#27 - Sword, Shield, and Cage

“The Last Bookshop in London” by Madeline Martin is a New York Times best-selling novel set during the German Blitz at the tail end of World War II. The protagonist, Grace, is interrupted from her enviable existence as a bookseller’s assistant in the heart of the city as the war gradually infects her everyday life. As more of her friends and family are either killed or deployed in the service of king and country, she finds solace in the popular novels of the day, eventually guiding her local community through danger and despair by reading aloud from her favorite stories.

As I read this book (well, listened to the audiobook), I grew increasingly irritated by the vagueness of Grace’s attachment to these books. To her credit, before the war she was not a “reader”, only discovering the Power of Storytelling when her book-loving crush goes off to become a pilot. Throughout the course of the novel she devours genre-defining classics such as The Count of Monte Cristo, Pride and Prejudice, and Middlemarch. Each of these very different titles are described in remarkably similar ways — gripping, evocative, unable to be put down. Stories that transport her to a distant time with different problems. Bereft of detail that is unrelated to the book’s plot, which is relayed to others in literal, straightforward terms.

And this is a perfectly fine way for most people to react to classic literature, which these books undoubtedly were by 1939. But Grace is a character in a novel, and Grace’s relationship to these stories feels entirely divorced from the realities of her time. There is a brief mention by her boss that the Nazis are burning works made by “degenerates” as part of their conquest, and that he has smuggled some banned books into the store (notably The Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein), but Grace seems largely unaffected by this idea, and does not engage with these books. The bookstore makes the decision to sell political nonfiction critiquing the Nazi regime, and these books sell well, but again, don’t shape her community’s response to the events around them (at one point some of Grace’s neighbors harass an Italian family that runs a restaurant nearby and this goes largely unpunished). Grace gains no insights on how to work through grief, or advocate for others, or change the minds of her detractors based on events from these public-domain tales — they exist to provide an escape, to distract people from the pain they are experiencing long enough to live through the day.

The effect of this detachment, whether intentionally or not, implies that art’s existence is a given “good”, and that a well-crafted story, like an anesthetic, works best to numb against pain and hardship. And while at face value this isn’t INCORRECT, it’s an idea that deserves to be challenged. Particularly when the novel’s historical setting was shaped by an ideological movement that was VERY interested in building a narrative of its own, one with political backing and a wide, grasping reach.

Too Many Losing Heroines! at Anime Yankii

The Wind Breaker event in March was SO FUN that I’m coming back, this time with the incredible cast of “Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!” Now that I’ve seen the place I can tell you that the brilliant folks at Anime Yankii will have something really special for their guests. Fan-made merch! Photo ops! And of course, a chance to talk to some very excited voice actors.

Admission is free! Come hang out with the students of Tsuwabuki High on Saturday, June 7th!

Recent Gigs

Since my last update, I have provided additional voices for the following projects:

• Yakuza Fiance, Episode 6

• The Apothecary Diaries, Season 2 Episode 38

• Aharen-san wa Hakaranai, Season 2 Episode 2

Consume!

If you’re a child of the 90’s, like me, you were probably introduced to anime through dubbed Saturday morning cartoons on the Kids’ WB. The now-defunct licensing and production company 4Kids Entertainment was the powerhouse behind the most memorable of these, including Kirby: Right Back Atcha!, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and of course, Pokemon.

Hosted by Tara Sands and Steve Yurko, “4Kids Flashback” is their journey in constructing a cohesive oral history of the professionals behind these early dubs from the brand’s launch to its rise and eventual decline. And while hearing interviews from the actors is a great time (especially since many of them are still working today), what’s sometimes even more fun is hearing from folks who worked on the production, post-production, and business side of things. Want to know what responsibilities a “Head of Internet” oversaw when digital marketing was barely a thing? How the infamous “National Anthem” 4th of July promo was made? Which localized character names are based off members of the 4Kids administrative staff? This is the place to go.

Performance(s) of the Week

100 Girlfriends is a stand-out of Crunchyroll’s current portfolio for its tendency to flip between balls-to-the-wall idiocy and surprisingly grounded character work. It’s the show’s saving grace and selling point; the thing keeping these girls from an absurd Stockholm Syndrome situation is their growing affection for their boy, and for each other.

The last two episodes of season two explore the relationship between Rentarou’s first girlfriends, Hakari and Karane, our deredere and tsundere, rivals and occasional make-out buddies. I want to give kudos to the show’s director Helena Walstrom and script adaptor Macy Anne Johnson as well, for keeping things on target and supplying a crazy amount of meme-culture references (I caught two this season that had me ROLLING), but Wiedenheft and Graham are beasts for their level of commitment and sincerity in this adaptation. Excited for more!

One More Thing

“All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr is another New York Times best seller, and also takes place in World War II Europe, splitting its time between the blind daughter of a French museum custodian and a German orphan with a knack for mechanical engineering who is quickly recruited by the Schulpforta NPEA school. Woven throughout the narrative are moments of introspection and awe, inspired by nature, science, and art.

Marie-Laurie pours over two volumes of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea written in braille, gifted to her by her father — later, when she is trapped in her uncle’s home as the US forces lay siege to Saint-Malo, she draws strength from Professor Aronnax as the crew of The Nautilus face trials of their own, and uses the book as a pretext to broadcast her dire straits over radio.

Werner and his sister Jutta are transported from their small lives in their impoverished mining town by a mysterious radio broadcast, which transmits child-friendly scientific observations accompanied by classical piano — including Debussy’s “Clair de Lune”. Years later, that same piece reminds Werner of his humanity, and he is moved to save the lives of those he has been commanded to persecute.

Werner’s sensitive roommate Frederick is enamored with every bird he sees, and his prized possession is a collection of illustrations from the Audubon Society — banned text in Germany because it was created by foreigners. He hides the book in his family’s attic, and his passion is destroyed along with most of his faculties after he is beaten repeatedly for challenging his teachers’ attempts at indoctrination.

And Nazi officer Reinhold von Rumpel travels occupied territories in search of rare gems and priceless works of art on behalf of his Fuhrer, who plans to build the greatest museum that Europe has ever seen.

Doerr’s explicit mission in writing this novel was to convince the reader to “invest equally” in the moral decisions made by its two protagonists, and in doing so communicates their influences with equal weight as well. Art, Doerr seems to say, is a tool, one that can empower, protect, and condemn. By nature of being human, our characters are moved by beautiful things, but even their understanding of “beauty” is grounded in their upbringing, their surroundings, their sensory limitations, and their connection to themselves.

It’s not quite the same as saying “art is a product of its time” — the Futurists and the Dadaists both sprang into motion to reject traditionalism and cultural hegemony, but one movement directly informed Fascism’s rise in Europe, while the other clung to its anti-establishment roots and transformed in order to survive in other forms. Intent, reception, and public support also determine a given work of art’s impact and staying power.

So “enjoying” art, while important, isn’t all the audience is capable of in their moments of engagement. They can also interrogate what they consume and wonder: how was this piece made to affect me? How did I come to access it, and who lacks that access? And is the mission the artist in congress with a larger cultural conversation? Or against it?

Hollis Beck is a performer and writer who crafts narratives about queer identity, found families, and people who try very hard. More information can be found on her website.