The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more

Book Review: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

Book #162 of 2021:

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #31)

A tremendously funny and poignant story of a young woman who disguises herself as a lad to enlist in her nation’s army. Author Terry Pratchett strikes a fine balance between showing the camaraderie and bravery of soldiers on the one hand — the reasons someone might find that life appealing — and the bleak inanity of military regulations and war itself on the other. He also shows his fantasy Discworld setting becoming a bit more open-minded towards people in Polly’s situation, many of whom have only been lacking the courage to speak out about the gender roles and restrictive religious teachings they privately disfavor.

It’s pretty much a standalone volume within its series, with a few fun cameos from existing characters but little that would prevent a new reader from fully following along. And although it contains some minor fatphobia and a greater deal of sexism than I think the writer intends, plus the sort of cross-dressing plot whose essentialist view of anatomy leaves minimal room for a trans experience, the book overall presents a welcome message of questioning tradition, finding your own path, and accepting those who are different from you. If that sounds like a mixed bag, well, it is — but that’s Pratchett in a nutshell, really, as able to punch down at marginalized groups as up at systems of oppression. Yet for this particular outing at least, the comic thrust lands mostly in the right direction.

★★★★☆

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TV Review: Dawson’s Creek, season 4

TV #50 of 2021:

Dawson’s Creek, season 4

Although I still don’t love Dawson Leery as a character, this is easily the least infuriating he’s ever been. The writers have toned down his self-centered and jealous nature in a way that can read as belated maturity in the high school senior, and they even manage to make his new romance with a previously-unmentioned childhood crush as unproblematic and believable as possible, given the four-year age gap. (It’s a bit weird anyway, but I appreciate that the weirdness is addressed and taken seriously on-screen.)

Mostly, though, this season is handed over to Joey and Pacey, whose tumultuous relationship is compellingly heartbreaking throughout. Initially, it seems like this is simply a tragic story of the flaws and differences that will break them apart, but the scripts go to great lengths to illustrate how good for each other they can be as well. We really get to understand the attraction from both sides on a deeper level than the sheer pretty magnetism of the cast, while also sympathizing to an extent when difficulties arise. I’m reminded of the Logan/Veronica dynamic on Veronica Mars, another fiery teenage passion that could be alternately tender or acerbic depending on whether the big personalities were in-sync as they faced their respective challenges.

This is the first time the series has allowed its female lead to remain in a steady partnership and not just transition quickly from someone’s fancy to their ex, a welcome development that grants her more agency as a full protagonist. Elsewhere, the whole friend group is struggling with adult decisions of what the future holds beyond graduation — and in fact, I don’t have a strong sense of where the show goes next, after all the different destinations suggested here. That’s an exciting, albeit fraught, place for a coming-of-age narrative to leave off.

On the weaker side, Drue is the latest antagonist with a bizarre fixation on tormenting our heroes, and Mr. Brooks is similarly too rude for too long for me to care much about his section of the plot either. But otherwise, the interpersonal elements are terrifically solid across this run, elevating it significantly above anything the program had accomplished before.

[Content warning for drug overdose, euthanasia, and homophobic violence.]

★★★★☆

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Book Review: The Descent of Monsters by Neon Yang

Book #161 of 2021:

The Descent of Monsters by Neon Yang (Tensorate #3)

I think this is my favorite Tensorate novella yet, although it’s a bit of a departure from the previous stories. There’s a brand-new protagonist, a Ministry of Justice official tasked with rubberstamping that a scene of slaughter was caused by arrested rebels Rider and Akeha and not the secret government biomedical experimentation they say they were looking into, and an epistolary format that consists of the documents she reviews and generates as she attempts to actually investigate the case herself. Author Neon Yang has a lot of fun with playful ironies and dystopian doublespeak throughout the text, like a superior assuring the heroine she’ll have full transparency followed by a heavily redacted prisoner interview transcript. It’s the closest look we’ve gotten at the bureaucracy powering the corrupt empire of this setting, and a nice change in tone for the series even when the action heats up near the end.

It’s also interesting to see the misgendering that can still occur here — despite everyone being raised gender-neutral as children, they aren’t accustomed to adults who either remain or return to that identity — and how different characters choose to respect others in that regard or not. That element isn’t as central in this book as it’s been in the first two, but it continues to be a fairly distinctive feature within the fantasy genre.

★★★★☆

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Book Review: Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home by Harry Kemelman

Book #160 of 2021:

Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home by Harry Kemelman (The Rabbi Small Mysteries #3)

If you’re reading the Rabbi Small series for the titular mysteries, I could see it being a frustrating experience. In this third volume, the murder plot doesn’t start until halfway through, and the clergyman is only brought in to consult at the two-thirds mark. On the other hand, the rest of the novel is a really enjoyable look at 1960s temple politics, with one newly-ascendant faction pushing for greater involvement in the Civil Rights movement and similar social justice causes — plus a more democratic seating chart in the sanctuary — and the old guard pettily thinking about breaking away to create a new synagogue across town. As ever, I feel as though author Harry Kemelman mostly just wants to write that side of things, but has crammed in some criminal matters to help the book sell. The publisher would likely say that the congregational intrigue and accurate (#ownvoices) Jewish elements are simply there to provide background flavor to the cases, yet that’s the aspect of the text that I find particularly engaging.

It’s a tough balancing act, and I don’t know that I can give the work my full endorsement as a cohesive whole, especially given certain dated cultural views, like casual use of the n-word or treating the very idea of black Jews as ridiculous. And while I love seeing the beginnings of the antiracist streak that’s now become common in my faith community, it’s important to note that most of the characters seem to treat it as the talk of radical firebrands, so I can’t say that that’s entirely a win either. In the end I suppose I’ll stay agnostic with a middle-ground three-star rating, which at least is better than the Jews-telling-Jews-what-Jews-believe vibe of the previous story.

★★★☆☆

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TV Review: The Americans, season 4

TV #49 of 2021:

The Americans, season 4

This remains a good show from scene to scene, but I’m growing frustrated with some of the larger plotting decisions. Last year built up a few tense and untenable situations that never came to a head, like Kimmy’s advances and the literal Chekhov’s gun in Martha’s kitchen drawer, and the natural yet apparently faulty assumption would be that those elements are due to be picked up here. And while subverting audience expectations can sometimes be an effective piece of storytelling, this lack of follow-through doesn’t feel intentional enough for that.

The new plots aren’t much better, either. The actual motivation behind the operation with Young-Hee isn’t disclosed to us until near the end of the run, making it harder to share Elizabeth’s headspace of why it’s important. Pastor Tim and his wife still seem like obstacles rather than true characters, despite their increased prominence. Nina’s arc concludes in a way which casts further doubt on why she was kept around for so long, and the Rezidentura scenes continue to be uninteresting in her absence. The sudden timeskip hints at writers running out of ideas as well, and the numerous dream sequences — a first for the series — serve no apparent purpose beyond padding out the runtime.

I’m nitpicking because this is a program I generally enjoy, and any one of the issues above should be easy to brush aside. Taken in aggregate, however, they suggest structural insecurities that I hope are addressed before the upcoming endgame. Since this season thins out the cast a bit, there’s a potential to rebuild the narrative up to its former quality with everyone left. But this is the second stretch of episodes in a row I’ve been less impressed by.

[Content warning for PTSD, gun violence, suicide, and gore.]

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: The In-Between by Rebecca K. S. Ansari

Book #159 of 2021:

The In-Between by Rebecca K. S. Ansari

Too many under-explained elements in the magical side of this middle-grade story, about a young teen who becomes convinced that his next-door neighbor is a harbinger of disaster. Why do the pencils on her desk vanish? What’s ultimately up with that distinctive yet fake school jacket? And so on. These details seem shrugged off as general supernatural spookiness, but they speak to a vagueness throughout that hampers the plot. There’s also some arguable queerbaiting, and a weird moment when the protagonist uses a telescope to spy into the girl’s bedroom. (The intent isn’t prurient, but it’s an odd and unnecessary scene to include regardless.)

I’m more interested in the hero’s raging emotions over his father’s new family than the paranormal stuff, but I appreciate how they tie together somewhat by the end. The inclusion of real historical events like the Triangle Shirtwaist fire is neat too. Although I don’t think the work overall is living up to its full potential, I’d probably still recommend it for younger and less jaded readers.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly

Book #158 of 2021:

A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch #7)

Author Michael Connelly’s first big crossover project is intriguing in concept, teaming up his usual hero LAPD detective Harry Bosch with retired FBI agent Terry McCaleb from the novel Blood Work. Jack McEvoy, reporter protagonist of The Poet, is here too as a minor figure covering the action. It’s an ambitious structure which pays off how the writer has been filling out this setting, but it falls a little flat as events unfold.

There are two separate murder cases at the center of this story. The cop is testifying at the trial for one, where the prosecutors seem to have a strong position but repeatedly warn him that a conviction hinges on his credibility as a witness. In the other, which Terry is brought in to consult on, the evidence points to Bosch himself as the likeliest suspect. I can’t decide whether readers are meant to wonder about his guilt at all or not, but I’ve personally felt no particular tension on that front. And we’re given no real mystery or investigation into who might be responsible instead either; with literally no alternatives presented to us, it’s fairly obvious that the twin plot threads will actually end up joined, and that the defendant is likely framing Harry for one of his kills.

The police work that follows is thorough yet tedious, presenting a foregone conclusion with minimal excitement or surprise. It’s great to see these characters bouncing off one another after originally getting to know them independently, yet the circumstances hardly live up to the moment.

[Content warning for rape, suffocation, gun violence, and gore.]

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: The Encounter by K. A. Applegate

Book #157 of 2021:

The Encounter by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #3)

There isn’t much additional worldbuilding in this third novel, and I’m not a huge fan of the action being driven by a one-off ‘Animorphs notice something weird and investigate’ event rather than anything with larger plot implications. Nevertheless, this is an interesting and I would say successful experiment in the burgeoning sci-fi series. Even after getting different narrators for the first two volumes, it’s a surprise to hear this time from Tobias, their friend who was — spoiler alert — permanently stuck in the body of a hawk in the debut.

Without the need to keep up appearances of a normal human life or petty concerns like homework or extracurricular obligations, the protagonist is missing the day-to-day texture that fleshes out a typical storyline and generates easy subplots. In its place, he’s grappling with the existential dilemma of how little of his identity remains now that he’s largely cut off from his former existence, and wondering how long he can resist severing his remaining connections and succumbing to his morph’s natural instincts to hunt and eat raw flesh. In addition, the constraint of his situation raises the obvious question of whether a kids-turning-into-animals book can work at all and be exciting for readers in the absence of any new firsthand morphing.

Luckily, these differences are striking and compelling on their own terms, and the latest team mission, which sees the others becoming wolves and then trout to infiltrate and sabotage an alien supply ship, is still engaging from the perspective of their unchanging air support. It’s hardly the most essential outing — and it cements the fact that these “The _______” titles are going to be generally meaningless and forgettably interchangeable — but it’s a solid demonstration of what the bird boy’s viewpoint can add to the narrative.

[Content warning for a suicide attempt.]

★★★★☆

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Book Review: The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race edited by Jesmyn Ward

Book #156 of 2021:

The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race edited by Jesmyn Ward

Not every entry in this collection of essays and poems quite lands for me, but all told it’s a powerful reflection from various African American writers near the start of the Black Lives Matter movement and just before the 2016 election — when the white backlash to Obama’s presidency was already gathering force but had not yet reached its peak or been widely recognized as the surge of racist resentment that it now so clearly is. Although I would hope this sort of perspective has become more widespread over the past five years, the contributors provide a valuable look at the daily difficulties of police harassment and what it’s like for a contemporary black person, theoretically long after Jim Crow, to regularly witness the modern lynchings of young men like Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. Writing both for people with no idea of that experience and for those who may struggle to put it into words, editor Jesmyn Ward and the rest are less in direct conversation with James Baldwin’s famous 20th-century piece than one might expect from the similar title, but still offer their own substantive meditations on race in America today.

[Content warning for slurs.]

★★★★☆

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Book Review: Black Heart by Holly Black

Book #155 of 2021:

Black Heart by Holly Black (The Curse Workers #3)

By finally telling a story that doesn’t hinge on the magical manipulation of memory and emotion, this third entry is the least problematic of its YA urban fantasy trilogy. Unfortunately, it’s also the most boring, with no clear motivation or stakes driving its aimless plot. The two biggest concerns for the protagonist are a government agency threatening to arrest a relative he doesn’t particularly care about and a shady classmate asking for his help against her blackmailer, neither of which is too engaging to read.

The action picks up in the last quarter of the text, and there’s enough lingering investment in the characters and setting to make it worth finishing out the series, but for much of the novel, it’s not readily apparent why this latest sequel is even necessary.

[Content warning for gun violence.]

This volume: ★★★☆☆

Overall series: ★★★☆☆

Volumes ranked: 2 > 1 > 3

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