Book Review: The Flame Alphabet

The Flame Alphabet: A Novel by Ben Marcus (New York: Knopf, 2012. 304 pp)

Ben Marcus is the author of The Age of Wire and String and Notable American Women. His stories have appeared in Harper’s, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Tin House, and Conjunctions. He is the recipient of a Whiting Writers’Award, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and awards from the Creative Capital Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in New York, where he is on the faculty at Columbia University.

The Curious Case of Parenthood

They say life transforms once you become a parent. The transition is instant. One day you care about music and video games; the next, you live and die to provide for another. Children force people into lives of selflessness, but to what end? If you were physically unable to live in familial conditions, how would you react? What would happen if sickness forced the nuclear family to fall apart? Ben Marcus’ The Flame Alphabet surrealistically uses an epidemic to view society through the lens of a breaking family.

Toxic Language

The plot of The Flame Alphabet imagines a world in which the language of children becomes toxic. With a writing style where explanatory information is withheld, the reader never learns why language becomes lethal. Instead, Marcus presents the story of one family encountering this peculiar form of chaos. Our protagonist and narrator is Sam, the husband of Claire and father of Esther.

Unsure of what is causing their sickness, Claire and Sam don’t actually diagnose Esther as the root cause of their illness until she gets back from camp. Temporarily alleviated of their strange ailment, it returns tenfold upon their beloved child’s return. Inflicted with diminishing faces, low energy, weak bones, and the typical symptoms of influenza, toxic language kills.

“Most of what sickened us came from our sweet daughter’s mouth. Some of it she said, and some of it she whispered, and some of it she shouted. She scribbled and wrote it and then read it aloud. She found it in books and in the mail and she made it up in her head. It was soaked into the cursive script she perfected at school, letters ballooning with heart-dotted i’s. Vowels defaced into animals drawings. Each piece of the alphabet that she wrote looked like a fat molecule engorged on air, ready to burst. How so very clear” (11).

Esther, as a girl who never carried much affinity to her parents, enjoys the physical pain that her words bring. As the connections between children and toxic language become clear, the imagined nation begins efforts to quarantine the children and search for a vaccine.

Anti-Semitism

In addition to toxic language, Marcus’ alternate-reality includes an anti-Semitic state. As devout Jews, Sam and Claire are forced to practice an aesthetic Jewish mysticism in the woods for fear of discrimination. This state coupled with language offers multiple avenues of alienation for this family. With the anti-Semitic state splitting the Jewish community, Sam and Claire feel desperately alone. The community of faith that so often supports families in a time of crisis is absent.

Therefore, when Sam and Claire finds themselves quickly quarantined from their daughter, they lose each other in the chaos without any hope of reconnection through the typical faith communities.

A Search for a Cure

Without the help of any communicative tools (toxic language morphs from children alone to every kind of communication including the written word), Sam begins testing new forms of communication at a test facility on willing participants.

“At my desk each day I chased the notion that the alphabet as we know it was too complex, soaked in meaning, stimulating the brain to produce a chemical that was obviously fatal. In its parts, in combination, our lettering system triggered a nasty reaction. If the alphabet could be thinned out, shaved down, to trick the brain somehow, perhaps we could still deploy this new set of symbols, or even a single symbol, the kind you hold in your hand and reshape for different meanings, for modest, emergency-only communications” (169).

Is Life Without Communication Worth Living?

Despite the institutional attempts to thwart this epidemic, many succumb to a lack of hope. Without communication, many lose the will to live.

“Those were the mercy tents. Inside people heard some last song, whatever they chose to dial up, and then down they went to those sounds. A strategy of acoustical expiration. Suicide by language. Mercy was right. The tents were clearly a kindness to those who remained. No one was forced in. On the contrary, people fought to get inside first. And when a funeral field had filled, the mercy tents were struck and dragged away. Audio equipment pulled alongside by wagon. A jukebox of words to die to” (179).

The Frailty of Family

Amid this chaotic scenario, Sam seeks to reunite with his family. The thought of Esther keeps him functioning as he seeks a cure for the toxic alphabet.

The Flame Alphabet focuses on the ramifications of an epidemic for family life. The book asks, “What would you do if you could no longer communicate with the ones you love and hold dear?”  The narrative centers on one person’s perspective and the unraveling of a family is heartbreaking.

The Flame Alphabet is a worthy addition to the speculative fiction canon. Heartbreaking and surreal, Ben Marcus leverages toxic language to illustrate the thin thread that fastens the relationships of a family. A quick but rewarding read, I recommend The Flame Alphabet for anyone interested in the dystopian or literary genres.

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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Film Review: The Help

The Help directed by Tate Taylor (Dreamworks SKG, Reliance Entertainment, Participant Media, PG-13, 146 minutes)

Starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Jessica Chastain

Jackson, Mississippi 

I visited Jackson, Mississippi last year during my spring break. I took a group of students to a small, entirely African-American suburb nearby to sing in churches, schools, and community events.

We stayed in a town that was literally divided by train tracks, and if you were on one side of the tracks, you were living on the African-American side of town. I was blown away by the rampant racial inequality still not only surviving but surging, in this community outside of Jackson. I even had breakfast a few mornings at a place where biscuits, grits, and gravy were standard, and mistakenly made the social faux pas of sitting on the “black side” of the establishment, which both shocked and saddened me.

This experience rather reminded me of The Help.

A Book about Racism

Adapted from the book of the same title by Kathryn Stockett, the story is about African American maids working in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960s. Skeeter (Emma Stone), one of the main characters, decides to write a controversial book about racism in the perspective of the maids who work for white families.

Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) are the two black maids who decide to help Skeeter out with her project. They, understandingly, are reluctant to help at first, as they fear they will lose their jobs should they share the uncomfortable situations they’ve encountered. Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard), meanwhile, is petitioning for her “Home Help Sanitation Initiative” which proposes separate bathrooms for the help, as black folks carry “diseases” because of their skin pigment.

The Capitol in Jackson, MS

Continuing to write the story, Skeeter tries to publish the book quickly, as her publicist believes that the Civil Rights Movement will be a passing fad. So, she publishes it quickly, but only after Minny tells her the story of the “terrible awful” in which she bakes her former employer, Hilly Holbrook, a special pie, with some special ingredients.

Minny, meanwhile sought employment elsewhere, where Celia Foot (Jessica Chastain) desperately needs a housekeeper. Celia treats her well, and in a tear-inducing scene, actually treats “the help” to a dinner saying “you will always have a job with me”.

The film, and undoubtedly the novel (I haven’t read it, so I’m not sure), portrays something of southern Mississippian society that is still sadly partially present today. There is a racial inequality present, but one individual who chooses to speak up can actually change it all. Though things in Mississippi may not be anywhere close to perfect, there have been huge changes in the culture overall since the Civil Rights movement, and someone like Emma Stone could change it even more if they were to arise and be bold.

The movie portrays a great deal of hope, and deserves the Oscar nods it received: two for best supporting actress—for Olivia Spencer, and Jessica Chastain; one for best actress—for Viola Davis; and one for best picture. I think if you’re in the mood for a good convicting drama, you should check out The Help.

Verdict: 4 out of 5

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Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

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Book Review: Abraham Kuyper

Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader by Abraham Kuyper; edited by James D. Bratt (Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1998. 512 pp)

Abraham Kuyper was a Dutch politician, journalist, statesman, and theologian. Kuyper studied at Leiden University and received a doctorate in 1862. He founded the Anti-Revolutionary Party and held the office of Prime Minister from 1901 to 1905. A staunch Calvinist and a proponent of conservatism, Kuyper seceded from the Dutch Reformed Church and founded the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. He published many books during his lifetime and died in the Netherlands in 1920.

James D. Bratt is a professor of history at Calvin College. He earned his B.A. from Calvin and his Ph.D. from Yale University. He is also the author of Dutch Calvinism in Modern America.

Comparative Advantage

The economic principle of comparative advantage offers an intuitive level of truth. It argues that individuals/institutions/states ought to produce items that best suit their talents. Comparative advantage is intuitive because it allows the entity to govern the action(s) at which it performs best. This very principle surrounds Abraham Kuyper’s notion of “sphere sovereignty,” the bedrock doctrine behind Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader which is a compilation of Kuyper’s influential writings.

Sphere Sovereignty

Abraham Kuyper’s writing offers much to consider. As a man involved in the church, media, government, and academics, Kuyper dabbles in many spheres. Yet, one underlying principle in all of his work is the notion of sphere sovereignty, the belief that God, the sovereign being over all of life, grants authority to specific spheres to govern each sector to the best of its ability.

A staunch Calvinist, Kuyper conservatively follows in the footsteps of previous Reformed Dutch theologians. As such, Kuyper’s worldview flows from his understanding of God as an absolute sovereign being. Kuyper writes,

“Only God is Sovereign; He regards all creatures, born in royal palace or beggar’s hut, as nothing in comparison with Himself. One creature cannot have authority over another except as God gives it” (307).

Since Kuyper places absolute authority in the hands of God, he views the exertion of authority from one group of people onto another as an affront to the sovereignty of God. For example, when government legislates what the church can and cannot do, Kuyper believes that government has overstepped its sovereign boundaries. While not explicitly stated in a concise rubric, the notion of sphere sovereignty permeates all of Kuyper’s writing.

To understand sphere sovereignty more specifically, Government holds authority over the political realm; church convenes over spiritual matters; universities over matters of education; and businesses/unions on matters of work. Kuyper confirms this idea when he notes,

“State and society are not identical. The government is not the only sovereign in the country. Sovereignty exists in distinct spheres, and in each of these smaller circles this sovereignty is bound to primordial arrangements or ordinances that have been created not by the government but by the Creator of heaven and earth” (241).

Given this position, Kuyper believes that society functions best when each sphere governs itself. Any crossover between spheres in society falls into inefficiency at best and grave injustice at worst.

Real-Life Examples of Sphere Sovereignty

Abraham Kuyper

Reacting against the injustices he readily viewed in Europe and in the colonies of the British Commonwealth, Kuyper proposed the separation of church and state found in the then still-fledgling United States and the separation of government and business in ancient Athenian democracy as examples of sphere sovereignty.

First, Kuyper found the physical and spiritual growth of the United States to be a direct result of the separation of church and state. He argues:

“No longer was there a church in the state nor a state bound to the church. The church of Christ was the point of departure. She was to make sure that the principles of justice and truth held sway in the hearts of the citizens, but the citizens in their everyday life found free organization in the state to be indispensable. Once the ideal of freedom had established itself in the bosom of the church, it inevitably sought civil rights in the domain of the state” (296).

Instead of the church-dominated legislation previously found in Europe, the church in the United States influenced the hearts of the population toward justice and, thus, influenced the legislation of government through the hearts of the citizens, not by the power of the priesthood.

Second, Kuyper found the example of Athenian democracy an excellent illustration of sphere sovereignty. Kuyper writes:

“A better way would have been to follow Solon’s approach in Athens instead of trying to imitate ancient Rome. Solon gave free rein to private initiative. He did not allow the government to get involved in business but merely stipulated that manual laborers constitute their own class of citizens, that nobody be allowed to have two trades at the same time, that foreigners from the outside be allowed to offer competition only if the local craftsmen agreed. Furthermore he gave industry the right to be sovereign in its own sphere and to make its own rules, the only restriction being that it was not to decide anything contrary to the law of the land” (244).

Again, Kuyper proposes that the sector most attuned to the operation ought to legislate its sphere. As Solon’s approach in Athens illustrates, those people that best know their trade will optimally legislate their sphere.

The Decision of One Sphere Influences Other Spheres

On the surface, the logic behind sphere sovereignty is compelling as comparative advantage illustrated earlier. It makes little sense for a career politician to decide the laws that are in the best interest of the church, business, or any other sphere. A carpenter will know the optimal way to fashion lumber; a priest will know the best way to shepherd the flock. But I am not ultimately convinced that sphere sovereignty offers the best solution for the way we organize society.

The decisions of one sphere will always influence other spheres. When business, for example, decides to pursue profit as its highest goal, it will make decisions that could negatively affect other stakeholders. Other spheres, then, have the right to condemn such actions.

At its core, I believe the danger of sphere sovereignty lies in the blinding nature of each sphere. The very reason that sphere sovereignty is compelling is the same reason why it is dangerous. Specific spheres best know their field; they also know little about how their decisions alter other fields.

Thus, I believe it is important for checks and balances between spheres. If one sphere negatively affects another, the other sphere ought to have the ability to authoritatively respond.

For Kuyper, sphere sovereignty begins with an absolutely sovereign God. For one sector to dictate the rules of another sector in society, then, is to reject God’s authority over all spheres. Each sphere, Kuyper argues, ought to sufficiently govern itself.

Despite the pull of comparative advantage that points toward agreement with Kuyper’s view on sphere sovereignty, I argue that sphere sovereignty presents danger for external stakeholders. Too often, people focused on one sphere will make decisions that are in the best interest of that specific sector but negatively harm other stakeholders.

Abraham Kuyper is an influential character in politics and theology. His theories carry much weight in modern thought and it is valuable to understand his positions. For this reason, I recommend Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader to anyone interested in theology, business, and politics.

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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Book Review: Blueprints of the Afterlife

Blueprints of the Afterlife: A Novel by Ryan Boudinot (New York: Black Cat, 2012. 430pp).

Ryan Boudinot is the author of the novel Misconception, as well as The Littlest Hitler, the latter which won the book of the year from Publisher’s Weekly. He is on the faculty of Goddard College’s MFA program in Port Townsend, and blogs about film at therumpus.net. A native of Washington state, he currently lives in the city of Seattle.

New York Alki

Setting off in mild trepidation down my newfound odyssey of contemporary literature, I have found some amazing novels. Despite my fear, Blueprints of the Afterlife takes home the proverbial first prize. In this weird, somewhat dystopian, mainly dysfunctional, post-apocalyptic world, Ryan Boudinot carefully weaves a story of my beloved city and hometown, Seattle, which is both brilliant and freakishly weird.

Photo by Carolyn Adin

Woo-jin is our protagonist, and an award winning dishwasher, who suffers from ennui attacks (excessive empathy). He finds a body, not once, but twice, later meeting its owner, Abby Fogg, alive in “superposition” (a place where she can exist in multiple states: both dead and not). Amidst the entirety of the plot there is a man named Dirk Bickle who remains an enigma throughout the novel.

But what interested me throughout wasn’t the plot, which was absolutely mind-bending (in fact mind-bending isn’t strong enough a phrase) and fabulously entertaining overall. Rather, it was the setting. Set in Seattle, society is building New York City on the shores of Bainbridge Island, an island located close to Seattle.

“In the notes we found several references to the ‘New York Alki’ project. I’d taken Washington state history and knew what this meant. When the first white settlers came to the region in the nineteenth century, they debated what to call their settlement. They had big aspirations for their little frontier outpost but were really bummed out by all the mud and rain. To cheer themselves up they considered naming the place ‘New York Alki.’ Alki was a Chinook word for ‘by and by.’ Meaning, ‘someday.’ ‘New York Alki’ meant that someday this place would be as big and vibrant as New York City. But cooler heads prevailed and decided that naming their city after New York, itself named after old York, was retarded. So they named the city after Chief Sealth and called it a day” (68).

A Consistent Backdrop 

Photo by Midwinter

The ill-founded attempt to name Seattle New York influences Boudinot’s writing, and the backdrop of the entire novel. In the future, this past idea becomes future reality, and the consistent setting of the entire story is this New New York emerging where all the characters meander about their crazed, strange, unconventional lives. The other backdrop is a futuristic Seattle, one that I think can only truly be appreciated if you live here.

“After the great fire of 1889, when Seattle laid new streets atop the ruins of Pioneer Square, the ground levels of hotels, brothers, and dry-goods merchants became the underground. Post-FUS [Fucked Up Shit], a third layer arose, preserving Pioneer Square under a dome. In this district it was always night, lit with yellowish streetlights, real trees supplanted by facsimile trees of concrete and latex” (175).

Living next-door to Pioneer Square (I can literally see Seattle from my window), it’s truly mesmerizing to think about the future of the city as I look at it.

Post FUS 

Photo by Trey Ratcliff

Now in the post-FUS era the earth, and the Pacific Northwest in general, has become a strange place. I should state that this isn’t so much a dystopian novel, it’s a post-dystopian novel. The dystopia has already occurred (the FUS), and now it’s plainly dysfunctional. Part of the era of FUS included a glacier taking over most of Canada (ha!), and parts of America as well.

“Several theories emerged to explain the origin and sheer persistence of the glacier. Many suggested the mass of ice possessed an intelligence. It was easy to personify, as it appeared to be deliberately targeting concentrations of human civilization. As it approached Saskatoon, Canadians stood on top of buildings and bridges with bullhorns, loudly and profusely apologizing for warming the planet. But the glacier would not be placated...while [the glacier named] Malaspina laid waste to the Great White North, Americans paid little attention” (171).

Photo by Nate 2B

This quotation exemplifies the kind of strange “Palahniukian” writing that takes place in the novel. Its strange gore mixes with creepy and odd science fiction. But, surrounded by the odd science fiction comes a sort of unusual, Malthusian catastrophe story, where humans are forced to reconcile with how they’ve treated the planet by raping the earth’s resources. Boudinot places effective social commentary and ecological awareness amid this strange science fiction novel.

“It was obvious and apparent: stop using oil, stop making plastic, control the growth of the population to a logical level so we could exist within the parameters of our ecology. If we didn’t do these things, most of us would die. But we were willing to die because a more powerful part of our minds, the old mammalian limbic system, was busy pushing those bars. The more recent, less developed part of our brains, the neocortex, was waving its arms and screaming for us to stop our destructive behavior. In this war between the limbic system and the neocortex, the limbic system won, hence the FUS” (150).

The beauty of this book is the way Boudinot allows the plot to unfold. He uses the common setting of an emerging, post-apocalyptic Seattle as well as the backstory of the FUS era to create a plot that simply rocks hard. He uses crass language (like FUS) in a way that really effectively tells the story of this new dysfunctional world, and uses characters with weird unimaginable things going on to tell a story of epic proportions. Simply stated, I recommend Blueprints of the Afterlife. Even if you don’t enjoy dystopian novels, this one will surely engage, as it focuses more on human dysfunction as a whole. If you enjoy science or historical fiction, this novel would also be an excellent choice. Just give it a try—you’ll be entertained if nothing else.

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5

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Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

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Film Review: Limitless

Limitless directed by Neil Burger (Relativity Media, Virgin Produced, PG-13, 105 minutes)

Starring Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, and Abbie Cornish.

Lake Wobegon

Have you ever felt like life is giving you lemons? I know, personally, that I sometimes struggle with this notion. My perceived talents do not necessarily translate into productive contributions in the world. Whether valid or not, I believe that I can learn anything. While such a belief more than likely illustrates self-deception, I believe that most people think this way. Truthfully, the “Lake Wobegon effect” is a psychologically proven hypothesis. Neil Burger’s Limitless delivers a concentrated injection of this sort of hopeful thinking.

A Limitless Drug

Centered on protagonist, Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper), Limitless imagines what would happen if a drug allowed people to access 100% of their mind. An author caught in the throes of writer’s block, Eddie happens upon an old drug-dealing acquaintance. Having shared a woeful story of a lost girlfriend and an impending eviction, this drug-dealing friend charitably shares an off-the-market drug that will help Eddie see clearly.

Ingesting the tablet, Eddie’s life changes immediately. He’s driven to finish the novel; he becomes the life of the party. Needing more of the drug, Eddie seeks out his acquaintance. Finding the drug-dealer’s apartment ransacked and the dealer executed, Eddie freaks out. Quickly searching for the stash of pills, he calls the police and flees.

With an extensive stash of this clarifying drug, Eddie begins life anew. He quickly learns how to beat the stock market and begins earning copious amounts of cash. But, the drug carries a dangerous side effect. Without constant consumption, the user will become ill and might even die.

Eddie, then, faces a dwindling supply of the drug and life threatening consequences.

Stark Visuals, Banal Dialogue

Aesthetically, Neil Burger utilizes filters to differentiate between on-the-drug Eddie and off-the-drug Eddie. On-the-drug Eddie is depicted in vibrant colors; off-the-drug Eddie functions in a muted, almost greyscale setting. Visually, the viewer ascertains that heightening qualities of the drug through the stark contrasts in colors. Likewise, the off-the-drug scenes convey the mundane and gloomy existence of an under-utilized brain.

From a dialogue perspective, Limitless underperforms. With countless scenes operating under the assumption that the protagonist carries vastly superior knowledge of every scenario, the dialogue feels insincere, as if the writers feel like they can get away with using big words without truly conveying the depth of ideas.

Intuitively speaking, Limitless draws on our desire to expand our repertoire. We all feel like if only we had a chance, our lives would become much better. If such scenarios refuse to happen in real life, Limitless offers an intriguing escape. Despite some poor dialogue, the visuals coupled with the concept provide fodder for an entertaining movie. Recommended.

Verdict: 4 out of 5

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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Book Review: The Fallback Plan

The Fallback Plan: A Novel by Leigh Stein (New York: Melville House, 2012. 219 pp)

Leigh Stein is a first-time author. She lives in New York where she works in children’s book publishing and teaches musical theatre. Her upcoming release, Dispatch from the Future is a collection of poems to be released in June 2012.

Prolonged Adolescence

As a musically-minded individual teaching choir, I’ve always wondered: what is my fallback plan? What would I do if I couldn’t get a job? I’ve luckily never been thrust into that scenario, but many holding an arts degree are. The sad truth is that the arts degree doesn’t do much in the marketplace. Sure, it helps hone one’s craft; it helps someone to become a better musician, painter, or actor. However, no art gallery, bar scene, or theatre will say “you have a degree, you’re hired!”

A lucky few find a job with the aid of their degree, while others succumb to corporate life or barista-hood. Some, however, choose not to deal with the problem and move in with their parents in order to usher in an era of prolonged adolescence. Leigh Stein paints such a person, Esther (a pseudonym for herself), in her novella The Fallback Plan.

Esther Kohler is a recent college graduate, and like so many others, completely unemployed with no prospect on the horizon. She ends up living with her parents, much to her disdain. She slides through life in the doldrums whilst drinking with her friends, Jack and Pickle. In contrast to the rest of the world, absolutely nothing happens in her life.

“In June, the monsoons hit Bangladesh. Chinese police discovered slaves in a brickwork factory who couldn’t be sent home because they were too traumatized to remember anything but their own names, and Dr. Kevorkian was released from prison. In other news, I moved in with my parents” (3). 

Like so many graduates of the arts, she is forced to rely on a fallback plan, or at the very least, figure out what it would be.

The Joys of Getting a Job 

As a graduate with the not-so-sought-after emphasis in theatre, Esther has no hope in the world for a job. So, she decides to get a job in babysitting. Well, she doesn’t so much decide to do so—it’s thrust on her by her parents.

“I couldn’t believe I now had a job. My job was going to be playing with a four-year-old? Part of my brain immediately attempted to calculate the amount of money I’d get to spend on screenwriting books after I paid my parent’s rent, part of my brain said, You’re stoned, about to go on a drug run, and someone is going to trust you with their small child, and part of my brain cast me as Marry Poppins in an adaptation directed by Stanley Kubrick” (23).

But, in the process of babysitting, she befriends the mom (her employer) and the daughter. The mom lost her first child, and by looking into her life, finds that depression can be deeply seated. Esther herself has been struggling with depression, both during and after college, and is having trouble coming to terms with her feelings.

“I knew I was depressed, but my hope was that maybe there was a brain tumor at the root of all this, something that would show up on a map of my cerebrum, something excisable. And then I came across the word weltschmerz” (69).

Weltchmerz is defined as a mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state. It’s a mood of sentimental sadness. Esther, no doubt a mirror image of Leigh Stein, has to work through this sentimental sadness and figure out how to make life work. Forced to come to grips with her situation, this coming-of-age story is inextricably intimate and funny at the same time.

The Fallback Plan paints a depressing and accurate picture regarding the status of the liberal arts degree in the United States. But by no means am I advocating for the lack of arts in schools, nor am I painting them as worthless. I teach the arts, have two degrees in music, and find them completely worthwhile. In fact, arts and music make your brain work harder on analytical pursuits. Some businesses are even hiring music majors in lieu of those with business degrees because of their creative brains. The point I’m trying to make is that if you’re pursing arts, don’t expect your degree to work for you. Rather, work for your degree.

Anyone who likes author David Sedaris, or even something like Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan would enjoy this work of fiction. It’s honest, witty, and works through some pretty deep issues. I think that the book could have been longer and explored some of the stories a little more deeply, but all in all The Fallback Plan is a good read.

Verdict: 3 out of 5

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Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

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Television Show Review: Dexter

Dexter: Season 6 developed by James Manos, Jr. (Showtime Networks, John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company)

Starring Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas, James Remar, and C.S. Lee.

I Might Be an Anglophile

Without intentionally positioning myself as an anglophile, I appreciate the reserve under which English television operates. No matter how massive the hit, English writers and producers understand that quality trumps quantity. As such, these television professionals would rather sacrifice paychecks than integrity. Not so in the good ol’ U.S. of A.

Case in point, the best episodes of Showtime’s hit series, Dexter, exist in its rear-view mirror. With Season 6, the viewer continues on a plot development holding pattern. The setting remains the same—a vividly colored Miami where sins are flaunted for all to see; the characters stunted—a continued exploration of dark passengers among the levity of Miami P.D.’s homicide unit.

Bad Faith, Good Faith

In Season 6, the crew encounters another serial killer. As a brief aside, at what point must we conclude that something is wrong with Miami? Realistically, serial killers are a rare breed in the sea of homicides. For Miami to continually function as the hot bed for killing sprees seems extremely unrealistic.  At any rate, the murderers (Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks) are labeled the Doomsday Killers (or DDK) because they stage the apocalyptic imagery of Revelation in their gory murders.

The allusions to religion are not limited to evil representations. While Dexter competes with Miami P.D. in the chase for the Doomsday Killers, he meets Brother Sam (Mos Def), a reformed felon deeply committed to Jesus Christ, who uses his business—a car repair shop—to provide meaningful work for recently released convicts. Brother Sam’s faith compels Dexter to attempt to see the good in people.

Befriending Brother Sam, Dexter questions the maxims by which he governs his life. Is it possible to banish his dark passenger? Does faith in a higher power really work? I must give credit to the writers for exploring these themes.

A Stagnant Series

But, such thoughts don’t alter the laziness surrounding the rest of the season. First, Season 6 reveals the killers in the first episode. As such, the mystery of a cat-and-mouse game between police and murderer is non-existent.

Second, Season 6 portrays excellent plot twists but I feel like these moves are seasons late. There has been no character growth in the past couple seasons and Miami no longer intrigues as a setting. As a result, the plot twists feel forced, disingenuous, and tardy.

Dexter continues to entertain but I miss the unadulterated, concentrated awesomeness of the show’s first seasons. Had this show been developed in England, I can guarantee that it would have never made it to Season 6. With stale plots and settings, Dexter’s best episodes are long gone.

Verdict: 2 out of 5

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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