This one engages meaningfully with the intellectual foundations of Arendt’s work. It. helps explain, especially for armchair historians like myself, how Arendt arrived at her thinking and how it developed over time.

As a result of reading it, my list of books to tackle next now includes her controversial Eichmann in Jerusalem.

Review copyright © 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald.

More on ANTISEMITISM

What begins as a sympathetic portrayal of adolescent estrangement gradually evolves into a story of budding friendship—but that friendship is not all it seems. The narrative takes an unexpected turn toward fear and, eventually, genuine terror.

That’s a lot for a graphic novel aimed at young readers, but Brosgol handles it skillfully given the range of themes she explores: the annoying younger brother, the “out-of-it” yet loving old-world mother, the tension of cultural difference (Anya’s family is from Russia), the protagonist’s concern about her appearance and social standing at school, and her growing desperation for friendship—even when that “friend” turns out to be a ghost.

Reading the author’s biography and exploring her website is an impressive experience. Anya’s Ghost, published in 2011, is beautifully illustrated and printed, and its emotional realism shines through the stylized art. I’ve already put more of Brosgol’s books on reserve at our local public library.

Yes, Virginia, there was a time when smartphones and constant internet access were not part of everyday life—but I don’t think modern readers will have any trouble identifying with Anya’s struggles and situation.

One jarring element is the book’s casual depiction of adolescent smoking. I assume Brosgol drew on her own experiences to portray teenage rebellion, but the scenes are unsettling for anyone aware of the associated health risks.

Review copyright © 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald

AI-generated summary: James L. Nolan Jr.’s Atomic Doctors tells the story of his grandfather, Dr. James L. Nolan, a physician who served at Los Alamos and witnessed firsthand the medical and moral challenges surrounding the creation and use of the atomic bomb. Through Nolan’s experiences—from developing early radiation safety protocols to assessing the human toll in Hiroshima and Nagasaki—the book exposes how scientific knowledge was often manipulated to serve military and political goals.

James L. Nolan Jr.’s Atomic Doctors: Conscience and Complicity at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age is both a personal and historical exploration of the moral and medical dilemmas that accompanied the birth of the nuclear era. The book focuses on the author’s grandfather, Dr. James L. Nolan, one of the first physicians recruited by J. Robert Oppenheimer to serve at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project.

Dr. Nolan’s initial duties centered on managing the Los Alamos hospital, but his responsibilities quickly expanded to include developing radiation safety procedures for laboratory staff—a field that was at the time in its infancy. Measurement techniques and understanding of human radiation tolerance were still evolving.

In 1945, Nolan was one of three Los Alamos staff members assigned to accompany atomic bomb components aboard the ill-fated USS Indianapolis on their secret journey to Tinian Island, th elaunching base for the B-29 attacks on Japan. . The mission’s secrecy was such that the men used false identities and regularly monitored radiation levels of the lead-encased plutonium core they were transporting.

After delivery, Nolan’s team developed radiation safety protocols for both military and civilian personnel preparing for the B-29 bombing missions over Japan. Following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Dr. Nolan was part of the first U.S. medical team sent to Japan to assess the devastation and study the human consequences of the attacks. It was then that the full horror of radiation sickness became undeniable. The distinction between immediate radiation from the blast and lingering radiation from fallout became a politically charged issue. General Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Project, downplayed or denied the long-term dangers of radiation exposure—at times even misrepresenting scientific findings in congressional testimony—to preserve the perception that nuclear weapons were both controllable and militarily justifiable.

Nolan’s work placed him at the center of an enduring conflict between medical ethics and military necessity. The book reveals that, even in the earliest years of the atomic age, scientists and physicians were aware of the uncontrollable and deadly nature of radiation—knowledge that was often suppressed or manipulated for political reasons. Accounts of fatal laboratory accidents, such as the “tickling the dragon’s tail” experiments that produced lethal blue flashes of radiation, underscored the grim risks that accompanied the Manhattan Project’s pioneering work.

As the book progresses, Nolan Jr. broadens his focus beyond biography and history to explore the moral and philosophical implications of technological progress itself. In later chapters he reflects on how scientific and medical advances—particularly those tied to military or political imperatives—can blur ethical boundaries. These sections, written in an academic tone, delve into sociological and philosophical territory that some readers — including me — may find abstract or jargon-heavy. Still, the author’s attempt to situate his grandfather’s story within larger questions about science, conscience, and power is admirable.

Reading Atomic Doctors left me with a deeper understanding of the ethical tensions at the heart of nuclear research. As someone who has long viewed the use of atomic bombs through both historical and moral lenses, I came away with mixed feelings that remain unresolved.

• From a World War II perspective, I still believe the bombings helped avoid an even bloodier invasion of Japan.

• Viewed from today’s standpoint, I would have preferred a demonstration detonation to warn Japan and the world without inflicting such catastrophic civilian suffering.

Ultimately, Nolan’s book succeeds in humanizing the scientists and doctors who stood at the intersection of medicine, technology, and war—and in reminding us how the pursuit of knowledge can become entangled with power, secrecy, and moral compromise.

Significantly, we are today seeing such moral questions already being played out as AI tools and techniques become intermingled with daily life in ways that we can’t really predict—or control.

Review copyright (c) 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald

More “Nuclear” Related Books

In this precursor to the animated series, we get a better introduction to Jenshi, the manager of the Emperor’s "rear palace” affairs. We see early on how he sets his sights on young Maomao not only because he sees the value of her intellect and medical skills (despite her low position) but also because he sees her, initially at least, as a toy to play with in his own intrigues.

This is a more nuanced perspective on Jenshi than the one we see in season one of the TV series, where his personality is presented initially as mysterious.

Stories aside, the artwork and character design in this black-and-white manga are impressive. Add to this the architectural detail of the interior and exterior views of the rear palace, along with the lovingly detailed costumes and flowing fabrics worn by the various characters, and we have a memorable volume one of this manga series. Here are the credits:

• Story by Natsu Hyuuga

• Art by Nekokurage

• Compiled by Itsuki Nanao

• Character design by Tuoko Chino

I’ve read three volums so far and am looking forward to more.

Review copyright 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald 

More Graphic Tales

There’s a category of fiction where the protagonist is placed in a mysterious or solitary situation, with surroundings and backstory hidden or revealed only gradually. What makes such works compelling is not just the slow unveiling of the character’s experiences, but also the imaginative interplay, over time, of the few things the character does know.

Hartman’s novel fits squarely into this category. It is a slow process of revelation and discovery, told from the perspective of a young woman imprisoned with 39 older women in an underground jail overseen by whip-wielding male guards.

The interplay between her fragmented memories, her emerging personality, and the constrained actions of the group is both fascinating and imaginative, and sometimes scary.

Then, one day, all the women are mysteriously freed. Their new existence and their travels turn out to be just as constrained and enigmatic as their captivity.

Some readers will speculate about the symbolism. For me the mystery itself was enough. The author’s gradual addition of personal details and how they interact and evolve is fascinating. Simply following the main character’s experiences and her evolving self-awareness provided more than sufficient depth and satisfaction for this reader. Recommended.

Review copyright 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald

More FICTION

This account of resistance to the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline across West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina is a classic story of “the little guy versus the machine.”

Here, the “little guy” is represented by six individuals graphically profiled by the author, each connected to the land disrupted by the pipeline and engaged in grassroots efforts—ultimately unsuccessful—to resist its construction.

The stories, simply yet effectively told and illustrated, highlight the almost spiritual connection people have to their homes and the trauma caused when “outsiders” disrupt that connection for corporate, economic, and environmentally destructive purposes. It’s not a “feel good” story; it’s a “feel deeply” story. The author draws powerful emotional links between the land and the personal decisions made to protect it from destruction.

The book’s focus on the personal stories of anti-pipeline activists is both a strength and a limitation. On the one hand, it brings their struggles vividly to life. On the other, it makes no attempt to present the opposing perspective, such as the purported benefits of the pipeline. Critiques of capitalism and big government are common enough, but they gain weight here through the intensity of the personal narratives.

Still, it’s difficult not to sympathize with the six characters’ anti-pipeline views. Attempts to “both sides” complex and destructive issues often amount to a refusal to take a stand for fear of offending—an approach typified by recent milquetoast Washington Post Editorial Board editorials. Such neutrality frequently becomes tacit support for injustice, a prelude to the inevitable “I didn’t think a leopard would eat my face!” realization.

The rich and powerful may dismiss the individuals portrayed in Holler. They may also assume their financial resources will shield them from environmental collapse. But books like this remind us that environmental destruction cannot be ignored, no matter how insulated one believes oneself to be.

Review copyright 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald

Graphic Novels & Memoirs

This massive volume explains the critical roles naval power played on all sides in World War II. Kennedy weaves together how technology, strong personalities, economic and industrial resources, and even sheer luck all contributed to the eventual—and in his telling, inevitable—Allied victory.

By now, the rising importance of aircraft and aircraft carriers in World War II is well understood, especially how older doctrines centered on massive guns and battleships were overshadowed. Kennedy explains the forces that shaped these new resources between the wars and how post–World War I treaties and political sentiments influenced how England, the United States, Germany, Italy, France, and Japan prepared—navally—for the next conflict.

He also conveys the vast scale and distances involved in naval warfare during the war and demonstrates how aircraft carriers displaced battleships; Japan’s recognition of this shift was demonstrated all too clearly at Pearl Harbor.

One of the book’s great strengths is Kennedy’s use of numbers, tables, and charts, which he presents in clear and understandable ways, even in the audiobook version I’m listening to. Many history books are difficult to follow in a voice-only format, but Kennedy succeeds in making scale, size, and distances, especially in the Pacific theater, comprehensible.

My main criticism is the limited discussion of the human toll. Battles, ships sunk, bombs dropped, and planes lost are reported with precision, but the experiences of those who fought and died are largely absent. I realize this may not be the purpose of the book, but I hope the later chapters—still ahead of me—address this human dimension. Without it, accounts of warfare’s scale and scope feel incomplete, much as they do in other media when the human element is overlooked.

Finally, the book demonstrates how rapidly air power and aircraft carriers transformed naval warfare and how these changes were largely unanticipated by “old guard” admirals between the wars. As an armchair historian, I can’t help but wonder whether we are at a similar turning point today. Hypersonic missiles, drones, submarines, and other technologies may have already rendered aircraft carriers undefendable and obsolete. Protecting them against such weapons seems hopeless, no matter how much technology, money, or manpower we devote to creating defensive “shields” around them.

Review copyright 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald

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This history of the Fairchild A-10 "Warthog" is one of the most exhaustively detailed aircraft books I’ve read. It covers a lot—genesis, interservice rivalry (Army vs. Air Force), politics, competition, design and development, engineering, production, and deployment.

Many other aircraft-related books tend to focus on flying and operational details. This one dives into the nitty-gritty, including armament details, maintenance procedures, and the A-10’s extensive system redundancies. The book is replete with tables, charts, and photos. Unlike many others, it includes the names of ground personnel responsible for maintenance in the numerous photographs.

Some of the things I learned include:

• Close air support (CAS) in combat dates back to World War II. Lessons learned then contributed to the A-10’s design requirements.

• One reason for the A-10’s lengthy development was U.S. Air Force resistance to spending money on "low and slow" aircraft instead of "high and fast" ones.

• The Pentagon and congressional political wrangling described here are depressingly familiar. Still, the author seems to go out of his way to disparage congressional oversight as “meddling.”

• Many years ago, when I worked in Germantown, Maryland, I often passed the Fairchild facility in Hagerstown. Now I know what they did there!

• The author frequently mentions the Douglas Skyraider, another aircraft with a long service life—because nothing else could do what it did.

When all is said and done, the reader—no matter how enamored of aircraft and aeronautical history—must reckon with the vast technical, financial, and intellectual resources we devote to weapons of war. What folly it has been to think that developing ever more deadly and terrible weapons might somehow cause us humans to finally "wise up"!

Review copyright © 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald

Detective Kyoichiro Kaga is assigned to a Tokyo neighborhood filled with small businesses, many specializing in traditional or handmade Japanese goods. His task: to investigate the strangulation murder of a 45-year-old woman who, recently divorced, had just moved to the area.

Thus begins a densely plotted mystery as Kaga moves from shop to shop, asking seemingly random questions while slowly assembling the pieces of a crime that appears to have left no clear clues.

But this is Higashino, after all. As readers of his other mysteries know, his stories often hinge on seemingly unrelated details that—successfully, in this case—are intricately woven together in unexpected ways by the end.

I’m not usually a major fan of mysteries, but I’ve learned to trust that Higashino’s novels will not only be fiendishly well-plotted, but will also offer fascinating insights into Japanese culture. Recommended!

Review copyright 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald

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Mike Flanagan could really make a great movie out of this story!

As much as I enjoy Steven King's stories, I'm not really a big horror fan. But I have to make an exception in the case of the graphic horror novel Autumnal.

The entire package of the story is inherently creepy, despite its reliance on basic horror tropes (small town that's not quite as idyllic as it appears; mom trying to escape from our big city memories with her kid; people obviously hiding a nasty dark secret from the past; etc.)

What makes it work are the dramatic writing, stunning artwork, and amazing color. The story flows. Despite a few too many characters for all to be treated adequately, the main story and the central characters resonate effectively and realistically.

The further I got into the story, the more I thought, "Mike Flanagan could really make a hell of a movie out of this story!"

Knowledgeable horror fans might find a lot of this too recognizable. Readers seeking a more stable or realistic story might find its focus on the supernatural unconvincing. But I liked it. I'd like to find more stories done with such care and attention to character, detail, and imagery.

Review copyright 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald. 

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This biography of Beethoven (which I am still reading) is both entertaining and enlightening. I've listened to his music all my life, but I’ve never really known much about his development as a composer or his relationships with Mozart and Haydn, the giants of his day.

This highly readable biography does an excellent job of placing Beethoven not only within the musical environment of his time but also within the broader social, economic, and political challenges he faced. As his talent began to emerge, he gradually became recognized for his musical genius—initially through his piano playing.

What I find most impressive so far is not only the engaging and, at times, clever writing but also the author’s uncanny ability to bring Beethoven’s early compositions to life, even for a non-musician like me.

I’ll update this review as I continue reading.

Text copyright 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald

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This is a book about change, death, and dying. The human characters exist against the backdrop of an already vanished Old West, where the buffalo and beaver are gone, famous Indian battles are distant memories, and western myths are kept alive by shrewd entrepreneurs who stage "Wild West Shows," with real people reenacting cowboys-and-Indians drama.

The story follows a small group of aging characters who are trying—and in most cases, failing—to adapt to these changes. Some, like Calamity Jane herself, have friends but no visible means of support, and as a result, spend much of their time wandering or drinking. 

Fortunately, the friendships portrayed in the novel sustain the reader’s interest as we watch these characters trudge along, attempting—or often refusing—to adjust to a world that is shifting beneath their feet.

Some, like Calamity Jane, construct a world where, while they cherish memories of "the old days," they recognize that those days are gone. They feel lost but take comfort in the relationships they still have with their remaining friends.

Others, like Dora, retreat into domestic peace while longing for unattainable relationships and some form of security. Still others, like the old Indian No Ears, spend their days contemplating their connection to the people, places, and things around them—including the spirit world.

This is the first book by Larry McMurtry I've ever read. Friends insist I must read Lonesome Dove next. I'll add it to my list, of course, but I must say I have been very impressed with Buffalo Girls. It is certainly not a "traditional" Western—if such a thing even exists—but it does evoke a deep nostalgia for times, places, and people that may be gone but still echo into the present day. 

Review copyright © 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald

More “Western”

This disturbing graphic non-fiction book provides a personal and family perspective on one Jewish family’s growing up in pre-World War II Germany. It illustrates from the “inside” how the background of European racism, imperialism, and antisemitism converged in the Holocaust.

The author’s obsessive research into his family’s German background uncovers day to day details about how one wealthy Jewish German family thought at first they could be insulated from the increasingly government imposed anti-semisism.

They weren’t. They were eventually forced to flee, the details of which are heartbreaking as well as scary.

The steady drip drip drip of increasing antisemitism is effectively put into the context of Germany’s (and Europe’s) colonial past, but in a very personalized way.

Reading this graphic personal history puts a very recognizable spin on how memories alter over time and at least partially explains why some prefer to forget horrible details.

That we see such prejudices still on display throughout the world wherever an “other” can be identified and made the subject of fear and hate is one reason not only to remember but communicate such horrors to new generations.

Review copyright (c) 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald

More about ANTISEMITISM

A while back, I felt the urge to read more classics. I’m not sure why, but I settled on Dante—perhaps inspired by our family trip to Italy last year, where we admired Italian art masterpieces in Rome and Florence.

I consulted a friendly medieval scholar here in the U.S. and received several recommendations for Dante translations. I ultimately chose Musa’s The Portable Dante and ordered a copy from eBay.

I began reading one or two cantos from INFERNO per night. Wow. No wonder this is a classic. What a powerful work of imagination! The idea of populating hell with real people—including a pope—must have seemed scandalous at the time. Knowing a little about Italian history now, I can appreciate how vividly Dante exposes the political rivalries of his era. The hatred, competition, and personal animosities he describes are all too familiar, as are the graphic depictions of the consequences of doing evil.

I’m not sure what the Church was teaching about the afterlife during Dante’s time, but his vivid portrayals of eternal torment for different categories of sin are at times fiendish and at other times grimly amusing. Without further study, I can’t say how Dante’s vision of hell compares to those in Greek, Roman, or Asian mythology, but it seems carefully designed and purposefully created as allegories for his fundamental beliefs.

These beliefs may not perfectly align with the religious doctrines of his time, but they strike me as reflecting the mind of a mature, creative artist willing to debate and expand upon his own ideas. Even from a time so distant from his, this quality of intellectual exploration stands out as an enduring example of artistic brilliance. Will creative works from our own time endure as Dante’s has? I can’t help but wonder!

Review copyright 2024 by Dennis D. McDonald.

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Early in this novel, told from Queen Hera's perspective, the three Fates appear at Mount Olympus and deliver a prophecy and sacred oils to Hera as the other gods and goddesses look on:

 "… you are matrimony and motherhood, womanhood incarnate, and the breath of life itself."

Hera is puzzled by the prophecy:

 “I stared at the crones, my head filling with questions. Matrimony and motherhood. My heart warmed. Surely they meant safety and love?”

In the remainder of this novel, we learn that Hera, Queen of Heaven and sister/wife of mighty Zeus, is sadly mistaken if she believes that she is fated to experience an immortal life of "safety and love." Despite her exalted position at the right hand of Zeus, she experiences pain, cruelty, betrayal, and mistrust. She also finds herself along the way delivering pain and suffering to others.

Hera’s personality and moral sensibilities and core beliefs are unformed. After all, she sprang fully grown from the body of her father, a Titan, pulled out of his body by her headstrong brother Zeus. Her ideas about marriage and motherhood, despite her being the goddess responsible for these institutions, are naïve and lack detail. For example, when arguing with Zeus about his consistent and shameless lack of marital fidelity, his pointed rejoinder is, "Can you tell me, oh Goddess of Marriage, what the difference is between a wife, a concubine, a lover, and a mistress?"

She cannot answer the question. She can't articulate the differences. Her experience and upbringing have not equipped her to make such distinctions, despite her role as the Queen of Heaven.

While reading this book one must keep in mind it's being told from the perspective of a female goddess and not from the perspective of a male myth storyteller. It is frequently unsubtle in its depiction of male/female power dynamics. Even today Zeus is often pictured in popular media as a picaresque rogue and charming villain who happily uses his overwhelming virility and charm to bed goddesses and mortals alike. Here Zeus is portrayed as unrestrained in his lust and his willingness to wield his power over both gods and mortals, often with disastrous and deadly results.

Throughout this novel Hera is conflicted in how to deal with her situation. She has the power and devotion of a senior goddess. Yet she is treated like trash by her husband. He knows how to play on her emotional fragility and does so repeatedly.

Their complex relationship elevates this novel above its being just one more modern take on the trials and tribulations of the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series to see how Hera fares.

 Review copyright (c) 2024 by Dennis D. McDonald

More MYTHOLOGY and ANTIQUITY

The world of young people in Final Cut is one of exploration, old technology, obsessions with filmmaking and vintage sci-fi, and hanging out. Adults in this world are drunks, vagrants, or profane. The world is familiar and a place where imagination and dreams serve both as creative outlets and as escapes from the twilight zone of extended adolescence.

The story follows a small group over the course of several months. The main focus is Brian, a kid living with his alcoholic mom. He’s obsessed with drawing, old movies, and moviemaking. He frequently gets lost in his dreams--and his medication. He’s struggling as an artist. Red-haired Laurie is both drawn to and frustrated by Brian's quirks. Over the 240+ gloriously illustrated pages of this graphic novel, we follow the evolution of their relationship.

This is not the wistful "let's make a movie" world of Super 8. We catch glimpses of immediate reality. My initial reaction was, "Thank God I'm not young anymore," even as I marveled at the deceptively basic but stunning artwork. I found myself staring at some panels that seemed simple at first glance but that revealed increasingly complex layers of design and craft as I looked deeper.

Special praise goes to the book’s production quality. Manufactured in China for Pantheon Books, this oversized hardbound edition features heavyweight pages that beautifully showcase the eye-popping art. Kudos also to the Alexandria Public Library for adding Final Cut to its graphic novel collection!

Review copyright 2024 by Dennis D. McDonald

Graphic Fiction and Non-Fiction

This novel is a tour de force of storytelling. It masterfully combines fantasy, 19th-century voyages of natural science, and a subtle yet powerful rebellion against female repression.

Like the first novel in the series about the fictional "Lady Trent" and her journey to becoming a preeminent expert on the various species of dragons that coexist with humans, this installment is filled with realistic and detailed descriptions of dragon behavior and physiology. These details reflect a clever imagining of 19th-century geopolitics, long voyages of discovery funded by investors, and the struggles to understand the evolving sciences of evolution and natural selection.

Lady Trent is relentless in her pursuit of knowledge in a world where various kinds of dragons live alongside humans. Sometimes these dragons are treated with respect, while at other times, they are exploited by black marketeers who value their bones, feathers, or scales.

Are dragons related to birds? Are their wings truly "dragon-like"? Why do some dragon bones decompose rapidly when exposed to air? Can the lightweight yet strong structure of dragon bones be replicated through industrial chemistry?

These are just some of the questions that drive the plot as Lady Trent's world faces the challenges of mechanization and industrialization. To top it all off, she decides to take her nine-year-old son along on her voyage of discovery—a decision that will have significant consequences as the plot unfolds.

A special attraction of this book is the artwork by Todd Lockwood. His illustrations of various animal types are simply wonderful and more than make up for the unfortunate decision by the publisher, Tor, to print the hardback version of the book using a difficult-to-read light blue ink. The novel tackles a wide range of topics, exploring gender roles in surprising ways, as well as Lady Trent’s complex relationship with her son, whom she pretends at one point is not hers.

Review copyright 2024 by Dennis D. McDonald

Movies theat Feature Dragons

This is a well-researched and clearly written story about the man at the center of the late 19th century’s scandalous railroading of an innocent French Army officer for treason "because he was a Jew."

I put “because he was a Jew” in quotes since the author goes to great lengths to peel back the many layers of what that meant in the late 19th Century. He provides historic detail of French society at the time along with a description of the ongoing and gradual integration of Jews into French society after generations of outright discrimination.

Note the word “gradual.” What is clear about the historical record is that, even as late as 1895 through the early 1900s, hatred and mistrust of Jews in France was still loud and pronounced. Some newspapers took the lead against Dreyfus by trumpeting harshly and loudly antisemitic sentiments via stories, headlines, and cartoons. When he was returned to France for a retrial, anti-Jewish demonstrations and violence were nation-wide even though evidence against him had been fabricated.

The author does try to disabuse readers of the notion that the "Jewish community" in France turned its collective back on Dreyfuss. For example, he repeatedly challenges Hannah Arendt’s take on the lack of Jewish support as presented in books such as her Antisemitism: Part One of the Origins of Totalitarianism.

 While I’m no expert on this part of history, I think he's overly simplistic in his assessment of Arendt. Her perspective and range of perspectives I found to be breathtaking. Still, Samuel’s focus on Dreyfus does allow him to be balanced and even nuanced in his exploration of a complex and overly simplistic concept like “Jewish community.” Then as now there are many “communities” and Samuels does explore how different groups reacted differently to Dreyfus’ situation.

The author of this short book does not go into detail about why anti-Jewish sentiments were so broad. What's missing is discussion of the bizarre anti-Jewish beliefs and myths that exacerbated antisemitism. Reading Umberto Eco’s The Prague Cemetery or Will Eisner’s  The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion does provide some understanding of the deep seated and often very weird background to the railroading of Dreyfus. Another take on Dreyfus's situation is presented in Robert Harris' An Officer and a Spy, a fictional account of the Dreyfus affair told from the perspective of an officer investigating the case.

The author also attempts to relate the Dreyfus affair to the rise of Zionism, primarily through reference to newspaper editorials from several countries including the US. Given all the forces at play in explaining antisemitism and the various responses to it, it’s difficult to interpret Dreyfus and Zionism in terms of cause or effect, especially from our current point in history.

One value of this book is that it provides a nuanced view of Dreyfus. We learn about his upbringing, his personality, his education, and his bewilderment at his legal jeopardy. Importantly, the author explains how Dreyfus survived his incredible ordeal, only to face another round of dramatic and stressful retrial and public debate, along with disagreement among his family and advisors about how to proceed.

As I read this and the other books mentioned above I can’t help but become depressed at how deep-seated and irrational societal fear and hatred of “the other” are. This includes this book’s reported disdain of settled MIdwestern Jews in the US for the influx of Yiddish-speaking Eastern European newcomers. We see such similar circumstances in the current political climate here in the US where “immigrants” are the new “other” and therefor targets for politically inspired hatred and fear. Even if voters reject this, that hatred and fear will not soon disappear, just as anti-Jewish sentiments did not disappear in 20th Century Europe.

Review copyright 2024 by Dennis D. McDonald. Updated November 22, 2024.

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