Motherless Brooklyn

Although I will likely never see the Edward Norton film adaptation, seeing advertisements for it pushed me to finally read the novel. Despite seeing several students read Lethem's well-known detective novel in the past, I foolishly put off reading it for the foreseeable future. Now, several months after a mini-obsession with detective fiction, I have read it. The novel reads well as a quirky and post-modern take on the genre, featuring a protagonist suffering from Tourette's syndrome. His involuntary tics drive much of the novel, adding word play, comedic relief, and, in some cases, adding an ironic feel to successes and failures of Lionel Essrog. After the death of his father-figure, Frank Minna, who took on 4 orphans of Brooklyn ("motherless Brooklyn") as his detectives, Lionel, astray, does not know who to trust and is driven by the desire to find Minna's killer.

Of course, as a postmodern take on the genre, Lionel isn't truly a detective, but someone raised anachronistically by film, hard-boiled detective novels (references to Marlowe, Sam Spade, Bogart, Mike Hammer, Sherlock, Dick Tracy, and other sleuths abound), and the streets of Brooklyn. Along the course of his investigation, the Minna Men are nearly torn asunder by Frank's murder, and Lionel seems to accept his position as a 'stooge' of sorts whose tics disarm opponents into believing he is stupid. His background as an orphan and condition combine to, in a contradictory fashion, make him the best and worst detective on the case, which may explain why Lethem's novel was so well-received. Readers cannot help but feel sympathy for Lionel. The story also works because the novel takes the reader on a suspenseful journey across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the coast of Maine while bringing "ethnic Brooklyn" to life.

Fans of pre-gentrification Brooklyn literature can see, feel, smell, and hear New York come to life as Irish, Italians, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Blacks, Jews, Arabs, and Korean shopkeepers define the social space. Manhattan wealth versus the other boroughs is also evident, with a degree of Brooklyn pride inescapable in Lionel. As a kind of underdog detective, Lionel, who battles a Polish Goliath, questions the Italian mob, and confronts a Japanese corporation with elements of Zen Buddhism (because capitalism and spiritual wisdom go hand in hand), almost resembles a Phildickian protagonist who is poised to battle with social, ontological, or metaphysical questions far beyond his pay scale. One cannot help but wonder if Lethem's earlier science fiction detective story is similar... 

The Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep is incredibly messy, but also charming and transports the reader back to LA in the late 1930s. The dialogue is snappy, slang-filled, and sharper than a razor. Everyone seems to remember old LA, before it expanded into a big city. And with urban expansion came racketeering during Prohibition, pornography, Hollywood, and violence. Bored young ladies from the upper-class were ensnared by these big city vices, which ultimately brings our protagonist, Marlowe, into play. The film, unfortunately due to censorship, changes the original story in many ways, but sexual tension remains. Humphrey Bogart seems to have been born to play Marlowe, and in many ways is close to the character in Chandler's novel. But, with less of the ambiguity of Sam Spade, Marlowe is a more sympathetic character struggling to serve his clients while staying out of too much trouble. One cannot help but like Marlowe, who has to play in the dirt.

The Girl Who Played with Fire

The Girl Who Played with Fire is less spectacular than than the previous entry in the trilogy, yet a rewarding and captivating read. This book is a sequel of sorts to the previous book's allusions to sex trafficking victims, while also unveiling the background of Lisbeth Salander. Structurally, perhaps the novel could have cut the adventures of Salander in Grenada, and maybe trimmed some of the characters and sub-plots at later points. Nonetheless, the novel 'works' while criticizing the Scandinavian welfare state through its shortcomings on trafficking. In the interest of brevity, the novel also exposes additional abuses of the welfare state when it comes to minors, gender-based violence, and treating marginalized individuals as people. Naturally, Larsson achieves this without a preachy protest novel, and along the way hints at the various flaws of the post-Cold War integration of Eastern Europe, Reagan's invasion of Grenada and the increase in human misery in the Caribbean, as well as the relationship between independent media and the police/state. For example, the link between the breakdown of the Soviet Union and Russian mob-violence and sex trafficking is directly tied to the nefarious Swedish government's use of Soviet defectors and Cold War geopolitics. The consequences of these actions reverberate into the neoliberal post-Soviet order. As you can probably guess, Blomkvist, per usual, proves to be sharper than police investigators as he solves the case while believing in Lisbeth's innocence throughout. And, as in the previous novel, gender-based violence and sexism in various forms is a common theme.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of the popular mystery novels recommended to me by a number of people. However, with in the last month, two people suggested I read it. So, I finally got around to it this week. One of the recent recommendations from a leftist suggested the novel is loaded with social commentary on the shortcomings of the Scandinavian social democratic model. In light of the author's politics, such a perspective is actually not far-fetched. Throughout the novel, there is a constant reminder of common sexual violence, misogyny, exploitation of immigrants, corruption in finance and corporate Sweden, dehumanizing social welfare bureaucracies, and, in the case of the Vanger family, strong ties with fascist politics and profiting from deals with Nazi Germany. In this fast-paced and suspenseful thriller, these less flattering aspects of Swedish society are a constant background to Blomkvist's task of investigating Harriet's disappearance and getting back at criminal financier Wennerström. If Blomkvist represents the author himself, but perhaps less ideological in his politics, there is nonetheless a plethora of material to decode here. For instance, the handling of post-Soviet Europe's economic exploitation by Sweden and Western Europe, undoubtedly shapes the corruption of high finance, the state, and violence against immigrants. Truth be told, one could do quite a bit of work with this entertaining novel. 

Nick Stone's Mr. Clarinet

Crime fiction writer Nick Stone, son of a Haitian mother and Scottish historian, Norman Stone, has written quite the thriller. Mr. Clarinet at its best moments is as suspenseful and engaging as Walter Mosley's writings, meaning that it's impossible to put down. Nonetheless, I am quite disappointed that a writer of Haitian descent, who has spent years in his mother's home, would write a novel full of so many stereotypes, concocted tales of superstition, rumors and savagery. Nick Stone obviously knows Haiti well enough to write about a missing child case without delving so deep into the occult and completely made up claims regarding Haitian history, but hey, that's what sells. Write a book about Haiti, throw in zombies, black magic, child sacrifice, 'voodoo,' and exceptional violence.

At the novel's conclusion, the occult is revealed to not have the role one thinks, and the novel plays on the 'superstition.' The protagonist grows on the reader, too, although only because the mystery at the heart of the novel compels the reader to finish. I originally intended to read the next Max Mingus thriller, which is about the past investigation into Boukman in Miami, but I think I have read enough tales about child sacrifice by Haitians.

Grim Statistics

Troy Davis

"When white folks say justice, they mean 'just us.'"

I don't know all the details of the case, but 7 of the 9 eyewitnesses have recanted their testimonies claiming police coercion and intimidation made them perjure themselves in the original trial. One of the 2 remaining witnesses was a suspect in the murder of the white police officer, so his testimony is instantly questionable. There is no DNA evidence to connect Davis to the crime, and beside the forced testimony from the 7 witnesses, nothing connects Davis to the murder of the police. Indeed, I highly doubt Davis's original hearing was just. The evidence against him was lies, and the jury was likely composed of whites or apathetic blacks who wanted to get on with their lives. In fact, the jury of 7 blacks and 5 whites found Davis guilty after less than 2 hours.

This case is one of many in which I have come to oppose the death penalty. The state should not have any power of life or death, and executing a man who likely committed no crime is worse than letting a thousand guilty criminals go free. Furthermore, Davis should not have to spend the rest of his life in prison either. The white family of the police officer have no idea what they're saying and should work on finding justice by ensuring that the real culprit is found. This is clearly race-related and a good example of police corruption and a justice system designed to imprison and execute black men. And despite years of appeals and attempts by the state to take his life, Davis and his family still fight for his future.

If Obama and the black communities of Georgia really gave a damn about fighting injustice and protecting black lives they would be marching to the facility where Davis is held, occupying state buildings, and using violence if necessary. Obama should be calling he governor of Georgia, the parole board, and the family of Troy Davis. And the blacks of Atlanta and Savannah should be escalating their actions, rioting and attacking state property if they must. This is what happens we give a state the power to execute civilians! Nobody should have the power of life or death over another, especially in the hands of an institutionalized racist power structure that has historically and currently attacked black men and an increasingly high number of black women. If Davis were white and he had all the celebrities, politicians, and hundreds of thousands of petition signatures asking for clemency I have no doubt he would've received it.

I can't lie. I feel helpless for not doing anything to prevent the likely execution tomorrow. I do know that if I could be in Georgia tomorrow, white folks would be having hell. Alternatively, if I occupied the highest seat in the land, I would use all my authority to prevent what truly is the torture and execution of a human being. Despite all the talk of 'progress' and social change in this country, it's remarkable how little this era differs from the past in terms of exploitation, control and destruction of black bodies. I will not be able to rest easy or trust this country any less (and I already have little faith in it) if Davis is murdered tomorrow. The state of Georgia and the United States of America owe him his life, which they have deprived him of for 22 years. He ha a family who cares for him, and was a well-known mentor for others in his community. My heart goes out to his sister, nephew, and other relatives who have lived through hell for the last 2 decades.