Fantastic Metropolis

Reading

I tend to read very few “new” books each year. It’s simply impossible to ignore all the quality literature that towers in the past (and on my desk, literally), so I dedicate a lot of my time to catching up on it. The positive side of this is that I can get a sense of which books are worth reading and so waste very little time with crap, especially since I’m lucky to know intelligent and well-read people who always recommend me the best. Here I must thank Michael Moorcock, João Barreiros, Jeff VanderMeer, Timmi Duchamp and Zoran Zivkovic (among others, including all Listmania! participants) for many priceless suggestions. And because “any book you haven’t read is a new book”, as Charles Dickens said, here’s my list of favourites for 2002:

A Espuma dos Dias, Boris Vian, Aníbal Fernandes (Translator)

(Relógio d’?gua, Portugal)

Boris Vian’s L’écume des jours (which I read in excellent Portuguese translation by Aníbal Fernandes), is quite possibly the best fiction I had this year. L’écume is about the poignant romance between Colin, a wealthy bon vivant, and Chloe, a young woman who eventually wastes away when a waterlily infects her lungs. Set in an absurd and nearly unrecognizable Paris, this book is jazzy, weird, witty, and ultimately tragic, as the lives of Colin, Chloe and their friends collapse in a downward spiral of misery and despair. L’écume des jours is currently available in three different English translations: Moon Indigo (accurate, but austere), Foam on the Daydream (more in spirit with the playful mood of the original), and the recent Foam of the Daze (of which I know nothing about).

City of Saints and Madmen, Jeff VanderMeer, Michael Moorcock (Introduction)

(Prime Books, USA)

This new and improved hardcover edition of City of Saints and Madmen is one of the strangest books I’ve ever had the pleasure to experience (not just read). City is literally and literarily crowded with goodies. Stories overflow onto the dust jacket itself—Ambergris sucks you in before you even open the covers!—, another continues well beyond its end, while yet another must be completed from the rest of the book through a decryption effort by the reader. The new stories (my favorites being “The Cage”, “The Release of Belacqua” and “In the Hours After Death”) are as sharp and clever as only Jeff VanderMeer can make them, imparting his Ambergris setting with a particular atmosphere that no other writer could possibly recreate.

The Scar, China Miéville

(Macmillan, UK)

Despite the book’s tedious beginning, China Miéville pushes the boundaries of his gift another step further in The Scar. Meet Bellis Coldwine, who is on the run from Crobuzoni authorities and unexpectedly finds herself a captive in Armada, an immense pirate city adrift in the middle of the ocean. Unaware of the reasons for her capture, she stumbles on the city leaders’ plan to harness a leviathan creature from another dimension (evoking Moby-Dick, and the kragen hunters in Jack Vance’s The Blue World), which in turn leads up to a suitably ambiguous finale on the edge of reality and probability. Echoes of Miéville’s influences abound: the gormenghastian names, or the rust beach out of Viriconium, to name a couple. The Scar demonstrates once more why Miéville is a required read and a talent to watch closely. Trust me, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque, Jeffrey Ford

(Morrow, USA)

When a renowned portraitist (a dying breed with the advent of photography) is commissioned to paint someone he can’t see, running after illusions becomes a dominant part of his life. Mrs. Charbuque’s stories are as dreamlike and full of wonder as only childhood memories can be, but the painter perseveres in following lead after strange lead in search of the mysterious woman’s identity until, eventually, illusions start chasing him back. The fantastic substance of the novel is only apparent, but then again so are its facts. The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque is like a snowflake in those precious few seconds before it completely melts in your hand, somewhere between liquid dream and icy reality, complex and unique and intensely beautiful. My favourite Ford novel so far.

Behold the Man, Michael Moorcock, John Picacio (Illustrator), Jonathan Carroll (Introduction)

(Mojo Press, USA)

While being an agnostic myself, I’m very interested in religion as a social and historical phenomenon, so this novella was a real treat for me. Karl Glogauer is a time traveller in search of Jesus—literally. But when he learns that the son of Mary is nothing but an simpleton, he’s compelled to embrace the road not (yet) taken and eventually surrender his life at the cross for humanity’s sake. Behold the Man therefore asks a profoundly fascinating question: was Jesus Christ a historical inevitability? Or perhaps, because Glogauer already knew there should be a messiah, he sacrificed himself so the illusion would endure for generations to come. The answer is thus tainted by foreknowledge, but then again, it’s not this book’s job to give you answers, much less the Blessed Truth. No, that’d be almost as bad as being told what to do, say, and think. Not that I can think of any examples right now.

The Iron Dragon’s Daughter, Michael Swanwick

(Millennium, UK)

I confess: The Iron Dragon’s Daughter is my first Swanwick novel, one I truly regret not having read before. And what a great book it is, where traditional escapist fantasy—of the sort that’s cranked out of cookie cutters by dozens of Tolkien clones around the world—is put to the test under the harsh light of science fiction. Moronic clichés immediately fall apart, and tired tropes rearrange themselves in wonderful new configurations. Swanwick aims incisive criticism at commodified fantasy, and brings into the novel issues otherwise conveniently overlooked or simplified by the authors of fast fiction. A superb book.

Jack Faust, Michael Swanwick

(Orion, UK)

In the German town of Wittenberg, a delirious Dr. Faust is approached by the demon Mephistopheles with an offer he cannot refuse. Imagine, if you will, the past five centuries of western civilization on steroids. With a heart full of good intentions but not without some hypocrisy, Faust naïvely believes his newly gifted enlightenment will only improve the shitty world he’s in. But while most of humanity struggles to keep up with the changes, greed and opportunism are quick to catch up, and the good doctor eventually gives in to them in order to further his own goals. Not a flawless book, but Michael Swanwick nevertheless puts his scalpel to where important questions lie and cleverly dissects knowledge, power, greed, reason, and superstition in this bleak novel on the nature of mankind.

Nemonymous, D. F. Lewis (Editor)

I don’t know what else I can write about Nemonymous that I haven’t said already. Obsessed as I am with nailing down an original idea, I totally envy Des Lewis for coming up with this, a magazine/anthology where all stories are printed anonymously. (But only temporarily, as authors are properly “denemonised” when the time is right.) The concept behind Nemonymous might sound a little crazy, but it works, as it allows real talent to shine through without the encumbrance of a reputation (or the lack of one). Because of this, it may not appeal to writers whose ego has a will of its own, though I suspect some may yet succumb due to curiosity. Besides, it’s fun as hell trying to guess who wrote what—so far, I only get points for spotting Rhys Hughes, although his style is so characteristic, he doesn’t really need a name..

Não Estamos Divertidos, João Barreiros

(Hyperdrive, 2002)

Não estamos divertidas (“We Are Not Amused”) are Queen Victoria’s famous last words before a Martian heat ray burns her to a crisp in the opening paragraphs of this novelette. João Barreiros writes infrequently, but when he does, he makes sure no one’s left indifferent. Asked to write “a very short story about Mars”, but unwilling to reinvent the wheel in a setting already left barren by dozens of authors before him, Barreiros decided that if he would pinch someone’s ideas, that someone would have to be himself. So he went back to a previous novelette of his, “A Verdadeira Invasão dos Marcianos” (“The Real Martian Invasion”), and came up with a wild parallel plot where Wells, Verne and Burroughs—along with some of their famous characters—are sent on a post-modern mission to Mars in order to investigate the causes of the alien attack. Both novelettes deserve to be translated into English and published in the old Ace Double format, as they can be read in either order and affect how the other story is perceived. Until then, they’ll remain the sole privilege of Lusophone readers who download the PDF e-book here.

Les Cités Obscures, François Schuiten & Benoît Peeters

I’m helplessly hooked on this fantastic bande dessinée series by Belgian duo Schuiten & Peeters (with many thanks to Prof. João Ventura for showing me the Passage). The artwork is amazing, meticulously conveying the unique feel and atmosphere of each city in this Borgesian, Kafkaesque parallel universe, ever full of knowledgeable references to architecture, literature, art, and politics. On the downside, a few of the books aren’t as bold as they could be, while the overzealous Brüsel, for instance, misses the mark and instead leans towards the irrationally technophobic. Still, Les Cités Obscures are definitely outstanding, and an essential cycle in the universe of the Ninth Art. Learn more at Urbicande.be.

Nobilis (2^nd Edition), Rebecca Sean Borgstrom

(Hogshead Publishing, 2002)

Nobilis is the most beautiful role-playing game I’ve ever seen, and I guarantee that just reading the rulebook is well worth the cover price. Forget all the bad stuff you’ve heard about RPGs before—this one is special. In this game, and to put it in extremely simple terms, players become Powers, a collection of near-mythological beings who personify certain aspects of reality, and are charged with protecting them against the attacks of an army of un-beings from Beyond with nothing on their minds but the total obliteration of the universe. The setting and characters are strongly influenced by Neil Gaiman, Roger Zelazny, Tim Powers, and even Lord Dunsany, in addition to a spattering of myths from around the world. And while the overwhelming power granted on the player characters would ruin most game sessions, both system and setting deal with these issues in an elegant way that discourages abuse. Besides, it’s a diceless game, which means conflict is resolved strictly through role-play rather than roll-play. Unfortunately, Nobilis now appears to be unavailable everywhere, although a reprint is due out soon from its new publisher, Guardians of Order.

SciFiction, Ellen Datlow (Editor)

The best sf site on the web, period. With an impressive collection of classics and originals by the likes of Kersh, Fowler, Filippo, Vukcevich, Emshwiller or Lafferty, not to mention Michael Swanwick’s monumental Periodic Table of Science Fiction project, there’s no way it can’t be the best.

Other websites that held my prolonged attention this year: Common Dreams (a beacon of sanity in this mad, mad world), Dusk, The Infinite Matrix, and Jorge Candeias’ E-nigma, along with older favourites like Locus Online, The Register, OpenSource cathedral SourceForge.net, the irreverent History House, Fantasya, GFXArtist.com, and Tatsuya Ishida’s Sinfest.

Sight…

Cinema is a big passion of mine, but last year I didn’t go to the movies as often as I’d have liked. Too busy, too broke, or simply not curious enough to sit through movies that didn’t look in the least promising. I only recently got into DVD, so the future looks brighter as I have a vaster range of titles to choose from. A few of my picks:

Donnie Darko, Directed by Richard Kelly

(Flower/Pandora, 2001)

It took this movie over a year to reach theatres here, and it only did because distribution company New Age Entertainment (praised be) thought that would be a nice way to inaugurate business in Portugal. And not only Donnie Darko is an excellent movie, it was very warmly welcomed by critics and audience alike, which tells me two things about Portuguese distributors: not only they don’t know shit about quality, they don’t know shit about their market either.

Played with eerie flair by Jake Gyllenhaal, Donnie Darko is a bright but disturbed teenager whose constant visions of a demonic bunny rabbit save his life when, out of nowhere, a jet engine crashes into his house. Donnie is immediately told the exact date when the world will end (ironically, the same date as the 1988 elections won by George Bush, Sr.) and is clued, through more dreams and hallucinations, on the principles of time travel and how they might relate to the initial jet engine crash. Donnie Darko is like a twisted It’s a Wonderful Life, with a sometimes nostalgic, though more often embarrassed look at 1980’s suburban America where writer-director Richard Kelly grew up. When he’s not sharing his thoughts on the rampant idiocy of pop psychology or on how PC corrupted education, Kelly weaves a charming and mildly complex time travel story that will give you just as much food for thought.

O Brother Where Art Thou?, Directed by the Coen Brothers

(Universal/Touchstone, 2000)

It’s a musical comedy inspired by the Odyssey... and it works! Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) is a silver-tongued con man who drags two fellow escaped convicts (played by John Torturro and Tim Blake Nelson) on a series of misadventures that mimic those of Ulysses and his men in Homer’s classic. And although music plays a significant part in the film, there are no awkward moments where performers spontaneously burst into song. Each scene flows naturally and elegantly into the next. This movie is funny, smart, highly unusual, beautifully shot, has impeccable dialogue (I love Ulysses’ excessively overwrought lines), a storyline that skilfully intertwines legend and reality, and a great soundtrack. What more could I possibly wish for?

Battle Royale, Directed by Kinji Fukasaku

(Toei/Battle Royale Production Committee, 2000)

(Another of New Age Entertainment’s releases. These guys are a godsend, I tell you.)

Far from a godsend, however, is the nightmarish BR Act that is passed in order to curb juvenile delinquency in a chaotic, totalitarian Japan. Under cover of the BR Act, a high school class is randomly singled out each year, and then sent off to an island on a sadistic war game from which only one teenager can come back alive. The movie is extremely graphic in its depiction of violence, but contrarily to what you’d expect, it doesn’t neglect the characters and the perverse dilemma they’re forced into by uncaring parents, government and media (tv networks cheerfully cover the event, while the unfortunate victims’ names and numbers are ticked off on-screen with such indifference that borders on the disturbing). The script was written with a generous share of twisted creativity, and the direction is competent enough to handle the material without turning it into some vapid teen slasher flick. Highly recommended—if you can stomach it.

Child Soldiers (tv)

Directed by Alan Lindsay
Produced by Andrew Ogilvie

(Electric Pictures, 2002)

Reality, however, can get even sicker than fiction. If you think paedophilia is the worst that can be done to a child, think again. All over the world—especially in Africa and Asia, but even in such unsuspected nations as the USA or the UK —children are being recruited by the government and/or armed opposition forces to act as soldiers, spies, couriers, sex slaves, or merely cannon fodder. Coerced, abused, alienated, or otherwise persuaded, these children are taught to obey blindly and kill without remorse, all for the benefit of a few minor (and not so minor) warlords who tend to live luxuriously off a country’s often vast but misapplied resources. This essential documentary will spare you only of what it has no time to show, but don’t think of looking away—it won’t do shit to help.

More on the subject at the following websites:

• Amnesty International
• Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
• Human Rights Watch
• UNICEF

“Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” (tv)

Directed by Kenji Kamiyama

(Production I.G, 2002)

First of all, this isn’t some cheap tv spin-off made to cash in on the huge success of the movie and comic book. “Stand Alone Complex” is beautifully produced all around. It combines high-end computer imagery with a more traditional drawing style to create superbly fluid animation. The dialogue and storyline for each episode are as complex and thought-provoking as the original work itself, continuing to blur the interface between man and machine. My only criticism is that the music by Yoko Kanno is not on par with Kenji Kawai’s movie soundtrack, unfortunately. It’s hard to pick a favourite episode (not that I have to), but I found “Proof of Influx” to be oddly touching, even though it’s centred on a behemoth tank gone out of control. Maybe I’m just a soft-hearted wimp, but it only took them thirty minutes to make me feel sympathy for a big-ass machine that doesn’t even say a word the whole time. Hell, the show is brilliant!

Ghost in the Shell

Directed by Mamoru Oshii

(Production I.G, 1995)

I also got the chance to watch the original Ghost in the Shell on the silver screen, part of an awesome animation cycle organized by Zero em Comportamento. I had seen the movie before, but it was such a thrill to see everything big that I’m including it in this list.

By the way, Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2 is scheduled to arrive shortly in English translation from Dark Horse, with the nastiest bits obviously edited out so the book won’t shake the readers’ fragile sense of morality. Innocence, indeed…

The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended DVD Edition)

Directed by Peter Jackson

(New Line Cinema, 2002)

The books are dull as fuck, but I have to congratulate Peter Jackson (and the entire production team) for a job well done adapting the first part of Tolkien’s saga onto the screen. Besides, this DVD set is so huge I’m not done through it yet. Full of documentaries, commentaries, and other assorted extras, this is the way all DVD editions should be.

In addition to the movies and tv programmes listed above, I would like to hand out honourable mentions to “24” (2001), Mulholland Dr. (2001), The Wall (1982), The Eye (2002), Road to Perdition (2002), and Lantana (2001). I only half-liked The Two Towers (2002) and Insomnia (2002), as both Peter Jackson and Christopher Nolan needlessly resorted to cheap and clichéd Hollywood approaches that I think were below their talent and stature as directors.

...and Sound

Radiohead, Coliseu dos Recreios, 23 July 2002

This was, without shadow of doubt, the best concert of the year. Thom York and his band played to a crowded house at the Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon, and even premiered a few songs from their upcoming album: “Keep the Wolf from the Door”, “There There”, “Scatterbrain” and “Myxomatosis”, to name just a handful.

Other performers I mainly enjoyed last year include Kristin Hersh and her Throwing Muses, Aimee Mann, Goldfrapp (thanks, Rhys!), Madredeus, The Breeders, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Cocteau Twins, Hooverphonic, Massive Attack, Tori Amos, Juliana Hatfield, Remy Zero, Republica, Coldplay, and Joy Division (mostly because of Donnie Darko).