RE:View: Things To Do In a Retirement Home Trailer Park When You're 29 and Unemployed

A frustratingly frequent piece of advice given to young writers is "Write what you know"; something that newcomer Aneurin Wright has taken to the next level with his debut graphic novel/memoir, as Things To Do tells the moving story of what happened to himself when he was 29 and Unemployed, looking after his father Neil in a Retirement Home Trailer Park.

Neil is sick. Emphysema ails him after a lifetime of cigarettes and stress. Nye (that's Wright himself) is his son, struggling to find work after graduating from art school and finds himself in a predicament -- to care for his imperfect father through his illness as per the rest of his family's wishes. So off he sets to spend the next number of months beside Neil in a trailer. Oh yeah, and Nye's a blue minotaur and Neil a blue rhino...

Whilst the majority of the other characters around them are human, this bizarre animal imagery is never addressed full on; we just sit there and take it. But the reasoning behind it is plentiful, with ideas as obvious as giving the book a more fantastical look in art direction and colouring (the blue, red, white and grey dominate the well drawn pages), to subtler narrative cores that pay off astronomically in the long run. As such a personal journey for this writer/artist, the cartoonish feel is essential so that it's visually more engaging and displays the distance set out between writer and experience. And thanks to the sharpness of the storytelling, it blends into the book with ease and style.

With this in mind, the 300 page book comes alive through three distinct acts, each with a good 12 or 13 chapters (varying in length) that bring Wright's comedic, dramatic, emotional or just plain imaginative chops to light. There are scenes so varied that one may consist of nothing else than Neil getting a sponge bath, while another shows Nye's frustration through a dream-like, crime fighting situation. Family, epiphanies, forgiveness, regret, anger and realisation: all major themes. When I say this book has everything, I mean it -- through the humanity of the story (it is true, after all) these things are so present and come from a very real, very first hand "I felt what you're feeling times 10" place, and that carries true in dialogue, imagery, pacing; EVERYTHING. 

Now things aren't all about the present, mind, as Wright consistently throws around the framing of time -- glimpses of childhood, patches of the recent past, even flashes of the imagination and the unruly subconscious of a man coming to terms with his Father's impending death. Admittedly jarring at first, but as the jumbled story progresses things shape out and we're given more fleshed out characters and relationships as a result, which is unimaginably important for the conclusion.

As if the book wasn't brilliant enough on all these other merits, Wright completely knocks obliterates it out of the (trailer) park within the last 80 pages with the most moving moments I've ever seen in the comic book/graphic novel medium. At this point, through the snivelling, heaving, sobs and streaming tears (seriously), you realise all this stuff -- the humourous touches, the flashbacks, the animal charactertures, every last minor detail -- has been plotted excruciatingly for the inevitable finale.

Jaw droppingly powerful.

At the heart of Things To Do lies almost what you'd call an everyday story of life, death and family. But through Nye's emotionally driven scope it transcends into something indescribably huge, human and heart wrenching and warming at the same time. It's in this way that Wright has captured the essence of how moving real life can be for everyone and everything in this world once put in the right story structure and imagery.

Now this is one of the best things I've read, medium regardless, in my life. And it's only his debut. I think that warrants a slogan...
Nye Wright: Future Talent, No Doubt.

ATR

RE:View: The Name of The Wind

Tolkien. Lewis. Rowling. Martin. Pratchett. Undoubtedly the greatest Fantasy authors that ever lived. Well, time to add a new name to that list: Rothfuss. And don't go forgetting it, as Patrick Rothfuss' beautifully crafted first entry into a breathtaking trilogy (The Kingkiller Chronicle) teaches us that, above all things, names are important; especially one as grand as The Name of The Wind.

  From street urchin to magic prodigy, the ageless-like Kvothe has led an eventful life that he now tries to forget, hiding under the masquerade of a humble innkeeper on the very outskirts of life. But when a travelling scribe comes a-knocking, Kvothe reveals his long and winding history, stretching deep through the darkest pits of despair and the greatest acts of bravery. And so it is told how our protagonist Kvothe, the charming, red-headed young boy, seeks to discover what the name of the wind is, throughout his journey of tragedy, love, magic and heroics.

Ranging from his childhood days of travelling with the Edma Ruh entertainment troupe and hard cold nights on the grimy streets of Tarbean, to his trouble-bound days at the University and heartfelt attempts at wooing the woman he loves, Kvothe comes off as a charming, fun and complex character. And all the more for it, as this really is a character-driven story, all coming from Kvothe's point of view.

  But truly the most gripping of this world is its believability. Don't let the pretence of Fantasy fool you, as Rothfuss has put a ridiculous amount of effort into making this seem realistic. Magic is not just a thing that snaps from your fingers, but instead must be conjured through 'Bindings', which involve all matter of chemistry and alchemy. Folklore and religion, society and history; all richly interwoven throughout this most wholesome tale.

 It then kicks in with both these huge & dramatic and small & endearing, emotion-evoking moments. I was welling up and whimpering within the first 50 pages, then laughing joyfully out loud at those tiny character moments that just sit perfectly, while action had me rooting on the edge of my seat and then bubbling up with anger at one particularly irritating character. These characters seem so well-thought out and totally imaginable, painting a dainty image in my head of every single slight movement they make notated down on the page. You just feel like you're there, like you are with Kvothe, living and breathing his universe.


The pace seems to slow and lurch out toward the middle, as Kvothe settles down into his educational lodgings at The University. Harry Potter fans will feel right at home here, with a similar vibe of "school of magic" going on that I really dug. Don't be put off though, as this is a more mature, realistic and off-beat setting compared to that of HP and co. When it gets slow here, things start to descend a little - perhaps causing a worry of disinterest in the reader - but when the break of the equilibrium finally comes, it consequently hits you as hard as it hits Kvothe, luring you into this (as he says it) "false sense of security" and then shattering it within moments.

 Simply put, upon opening this book, you will be engulfed. Engulfed into a world you won't want to get away from. Engulfed so that you will want to make time for this story. You will stay up into the late hours, telling yourself "Just one more chapter". You won't stop thinking about it once you put it down. And you will be crushed when you realise it's finished. In fact, the ending comes so suddenly that it's just plain cruel, teasing you silently with the anticipation of the second, The Wise Man's Fear. Luckily for me, it came out earlier this year, so no waiting time, but for those who had to wait four years... How did you stay sane?

Buy it now. Read it ASAP. Thank me later.

5 Stars

ATR

Buy Now from Amazon:

The Name Of The Wind: The Kingkiller Chonicle: Book 1

Trailer Tuesday: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

A double bill of trailers today with David Fincher's take on the massively popular The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; the first of the best selling trilogy by Stieg Larson. It should be pointed out that, yes, there has been a version before, done by a Swedish film company and crew. In Fincher's take, Daniel Craig stars alongside Rooney Mara (The Social Network) in this dark, mystery-crime tale.

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander (Mara), a young computer hacker. - IMDb

The first of the two trailers is the clippidy-clappidy, intensey-musicy one:

And then the slowy-burning, dark-plot-heavy one:

Wow, "The feel bad film of Christmas"? That has definitely peaked my interest. And from the second trailer, things look to be menacingly gloomy and mature - after all, the original book was killed "Men Who Hate Women" in Sweden. But this is what Fincher does best, so I'm sure this'll be a knockout hit, maybe even an awards contender... Also, Trent Reznor is once again teaming up with Fincher for the score (after winning multiple awards for The Social Network's score) and looks to be on top form with this remix of Led Zepplin's "Immigrant Song" - very gritty. Prepare to "Feel Bad", 21st December 2011. 

ATR

                       More Trailers!

Trailer Tuesday: Doctor Who: Season 6 Part 2

Another trailer from Comic-Con, was the preview of the next half of Doctor Who Season 6. Expect terrifying monsters, twisty plot lines and David Walliams as a small alien with no hair and pointy ears.

Anyone for a breakdown?

• 0:02 - Since when can Rory ride a motorbike?
• 0:04 - The Doctor appears to be wearing a proper suit, top hat included (No Fez?!) in front of a swastika.  Confused yet?
• 0:07 - The number 11. Not only my favourite number, but the incarnation of the Doctor that Matt Smith is, hence the "My time is running out" over the top of it. Don't panic though, Matt is still playing the Doctor next season too.
• 0:08 - Who is Winston Churchill holding a gun to? The Doctor? Hitler? James Corden?
• 0:09 - Speak of the devil; here comes that lovable mass of a man running down a changing room corridor. Looks like we'll be seeing a return of his character, Craig Owens.
• 0:10 - And here's David Walliams' aforementioned alien, called Gibbis, a spooky new creature appearing in the Toby Whitehouse (Being Human) written episode, God Complex.
• 0:11 - And another guest star this series, Daniel Mays (Outcasts, Ashes to Ashes), who'll be in a Mark Gatiss (Sherlock) episode, entitled Night Terrors.
• 0:11 - Madame Kovarian also returns...
• 0:13 - What is this the eye of? Dalek? Silence? James Corden?
• 0:15 - WTF?! Middle aged Amy? In futuristic armour? When is this going to happen?
• 0:16 - A snippet from the much anticipated episode "Lets Kill Hitler", where apparently the Doctor and co do quite the opposite. "Oh FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"
• 0:19 - An odd exchange between Doctor and Corden, involving some homosexual interactions. Didn't see that coming, did you?
• 0:22 - Amy in wonderland.
• 0:23 - A quick shot of what looks to be a darker and grimier take on the Starship Enterprise cockpit.
• 0:25 - At least now we know how the Doctor gets to Hitler. Smashing through the window.
• 0:26 - River. Is. Madame. Kovarian? WHAT!? Actually, there was always a slight resemblance there...
• 0:28-0:33 - The Silence. Cybermen. Weeping Angels. Creepy Dolls. Robots. Ugly Viking playing chess. And a close up on a Minatour. Anything else?
• 0:33-0:35 - Followed by smashing. Lots of smashing.
• 0:36 - Rory punches Hitler! FRIDGE YEAH!
• 0:37 - Amy fights robots with swords and sticks! FRIDGE YE-HEAH!
• 0:38 - David Walliams/Gibbis hides in a closet! FRIDGE YE-oh wait, that's not that exciting.
• 0:40 - SLOW DOWN! IT'S GOING TOO FAST! From what I could gather here, dudes shoot Silence, one guy teleports, the Doctor pulls Daniel Mays away from something, a Minotaur runs down a corridor and Cybermen heads blow up. Phew.
• 0:46 - So who is in the astronaut suit? That little girl? The Doctor himself? James Corden?
• 0:52 - Answers will come, en masse I suppose. Looks like all these over arching plot lines should be tied up by the end of this, which makes you wonder, "How the fridge are they going to do that?".

So. Many. Questions? Why is there a Minotaur, why are the Cybermen there, will they kill Hitler, what's the deal with River, why was Amy aged, will there be a Fez, who is Daniel Mays, how does the Doctor not die, how does Gibbis play into it and most importantly, is the Doctor gay with James Corden? It'll all be revealed, this Autumn. Can't wait.

RE:View: iBoy

iBoy is a short novel by acclaimed young-adult author, Kevin Brooks. The premise is exactly what the title suggests; a teenage boy is granted the powers of an iPhone after an "accident" embedded one of Apple's popular mobile device into his brain. The boy, Tom Harvey, must now work out his powers (including zapping dudes, hacking into phones and surfing the web through his mind, all while keeping up an impenetrable electrical skin) and use them to right the wrongs of his gritty London council estate. But he'll soon learn that his powers might just be a curse rather than a blessing...

    It's a fun idea that in the wrong hands could end up being a little childish or even camp, but luckily Brooks keeps some very adult themes running through, such as gang violence, drugs and rape. I for one was certainly not expecting this level of grittiness when I first picked up the book, and have to say I was not quite ready for the many f-bombs that started dropping. Plus there is a sense of good and evil throughout that questions our hero's morals as he fights not only the gangs, but himself for his love, Lucy.

  iBoy feels like a very internal story about the main character, Tom/iBoy, as he struggles to cope with his abilities in the dangerous and violent world just outside his flat. As a first person novel, it delves deep into the protagonist's feelings and emotions, making for some emotive reading outside of the few action sequences. And the structure as a whole takes a unique turn with chapters listed in binary code (10011, 10100 etc) and a variety of relevant quotes at the start of each chapter, often involving gangs, technology or feelings.

    At times it can be light hearted with strains of humour and pop-culture references (Spider-Man gets mentioned more that a few times), and then take a heavy, darker tone as iBoy attempts to take down the gang underworld. In between this there's a lot of filler that at times doesn't seem particularly productive to the overall narrative, but is still easy page-turning fodder.

     But when the story hits climax point, things get incredibly tense and will have you on the edge of your seat (despite the near-twist that borders on cheesy). Once its done however, I doubt it'll stick in your mind that long and isn't exactly what I'd call re-read material, but it works as a nice little hero-complex story to wind down with. I'm not sure whether it would've worked out better as a graphic novel of some sort, due to its firm "superhero origin story" roots, but that's an argument for another day. For now, I'll just accept it as a decent emotive story about love, fear, good and evil, that thankfully isn't what the cover might suggest.

6.5/10