‘Explosive Acts’ captures the debauched atmosphere of 1890s Paris

By Christine Brenneman

IF ONE PERSON serves as an emblem of the turbulent, debauched atmosphere of 1890s Paris, it’s artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. He may have been a cripple, an alcoholic, and a syphilitic, but Toulouse-Lautrec was enormously connected to both the important figures of the arts community and the sleazy entertainers and prostitutes of fin-de-siècle Paris.

In David Sweetman’s Explosive Acts: Toulouse-Lautrec, Oscar Wilde, Félix Fénéon, and the Art and Anarchy of the Fin de Siècle (Simon & Schuster; $35), we gain entry into this swirling world of anarchists, artists, and whores.

But don’t be fooled by the expanse of the title: Toulouse-Lautrec is the hobbling axle around whom all the action revolves.

Sweetman traces the arc of Toulouse-Lautrec’s short existence, starting with his odd family life as a semi-aristocratic youth in the French countryside.

His parents were first cousins, which was most likely the cause of his health problems from the start. A doting mother couldn’t compensate for his estranged father, who wanted nothing to do with his small, crippled son. Thankfully, they had the foresight to send him off to Paris when he displayed enormous artistic potential.

This, of course, is when the story gets interesting. Toulouse-Lautrec studied art at a number of notable ateliers, but he also quickly fell in with a rambunctious, liberated crowd that included other artists and writers.

His family considered these rapscallions far too louche for their supposedly well-bred son, but this mattered little to Toulouse-Lautrec. He and his newfound friends embraced the dark underbelly of city life, much as reckless children far from home have always done.

At this point he encountered two things that he would love all his life, but that would ultimately prove to be his undoing: alcohol and prostitutes.

He hung out at bars and in maisons closes (whorehouses) and found that he felt quite comfortable in these lower-class environments.

His art began to reflect this fascination with working-class Paris, depicting real-life views of it. He created portrayals of entertainers and prostitutes from this point forward, all rendered with his signature empathy and candor.

This style and subject matter–which was considered entirely radical and subversive at the end of the 19th century–drew the attention of others who were hell-bent on upsetting the social and artistic status quos of this time, namely Oscar Wilde and Félix Fénéon.

In an intriguing interweaving of these three individuals, Toulouse-Lautrec made art, critic Fénéon wrote about this art, and Wilde read what Fénéon had written.

Wilde and Fénéon pop up intermittently throughout Explosive Acts, rounding out Sweetman’s idea that Toulouse-Lautrec was surrounded by like-minded, anarchist types.

Unfortunately, what begins as an exceedingly well-researched chronicle of Toulouse-Lautrec soon becomes an attempt to squeeze this entire era into one book. We are given detailed accounts of Toulouse-Lautrec’s every acquaintance, Wilde’s numerous paramours, and Fénéon’s writing career.

Although interesting, this wealth of information sometimes feels overwhelming.

Sweetman’s knowledge is clearly extensive, but too many tangents take away from his earnest campaign: that people should take Toulouse-Lautrec’s art seriously. But don’t we already consider him a truly great, if notorious, figure?

Whatever your opinion about Toulouse-Lautrec’s art, the story of the man and his compatriots, Wilde and Fénéon (and the myriad cast of characters from this epoch), still makes for an entertaining read when told by Sweetman.

It’s impossible to deny that these often outrageous and always brilliant individuals had personality in excess. Maybe that’s why, 100 years after their deaths, their tales are still riveting .

From the April 20-26, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Local authors spring into the book biz

By Greg Cahill, Liesel Hofmann, Shelley Lawrence, and Patrick Sullivan

THE RAIN has stopped, the beach is beckoning, and life quickens in the sweet spring breezes. But before you leave the indoors behind for the season, step into your local bookstore to check out something else spring has to offer: a fresh crop of books by local authors, who have a bit of everything to offer this time out, from children’s books to novels to poetry and beyond.

Rob Brezsny The Televisionary Oracle (North Atlantic Books; $16.95)

FOR YEARS NOW, stargazer Rob Brezsny has used his Real Astrology column to provide offbeat advice about life and love in newspapers across the country, including the one you’re holding in your hands. Brezsny’s many starstruck fans will be delighted to learn that the San Rafael author has just published his first novel. Employing the column’s familiar mix of sexy banter and audacious astrological insights, The Televisionary Oracle tells the story of a peculiar man on a strange spiritual quest in Santa Cruz. (Catch Breszny live on Saturday, April 22, when he reads at Borders Books in Santa Rosa.)–P.S.

Geoffrey B. Cain The Wards of St. Dymphna (SoCo Arts & Media; $13.95)

IN HIS FIRST NOVEL, the local author takes the reader on a surreal trip, chronicling the exploits of protagonist Brian McCorley in the streets of a small Northern California town and in the depths of his own mind. The novel details Brian’s spiritual quest through his “mad third eye” and gives an interesting spin on his return to small-town life. The book is definitely interesting, but at times a little hard to follow.–S.L.

Jabez W. Churchill Sleeping with Ghosts (Kulupi Press; $8.95)

IN THIS NEW collection of work from local poet Jabez Churchill, the best lines jump across the page like oil skipping on a hot skillet. For example, take these lines from a poem called “Love’s Threshing Floor”: “This floor is hard./ It does not smell of ripened wheat,/ chaff and dust,/ or perfumed feet./ It smacks of tears and blood,/ the shit love beats from the heart.” Nothing else in Sleeping with Ghosts quite measures up to that high standard, but the other poems don’t fall far below it, either. The book also features wonderful cover art by Barbara Jacobsen and evocative black-and-white illustrations by Connie Butler.–P.S.

Jim Dreaver The Way of Harmony: Walking the Inner Path to Balance, Happiness, and Success (Avon Books; $12.50)

SELF-HELPMEISTER Jim Dreaver of Sebastopol tells his readers in simple and concise language how to walk the path to spiritual, emotional, physical, and material prosperity. The Way of Harmony is an easy guide for today’s busy person seeking spiritual truths without too much effort. The book is peppered with personal anecdotes, guided meditations, and step-by-step instructions on topics like “The Secret to Great Relationships” and “Dealing with Intense Feelings and Emotions.” Dreaver helps you unlock the secrets of abundance, expand your awareness by embracing your spirit, and connect with your inner wisdom. Ommmmm . . . –S.L.

Armando Garcia-Davila Out of My Heart/De Mi Corazon (Thumbprint Press; $10.95)

“POETRY BARGED through my door one day,” writes Armando Garcia-Davila in his poem “The Muse.” “There was no stealth in her movements, no cloak to hide her red hair, red lips, and red attitude. She caressed, cuddled, and had her way with me.” This newly published collection of the Sonoma County poet’s work offers some 20 poems rendered in both English and Spanish. That bilingual presentation provides a fascinating illustration of the fact that Romance languages usually make for better poetry.–P.S.

Terri Leonard, Editor In the Women’s Clubhouse: The Greatest Women Golfers in Their Own Words (Contemporary Books; $22.95)

EVERYONE KNOWS of Tiger Woods, but hardly anybody can name a professional woman golfer. While women have made major inroads in other male-dominated sports–think of soccer star Brandi Chastain or basketball hero Cheryl Miller–the history of women golfers remains as cloaked in mystery as the back nine at the fog-shrouded Pebble Beach golf course. Petaluman Terri Leonard goes a long way toward rectifying that situation with this intriguing collection of revealing personal stories spotlighting a century of golf tradition from the female perspective. In chapter after chapter, women describe in their own words the sense of power they felt from the hard swing of the club, the freedom of the links, the challenge of competition, the thrill of victory. From pioneer golfer Mabel Stringer to seven-time Swedish national champion Helen Alfredsson (and including my old high school hygiene teacher, Jane Blalock, one of the most consistent players on the LPGA tour), Leonard has opened the door for a new generation of women to discover the joys of the clubhouse.–G.C.

Jonathan London

BEST KNOWN for his hugely popular Froggy series, Graton’s most prolific children’s author returns with two new books about animals.

Snuggle Wuggle (Silver Whistle; $13)

YOUNGER CHILDREN learn how animal parents hug their kids in this new bedtime book: “How does a chick hug? Fluffy duffy, fluffy duffy”; “How does a kangaroo hug? Pouchety boing! boing! boing!” Michael Rex provides the warm and fuzzy illustrations.–P.S.

Who Bop? (HarperCollins Children’s Books; $14.89)

THE ANIMALS BOP to the smooth sax sounds of a cool cat named Jazz-Bo in this musical story about doodle-wopping frogs and swooping looping loons. London’s musical text–perfect for reading aloud–is paired with illustrations of dancing animals by Henry Cole.–P.S.

C. W. Meisterfeld Dog Whisper: Intuitive Communication (M-R-K Publishing; $21.95)

THE PETALUMA AUTHOR, a dog psychologist, relates over 30 engaging, informative tales about dogs whose behavior problems he has solved through mutual respect. By training humanely, “a responsible dog owner demonstrates to others, especially children, values such as kindness and compassion towards all life.” But since Meisterfeld trains hunting dogs and serves as a hunting guide, he apparently does not extend this view to all sentient creatures, causing some readers to perhaps be turned off by an otherwise appealing book.–L.H.

Shane Mooney Useless Sexual Trivia: Tastefully Prurient Facts about Everyone’s Favorite Subject (Simon & Schuster; $12)

IN MIDDLE EASTERN Islamic countries, it’s a sin and a crime to eat a lamb that you’ve had sex with . . . really. The Santa Rosa author’s collection of hilarious sexual factoids keeps the reader riveted through every chapter. “Sexual History” was this reader’s favorite chapter, offering such morsels as how many children Ramses the Great fathered (160, which is, ironically, why Ramses-brand condoms are named after him), how many prostitutes served at the parties hosted by Pope Alexander VI (50, and a prize was given to the one with the most stamina), and the sexual beliefs of ancient Chinese Taoists (immortality could be achieved by having sex with 20 different women each day). Sure to make any reader the life of the party.–S.L.

Holly J. Pierce, Editor High Tea with Jesus (Self-published; $15)

IT’S NO EASY task finding this book: local clerks eagerly refer you to the nearest Christian bookstore. But don’t be fooled. High Tea with Jesus is not chock-full of Bible stories. It’s actually a collection of poetry, stories, and essays by local writers under the tutelage of Sonoma County literary figure and writing teacher Sara Spaulding-Phillips. Between its covers, you’ll find poetry about soldier’s wives and a Chicago childhood, as well as dozens of stories and essays about a wide variety of subjects, including divorce, a girl’s first period, loneliness, a woman who has a husband in a burn center, and the title piece, a brief but pointed recollection by Spaulding-Phillips of a childhood ritual involving her grandmother, English bone china, and relentless Bible readings. (Hint: the best place–perhaps the only place–to find High Tea is at Copperfield’s Books in Montgomery Village.)–P.S.

Pamela Raphael, with Libby Colman and Lynn Loar Teaching Compassion: A Guide for Humane Educators, Teachers, and Parents (Latham Foundation for the Promotion of Humane Education; $19.95)

WITH GENTLE PASSION, the local authors explain how they’ve elicited often startling poems and drawings–scattered throughout the book–that enable young children to express compassion, love, pain, anger, outrage. Even kids who have witnessed or inflicted animal abuse have been led to discover that animals have emotions and communicate with humans. The book’s heartfelt lessons cover pet care, pet overpopulation, habitat loss, the question of hunting, and coping with neglect and abuse–all based on the authors’ realization of the remarkable affinity between children and animals.–L.H.

Eugene Shapiro Upright Man (Pir Press; $11.95)

“OUR RELATIONSHIP to our penis defines the kind of men we are,” asserts the local author of this book, which aims to help reconnect men to the “psychic power and sexual pleasure” of their sexual organs. Shapiro’s deeply personal anecdotes about his problems with impotence are impressive for their honesty. Eager to resurrect his sex life, the author experimented with everything from vacuum pumps to penile injections before finally finding a solution in Viagra. Readers may be dubious about the author’s sweeping pronouncements on male psychology, and Shapiro doesn’t help us out by citing much scientific evidence to support his view that men are virtually incapable of being anything but ultra-competitive, predatory beasts. But the book does close on a more hopeful note, arguing (in what almost seems an about-face) that emotional honesty plus Viagra can help older men create a new life as caring and giving lovers.–P.S.

Jack Withington (text); Ron Parenti (photographs) Historical Buildings of Sonoma County: A Pictorial Story of Yesterday’s Rural Structures (3rd Wing Press; $18.95)

THINK TWICE the next time you drive down Highway 116 past a dilapidated old building: It may be one of the oldest structures in this county. Parenti’s photographs and Santa Rosan Withington’s quirky, highly informative text put a new spin on old stuff. A good addition to anyone’s coffee table collection, Historical Buildings provides the reader with excellent and readable background information about our county (did you know that Sonoma County had the only chicken pharmacy in the United States?). It’s fun going through the pages and finding pictures of buildings that are everyday sights, then learning what’s happened there in years past.–S. L.

From the April 13-19, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Jazzing up children’s books: Santa Rosa author and publisher Matthew Gollub draws on his love of music and his talent for languages to create a globetrotting new breed of children’s books.

Speaking in Tongues

Author and publisher Matthew Gollub introduces kids to a wide world of culture

MATTHEW GOLLUB was living in Japan when it all started. His job–teaching English to Japanese businessmen–was less than satisfying, and the trilingual Gollub had been working to make a transition from teacher to writer. Then, in the early 1990s, an old friend called with an invitation to team up for a vacation in Oaxaca, Mexico. The friend had an acquaintance, a Mexican artist named Leovigildo Martinez, who had offered to be their guide around Oaxaca.

Gollub, keenly interested in the languages and folktales of different cultures, jumped at the chance to visit Mexico.

“I thought I’d be a good little chronicler of folklore,” explains the 39-year-old children’s author, publisher, and musician, sitting at the dining room table in his Santa Rosa home. “I decided I’d be a collector of stories.”

Tape recorder in hand, Gollub arrived in Oaxaca determined to become a “cultural informant,” vigorously pursuing his quest to capture traditional Mexican folktales on tape. With Martinez’s help, he approached everyone from downtown fruit vendors to pueblo-dwelling herbalists and spiritual healers. All seemed eager to share their tales.

He collected dozens of “authentic” stories before realizing that something wasn’t quite right.

“It soon became obvious that the old stories I was being told were more than a little bit, um, spontaneous,” Gollub recalls. “In other words, they were making this stuff up. Or at least they were retelling stories according to what they thought I wanted to hear.

“So I thought, ‘I’ll do the same thing. I’ll tell Mexican folktales that will hold water for an American audience.'”

Martinez offered to help. Explains Gollub, “Leo said to me, ‘You’re a writer. I am an artist. Why don’t we make books together?'”

Picture This: The Sebastopol Library hosts an exhibition of work by three prominent Sonoma County illustrators.

THEIR FIRST collaboration was The Twenty-Five Mixtec Cats, a children’s tale about a battle between two Mexican magicians, one of whom has adopted 25 mysterious and very clever cats. The story–a loose adaptation of the tales that Gollub heard during his stay in Mexico–was beautifully supported by Martinez’s colorful, remarkably complex illustrations. Even so, publishers rejected the book 25 times–once for every one of those cats.

“The book was kind of out there,” Gollub admits. “When your work is offbeat, it’s harder to sell, but I think it has a better chance of making a big splash when it does come out.”

Indeed, when William Morrow finally took a chance and published The Twenty-Five Mixtec Cats, the book met with resounding critical praise and success, quickly amassing a suitcase-full of awards.

“At that time, the children’s market was only accustomed to books about barn animals and fuzzy bedtime stories,” Gollub says.

There soon followed a second collaboration between Gollub and Martinez: The Moon Was at a Fiesta, a whimsical tale that explained why the moon sometimes appears in the daytime sky. The new effort received a similar outpouring of critical acclaim and honors.

AT THIS POINT, however, something happened that changed the course of Gollub’s career: William Morrow began phasing out its children’s book division. Gollub’s books were in danger of going out of print. After buying the rights back from Morrow, he decided to start his own publishing house in 1997.

By this time, Gollub had relocated from Japan to California and was beginning to build a successful side-career as a public speaker, musician, and storyteller, capitalizing on the name recognition his books were bringing. Gollub named his publishing company Tortuga Press, adopting the Spanish name for turtle.

“The turtle is allowed to move slowly,” explains Gollub with a soft chuckle. “When I was a brand-new publisher, just beginning to learn the ropes, the turtle was a very comforting image to me.”

Determined to avoid the low-quality standards set by many do-it-yourself publishers, Gollub spent months researching book manufacturers that could guarantee the same quality as a major publishing house. He finally chose a manufacturer based in Hong Kong.

“If you do your homework, it doesn’t have to cost all that much,” Gollub insists. “Most do-it-yourselfers aren’t all that well informed about their options.”

Along with re-releases of his previous books, he published a third collaboration with Martinez, the eerie and delightful Uncle Snake, about a boy who is half-reptile. It became a huge hit with Gollub’s young audiences.

Through Tortuga, Gollub now supplies books to more than 150 vendors. He’s released paperback versions of all his stories, Spanish-language versions of Mixtec Cats and Fiesta, and three videos, two featuring Gollub reading bilingual stories and the other offering teachers tips for dynamic storytelling to young people.

But despite his growing distribution network, Gollub still sells the lion’s share of books at his live appearances. He’s performed at schools and bookstores in 10 states and is now preparing to visit Indiana and Utah for the first time.

These visits are a way for Gollub to spread his passionate opinions about kids and books. He believes parents should read to their children daily, a practice he follows with his 4-year-old son, Jacob, to whom Gollub reads a bedtime story every night from a stack of library books by the boy’s bed.

“If he’s poking along or being fussy, we just say, ‘You’d better brush your teeth and wash your face or you won’t get your story,'” Gollub says. “That’s the only discipline we use. He always hops to because he never wants to miss his bedtime stories.”

Jacob–who knows the titles of all his father’s books by heart–is the main reason Gollub runs Tortuga from his home.

“If I had an office I’d probably be more productive overall, but I’d miss a lot of time around him,” Gollub says.

IRONICALLY, with the success of the children’s books, Leo Martinez found his fine-art work increasingly sought after around the world, and now has little time to devote to illustration, though he and Gollub are talking about doing another book soon.

With Martinez tied up, Gollub has begun collaborating with other artists. Cool Melons–Turn to Frogs!, a translation of several magical Japanese haiku, was illustrated by Kazuko Stone of New York.

Gollub’s latest, The Jazz Fly–the story of a bebopping bug who learns the value of knowing more than one language–was handsomely computer-illustrated (a Tortuga Press first) by Sonoma County artist Karen Hanke. The very funny book also includes a CD of Gollub performing The Jazz Fly on drums, exuberantly backed up by local musicians Aida de Arteaga, Cliff Zyskowski, and Ylonda Nickell. Since its release last month, the book has been outselling all of Gollub’s other titles 5 to 1.

“The effect on schoolkids has been magical,” Gollub says.

His next effort is a second collaboration with Kazuko Stone, a book titled Ten Oni Drummers. After that, Gollub plans to do Gobble Quack Moon, a fanciful tale about the residents of a barnyard, due out next spring.

“I’m finally doing a ‘barn animal’ book,” he says with a laugh. “But I promise you, I’m doing it my way.”

From the April 13-19, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Family Values

‘Back Roads’ unwraps the dark riddle of a troubled household

By Patrick Sullivan

EVERYBODY makes mistakes, but some people make more than others. Case in point: Oprah’s Book Club, which has, it’s true, selected a few really wonderful novels over the past few years, but which has also used the bone-crushing power of its founder’s name to hammer home some truly terrible books, driving them like a stake through America’s literary heart.

Therefore, if you’ve wandered into your local book emporium lately, you might be tempted to instantly dismiss Tawni O’Dell’s Back Roads (Viking; $24.95). Copies of the new novel–selected by Oprah in March–confront you at every turn, stacked in towering displays that cry out for a seismic retrofit. It makes you feel, frankly, as if you’ve wandered into a bookstore run by McDonald’s, with dozens of literary happy meals served up lukewarm for speedy consumption.

But suspend your judgment. Back Roads is no masterpiece, but it deserves–and rewards–a careful read.

The book’s narrator, Harley Altmeyer, is a boy with a few problems. Let’s start with the big stuff: after suffering years of abuse, his mom recently blew his dad’s head off with a rifle and then went to prison, leaving the 20-year-old Harley alone to raise his three younger sisters in their poverty-ridden Pennsylvania mining town.

Those three siblings are each a problem in their own right. More focused on getting laid than being a good parent, Harley has to hold down two jobs and keep track of the 6-year-old Jody, the 12-year-old Misty, and the far-too-old-for-her-age Amber, a 16-old dangerously mired in the muck of adolescence.

Women, it seems, bedevil the narrator at every turn. His sisters confound him with their mercurial personalities and strange passions. Callie Mercer, his sexy 30-something neighbor and the mother of one of Jody’s little friends, attracts and frustrates him. His court-appointed shrink disgusts, provokes, and annoys as she tries to get to the heart of his brooding anger.

By now the danger here should be obvious. This book, full of dark family secrets and youthful tragedy, has all the elements of a daytime soap opera.

But O’Dell sidesteps melodrama (mostly, anyway) by giving her narrator a hard, nasty voice. To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, if tragedy made people nice we wouldn’t hate it so much. Just when you start to feel really sorry for Harley, he says or does something outrageous enough–like setting the family’s couch on fire because his sister was making out with her boyfriend on it–to make those jerked-out tears dry right up.

Early in the book, Harley recalls the time he told a friend how attracted he was to Callie: “Skip thought I was joking. He said I was sick. He said wanting to nail somebody’s mother was like wanting to nail your cousin. And I told him if she walked over and pressed her wet shorts against him and whispered in his ear that she wanted to fuck him, he would shoot off in his pants before he could say anything back.”

Which is, I’m sorry to report, exactly how teenage boys tend to talk–in a sort of ugly poetry that’s one part Walt Whitman and two parts the stuff you find on the bathroom walls at the gas station. O’Dell captures that language almost perfectly. Indeed, the author is at her strongest when she’s crafting characters and putting dialogue in their mouths.

But, alas, she has her few weak spots too, mostly in the vital area of plot. It takes far too long to realize that a mystery lies at the heart of this book, a thorny question of what really happened on the night Harley’s father died. Before that riddle surfaces, the book just treads water.

There are other problems. Ironically, O’Dell seems to write male characters better than female ones. The women here don’t seem quite real. Perhaps you can chalk it up to the limited view of her male narrator that most of the book’s women remain enigmatic right up to the last page. But it’s a bit daunting how frequently Harley’s suspicions that women are deceiving him turn out to be right on target.

Ultimately, though, it’s Harley himself who keeps the reader coming back for more. Carved out in blunt, spare language, he’s an undated Holden Caulfield, trapped in a violent hurricane of a family that rages across these pages. By the end, despite his dirty little mind, he’s won your sympathy–if only because you’d like to see at least one ship survive this storm.

From the April 13-19, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

California’s diversity shines in ‘Manuel and the Madman’

By Patrick Sullivan

DON’T JUDGE a book by its cover, we’re often told, so maybe it’s not quite fair that the first thing some folks will notice about Manuel and the Madman is the name of one of the book’s two authors.

Still, it’s a hard name to ignore. Gerald Haslam has been called the quintessential California writer, and a quick look at his body of work tells you why. Among other things, the hugely prolific Penngrove author has published one novel, eight collections of short fiction, and several works of nonfiction, including the critically acclaimed Coming of Age in California: Personal Essays. Most of this native son’s work, like his life, is a thoughtful exploration of life in the Golden State.

This time around, Haslam has teamed up with his wife, Janice Haslam, who teaches at a Petaluma high school, to write something a bit different–a novel for teenagers.

Set in a modern-day Bakersfield barrio, Manuel and the Madman (Devil Mountain Books; $9.95) follows the adventures of its adolescent narrator, Manuel Ryan, as he tries to adjust to a new life with his grandmother after his parents separate and go off looking for work.

Half Chicano and half Anglo, Manuel soon discovers that being a blonde kid puts him distinctly in the minority in seventh grade at Our Lady of Guadalupe School. His new friends speak Spanish, wear their baseball caps backwards, and tease him about being white. Manuel begins to hate his blond Anglo looks so much that he tries to dye his hair with shoe polish.

But the neighborhood is changing fast. The racial picture grows more complex as kids with names like Tran and Phuc enroll in school, and gangs and guns begin to draw Manuel’s buddies into their deadly orbit. All the while, the narrator is struggling with typical adolescent questions about sex and God and his parents’ separation.

Unfortunately, most of the adults in his life aren’t much help in these matters. His absent father is mysteriously incommunicado. His priest is content to warn him against the grim crime of self-abuse. Worst of all, his abuelita, his grandmother, is highly traditional and deeply superstitious, and she despises the newcomers to the neighborhood–“los otros,” as she calls them.

But Manuel does find a sympathetic ear and a kindly voice in his wise but eccentric neighbor, Mr. Samuelian, an Armenian immigrant who is the madman of the book’s title. With the old man’s help, the boy comes to terms with the kids in his neighborhood and with his own multicultural identity.

This novel’s greatest strength lies in its presentation of life in the barrio. Kids of all races come together to curse, fight, and make friends in a fairly realistic fashion on the neighborhood’s colorful streets. The authors also bring California’s rich history alive as Manuel encounters aging vaqueros who tell him stories of cowboy shootouts in old-time Bakersfield.

Now for the tough part. It’s no fun to criticize a book this well intentioned. But there are, it must be said, a few problems with Manuel and the Madman.

The plot has a wandering, accidental feel to it, with too little dramatic tension and not enough clues about where we’re going next. For instance, the book makes much of the fact that Manuel misses his parents. But then his mom just pops up without any fanfare as a casual aside.

Then, too, many young readers will grow tired of Mr. Samuelian, who offers endless lectures about tolerance, compassion, and other virtues. Using a novel to teach moral lessons to teenagers is fine, but a more subtle approach might work better.

Far more entertaining is Mr. Samuelian’s hilarious brother Haig, who wears an eye patch over a perfectly good eye just so he can tell kids tall tales about how he lost his vision.

Here’s Haig discussing an epic battle of his youth: “I had saved my final strength. With it, I threw the ruthless Nizibian from me and broke everything on him that could be broken. I broke several things that could not be broken. He never fought again. . . .”

And therein lies Manuel and the Madman’s ace up the sleeve. From Haig to the vaqueros, the book offers a cast of richly realized minor characters, an array of personalities as colorful and diverse as California itself. And if you’ve taken a good look around lately, you’ll realize how significant an accomplishment that really is.

From the April 13-19, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.