Review of xTx's -BILLIE THE BULL-

My January recommendation is BILLIE THE BULL by an author known as xTx. That name's easy enough to remember, right?

Publisher: Mud Luscious Press / eprint: Dzanc Books
Price: $10.00
Link: http://www.dzancbooks.org/billie-the-bull-by-xtx/


The first time I read Billie the Bull, I grasped for more. xTx says a lot with very few words, but while this book only takes a couple hours to read, every chapter is charged with meaning, symbolism, and layered emotion - which is why the moment I finished it, I read it again. And again.

In the fashion of xTx's writing (she likes lists), I will enumerate what this tale is about:
1) A giant woman
2) An insatiable man & his collector
3) A big son
4) A normal-sized son
5) The death of a bull

Admittedly, in the end I wanted Billie to be at peace with her past, or at least find something happier than the torment she faces as a woman with gigantism. But what I wanted is irrelevant. Given that xTx parallels Billie's story with the savage reality of bullfights, you can pretty much predict that there's going to be carnage.

I'm not saying I'm an advocate for sunshine endings just for the hell of it. I'm just saying this book left me silent and contemplative for the rest of the day. I was struck by Billie's words:

One might say that you can never leave these sorts of things behind; that the scars they made are permanent. Scars that stay with you no matter if you choose to leave them where they lay, or if you hold them tight so they can remind you of what they make you think you are.

Dzanc describes this book as a story of a mother's love for her son. Which is true. However, I think it's about something else. It's about how society treats a spectacle. It's about collective bloodthirst. For me, it has a taste of feminism and animal rights, but you don't have to read it through that lens. In all, it gives us a glimpse of what it's like to be "the bull," a reality that transfers to many walks of life.

I'm recommending this gem based on xTx's engrossing language and unique storytelling. I don't recommend it if you want something straightforward. Some questions are left unanswered or hidden in a puzzle of words, but while the end is unsettling, it is complete.

Review of SYBIL BAKER'S -TALISMANS-

My December book recommendation is Talismans by Sybil Baker

Publisher: C&R Press

Price: $14.95

Link: http://www.crpress.org/2010/12/13/talismans-stories

How fiercely do our actions rely on our sense of identity? For Elise, everything is driven by her acute awareness that she is parentless. Her father, a Vietnam War veteran, left for Thailand when she was only a child. Shortly afterward, his new wife sent news that he'd drowned. Her letter was accompanied by a photo of him, which Elise carries with her as a talisman during her travels later in life.

No matter what hidden artifacts she finds while rummaging through her mother's belongings, Elise cannot understand why her father left for this otherworldly place. For that, it is no mystery why she is misguided in love, only pursuing foundationless relationships with empty futures. All of her burning questions remain unanswered when her mother dies suddenly, tragically, in a car accident.

After her mother’s passing, Elise has no strings tying her to home. Death, loss, and the absence of familial attachment have left her numb. In an effort to reattach herself to life - or perhaps shed her attachment to the past - Elise goes on a journey through Southeast Asia. She retraces her father's steps through Thailand, hoping to find the same sense of peace he had sought years before.

Sybil Baker’s Talismans is a series of vignettes strewn together, leading our protagonist forward – not toward understanding but to a greater sense of peace. The chapters alternate between third person and first person, though the focus remains on Elise – a literary device that has the effect of constantly pulling us close and pushing us away, the same way Elise treats the people around her. It’s as if we keep going under water, then coming up for clarity.

Elise connects deeply with the cultures she encounters in South Korea, Thailand, and Cambodia. She does her best to separate herself from the average “Western” tourists, the ones who assume enlightenment through superficial experiences. No doubt, Elise measures people by the amount they have suffered, like her. Baker plays upon common Western attitudes of dominance, ownership, and control as she descriptively paints Elise's surroundings.

Elise can be a dislikable person, but perhaps that is what makes her so relatable. She is lost, confused, and self-absorbed. Her search for identity is something we all can relate to, regardless of whether parents are present in our lives.

Without a doubt, Baker's novel takes hold of the reader. Her poetic style and perceptive descriptions animate everything within, creating a story that both captivates and causes serious introspection.