The Springheel Saga

Back when I was a kid, my brother and I had this old tape-recorder which we would use to record ourselves. I can't really recall what we put on those tapes; mostly it was just nonsense, but I do recall that I had this idea to make a longer story of sorts and put it on tape. However, since I was a child, my interests soon turned to other things and the project (if you wish to call it that) was scrapped indefinitely. As for the recorder, I have no idea where it is now. With that said, the audio-drama as a medium has always interested me, ever since I first became aware that there was such a thing.

Although it may been pushed out of the limelight by television decades before I was even born, the audio-drama never really went away and thanks to the Internet, its possible to experience the works of this medium; not just of the old school, but completely new entrants as well.
One of my absolute favorites among the new generation of audio-dramas is The Springheel Saga from The Wireless Theatre Company. Taking place in England during the Victorian Era, The Springheel Saga tells the story of constable Jonah Smith and his tireless chase after Springheeled Jack, a figure from English folklore, who Smith is convinced exists and is at the source of a fire many years earlier, which left the young Jonah an orphan.

The Springheel Saga is comprised of three seasons and a total of nine episodes, each seeing Jonah Smith deal with a new case that inevitably involves his elusive and mysterious quarry in some fashion. While all the seasons are good, my personal favorite would have to be the second one, mainly for its introduction of the character Elijah Hopcraft. A self-described "principled amoralist" (though we never actually find out what his principles are), Hopcraft makes for an excellent archenemy to Smith, serving as the policeman's darker counterpart.

While the plot is captivating and the characters brought to life wonderfully by their respective actors, there's one thing in particular I must praise the creators of The Springheel Saga for. You see, when I listen to an audio-drama (at least one that doesn't have any narration), I sometimes find it hard to picture the locations the characters are supposed to be in at any given moment. Not here though, as sound-effects are used to great effect, making it easy to visualize where exactly the action takes place.
The Springheel Saga can be found at the Wireless Theatre Company's website along with other offerings (here) and I strongly suggest giving it a listen if you're in the mood for something thrilling and suspenseful. The episodes aren't free, but they don't cost much and are worth the prize.

My Name is Red

One of my favorite novels is The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. For those of you not familiar with this novel, The Name of the Rose is a murder-mystery set in an Italian monastery in the 14th Century. The novel was also adapted into a really good movie starring Sean Connery as its mystery-solver, William of Baskerville.
Why am I mentioning this? You wonder. Because I recently read My Name is Red, by Turkish author and nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and during my read of this novel, I was frequently reminded of Eco's masterpiece.

My Name is Red takes place in Istanbul in the year 1591. The Sultan Murad III has secretely commissioned an illuminated manuscript drawn in the new Venetian Style, a blasphemy in the eyes of many Muslims, particularly religous fundamentalists such as Hoja of Erzurum. As the novel begins, one of the miniaturists who worked on the manuscript, Elegant Effendi has been found murdered. Soon, the master of the miniaturists, Enishte Effendi is killed as well. Enishte's daughter, Shekure enlists the miniaturist known as Black to find her father's killer. If Black succeeds, Shekure will give him what he has always longed for: Her hand in marriage. However, it soon becomes clear that the murderer is one of the miniaturists himself.

From this short and limited glimpse of the plot, I'm sure that you, dear reader, can understand why I was reminded of The Name of the Rose. Both it and My Name is Red are essentially murder-mysteries set by a historical backdrop, with faith playing an important part in the proceedings. However, this doesn't mean that Pamuk has copied Eco (for all I know, Pamhuk may not even have read The Name of the Rose). The differences between the two novels far eclipse any similarities the two may share.

Take the setting for one: The Name of the Rose takes place entirely in a monastery and its surroundings. My Name is Red takes place in a bustling metropolis, the very heart of the Ottoman Empire. Another difference is the amount of narrators. Eco's novel features one narrator, the young monk Adso, who plays the Watson to William of Baskerville's Sherlock Holmes. My Name is Red features a different narrator in each chapter and what a plethora of narrators it is, dear reader. Aside from the obvious ones such as Shekure and Black, we also get to hear from the dead Elegant Effendi, his murderer and many others. Some of the narrators aren't even human; a dog, a horse, a coin and even Satan himself are among those who get to share their opinions and view-points with the reader.

My Name is Red is a work of great richness, I found it to be a fascinating read and will definitely check out more of Orhan Pamuk's work in the future.

Kill My Mother

I mentioned in my last post that during my trip to NY, I bought quite a lot of books. One of those books was Kill My Mother, a graphic-novel by renowned cartoonist Jules Feiffer.

I should perhaps start by saying that I'm only passingly familiar with Feiffer's work. I know who he is and I've seen a few of his drawings as well as his animated short-film Munro, about a four-year old who gets drafted into the US army, but that's as far as it goes. However, the cover of Kill My Mother, featuring a woman holding a smoking gun, as well as the enticing front-page blurb by Neil Gaiman, convinced me to shell out the bucks for it. Was it worth the prize? Short answer: Yes.

Kill My Mother is, according to Feiffer himself, a love-letter to the noir-films  and the classic adventure comic strips of yesteryear; those drawn by great artists like Milton Caniff or Will Eisner. The story begins in Bay City in the 1930's, it's here that we meet Elsie, the widow after a cop who was murdered during the Prohibition. Elsie now works as a secretary for her late husband's friend, Neil Hammond; a perpetually inebriated private-detective, in the hopes that the job will enable her to one day track down her husband's killers. We also meet Elsie's daughter, Annie, a rebellious teenager who harbors a schoolgirl-crush on Neil and resents her mother, believing that Elsie has effectively abandoned her. One day, a tall blonde by the name walks into Neil's office. She wants his help to find her old drama-teacher who has vanished without a trace. Neil suspects that there's something fishy going on, especially since the woman in the photo bears an uncanny resemblance to his client. Still, he needs the money, so he agrees to take the job.

I'll stop there, since I don't want to risk spoiling anything for those of haven't read Kill My Mother yet. Suffice to say that Feiffer tells a highly engaging story, one that takes many twists and turns and involves a large cast of characters. Speaking of which, the characters in this story are all memorable, whether it's the major characters like Annie and her boyfriend Artie or minor ones such as the communist liquor-store owner, I found them all to be interesting in their own ways.

On the artistic side, Feiffer draws in a sketchy style that may take some getting used to and may perhaps even put off some readers, which would be a great shame. Personally, I liked the artwork, it's very energetic with characters that sometime seem like they could leap out of the panels. In fact, this would make for an interesting animated movie.

All in all, Feiffer has certainly succeeded in creating a homage to the comics and movies of his youth. If you are a fan of the works of Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler (to mention a few names), I'd suggest giving Kill My Mother a go.

"I have a slight flaw in my character"

I recently revisited one of my favorite novels: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart and it occurred to me that it would make a great subject for my blog. In case you haven't heard of it, Bridge of Birds is a fantasy-novel set in (to quote directly from the cover) "an ancient China, that never was". Our narrator is Yu Lu, better known by his nickname; Number Ten Ox. When the children in his village are afflicted by a mysterious illness, Number Ten Ox seeks out a wise-man in order to save them. The wise-man he finds is a certain Li Kao, a sage with (as he himself puts it) "a slight flaw in my character". Together, the duo embarks on a quest to find the Great Root of Power, the only thing that can save the children. Of course, doing so turns out to be easier said than done.

In case you haven't read Bridge of Birds yet, I insist you go find yourself a copy. The book itself is quite short, clocking in at under 300 pages. However, it's so filled with adventure, excitement and a sense of wonder that it puts plenty of doorstopper-novels to shame. Li Kao and Number Ten Ox are both great characters that compliment each other beautifully, with the latter pretty much playing the Watson to the former's Holmes.

The comparison between Li Kao and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective is not as random as it may seem, for Bridge of Birds is not only a fantasy but a mystery-story as well. Our heroes' quest soon involves them in a crime which once shook the very foundations of Heaven itself and leads them to having to confront China's true ruler; the immortal Duke of Ch'in.

Barry Hughart also wrote two more books featuring Li Kao and Number Ten Ox. I haven't read them so I can't say if they live up to their predecessor. However, one thing is for sure; Bridge of Birds is enough to establish Hughart as one of my favorite authors.