Word: shane
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...devout Christian hinterlands of Wisconsin, became the first such work to gain both critical and popular success. This month will see the arrival of two more very strong books based on the authors' childhood. Harvey Pekar's The Quitter, comes from a veteran comix-maker, while, Shane White's North Country marks the author's debut. Though their early circumstances could not have been more different, the authors' childhoods share some remarkable similarities...
Told from two generations later and a world apart, Shane White's North Country (NBM; 96 pages; $14) seems superficially completely different from The Quitter. Where Pekar explores the life of a Jewish immigrant's son in post-WWII urban America, White's experience is that of an nth-generation non-denominational Christian growing up as the child of Vietnam-era parents in the farmland of upstate New York. In spite of this, both books share themes of violence, the legacy of parental neglect, and the power of personal expression to move people beyond their crushing circumstances. For a first...
...trigger flashbacks. These mostly center on the terror of living with an alcoholic, abusive father and a beaten mother. White masterfully evokes the milieu of the early 70s and hardscrabble folks that got married too young and gave up too much too soon. Fights would get bad enough that Shane spends stretches at a time with his grandmother, who takes him with her to the bar where she works. While she flirts with customers, making him "feel weird," Shane drinks "flat cokes" and eats "smoke-flavored pretzels." Such details become a hallmark of North Country, bringing scenes alive...
...saturday, 23 december: Had a big night at Warney's place. After Janine and the other wives took their kids back to the Ho-Tel, Shane and I kicked on. He said he didn't realize I'd once been P.M. He was living in England after he split with Simone. I'm sure he was winding me up. "Never mess with politics," Shane said. "That stuff can get you in a lot of trouble." We talked about our mums and diets. I said he would have been captain if he hadn't taken the slimming pills. Then we ordered...
...saturday, 30 december: We won the Melbourne Test but I felt empty. Shane thanked me for the advice: pitch it into the rough. Warney also said he'd never heard a bloke sledge his own. Gilly had it coming, though. Leg-side stumping or catch off an inside edge, take your pick. Gilly is overrated. People think he's a saint. I'd walk on an LBW if we had 600 on the board as well. A ground microphone had picked up: "You've just dropped the Ashes, wingnut." It was spur of the moment. Ricky agreed it was harsh...