The Ricochet Reviewer: Books, Movies, and Comics

by Armistead Maupin In the shadow of the AIDS epidemic, several members of Armistead Maupin’s extensive cast of characters take to the woods.  Armistead Maupin DeDe and D’orothea head for Wimminwood, a lesbian music and arts festival, DeDe’s stepfather Booter goes to the ultra rich, conservative all-male Bohemian Grove, and Michael and Brian wait out the results of an AIDS test in a secluded cabin.  As usual, zany developments and coincidences provide a lot of fun, but it is Maupin’s gift of characterization that gives this book its heart.  Long time favorites like Mrs. Madrigal get short shrift and Mary Anne continues to be unlikeable, but new characters like southern refugee Thack and the plus size model Wren pick up the slack. "From One Side to the Other" (French) "Other Half" (Dutch) "In the Bosom of Nature" (German) "Redwood Forest: The Story of Mary Ann Singleton" (Japanese)

by Armistead Maupin Armistead Maupin seems unable to make a plot work without relying on the most outrageous coincidences and chance meetings.  Armistead Maupin So why do I enjoy this series so much?  I think it’s because he so successfully communicates his love for his characters to me, so that I am actually looking forward to each unexpected encounter and unforeseeable event that turns everyone’s lives upside down.  Maybe Maupin’s style of story construction is a natural outgrowth of developing as a writer in the gay subculture of San Francisco.  San Francisco is a large city that probably often felt like a small community, so why shouldn’t the rest of the world be that way, too?  Wouldn’t it be nice if it were? "28 Barbary Lane" (Italian) "Babycakes" (French) "Tolliver's Travels" (German) "Rusk with Mice" (Dutch)

by Armistead Maupin Set in 1981, shortly before the shadow of AIDS cast its pall over the world, Armistead Maupin’s lovable cast of characters carry on in a novel that mixes grounded personal stories of heartache and discovery with absurdist developments that would strain the credulity of a soap opera fan.  Armistead Maupin The core friendship of Michael and Mary Ann becomes more distant in this book as their lives take different trajectories, Mary Ann becoming more career-oriented and less emotionally available while Michael explores his identity and pursues relationships in the gay capital of the USA.  This estrangement will become more pronounced in future books, a rather heart-breaking choice by Maupin, but one related with sensitivity and honesty.  Anna Madrigal doesn’t have much of a presence this time, and she is missed.  This book could be criticized for having an uneven tone, but I think that Maupin has achieved a rather magical balance between closely obser...

by James Ellroy In the final novel of James Ellroy's LA quartet, corruption has become ubiquitous on the LA police force, which becomes the battleground for two powerful men who both want to become DA as a stepping stone to greater things.  James Ellroy Dave Klein, a detective who has risen through the ranks by following orders no matter how distasteful, finds himself in the middle of a complex situation involving a federal corruption probe, a family of informers, Howard Hughes, and a low budget horror movie shooting in Griffith Park.  Hard-as-nails Klein becomes increasingly friendless except for a beautiful starlet who may prove to be his downfall.  This is a fierce, inventive novel with a powerfully unique syntax that is a bit challenging at first, but give it a chance and you'll get used to it.  It's an effective stylistic choice that gives the narrative a frenzied, chaotic energy. "White Fever" (Polish) "White Jazz" (Hungarian) "White Jazz...