The Emery County Review, Tuesday, July 29, 2008 AT YOUR LEISURE Book Reviews Puzzles Horoscope C3 Entertainment SWELL BOOKS ‘Wish You Well,’ a Book you will ‘Never Forget’ Kathy Ockey Lorraine Martinez has a bright and inquisitive mind and a cheerful attitude about life – it is contagious when you are around her. She was born in Ferron to Brad and Leola Jensen, well-known educators in our area who loved to read. A lot of local residents remember Brad Jensen as both a teacher and principal of South Emery High School. Lorraine said her mother loved to read and taught her how to read before she started school. She attended both grade school and high school in Ferron and graduated there. She married Ramon Martinez, who was a highway patrolman and they lived in Huntington, raising three daughters and one son. Their son drowned many years ago in an accident at Lake Powell. Lorraine continued the family teaching tradition and taught elementary school for 30 years. She said she taught her own children and explained that you expect more from them when you teach them in school. She is enthusiastic about reading. “I have always loved to read, even as a small child, and I will read anything.” She likes historical novels and mystery series books but doesn’t like science fiction at all. She said she used to think if she started a book she had to finish it, but now, if she starts one and doesn’t like it, she won’t take the time to finish it. She also has her favorite authors and watches for their books. Lorraine enjoys reading good books and presenting book reviews to various organizations throughout the area. Lorraine recently took a trip of a lifetime to the Panama Canal. She said she grew up hearing about the Panama Canal and it always fascinated her. Lorraine was recently able to go with two of her daughters and one of their friends. She said they were able to ride on a ship and actually go through part of the locks. This was a dream come true for her. She is reading “The Path Between the Seas,” a book about the Panama Canal by David McCollough. She said there is so much information in this book and having seen the Panama Canal makes it even more interesting. Lorraine recently completed “Wish You Well” by David Baldwin. She said this was a book she really enjoyed and will never forget. The story is about Lou, a 12-year old girl and her brother, Oz, who are growing up in New York. Lou’s father is a strug- gling writer and her mother also works. Times are really tough for this family and in a twist of fate these two children are sent to live in rural Virginia with their remarkable great-grandmother, Louise. The theme of the book is about families, adversity and how miracles can change lives or ruin them. It is also about how greedy some people are and how it affects the people around them. On the jacket cover, the author wrote that this was the most rewarding book he has written because it is based on his own mother and grandmother in his native Virginia. It is fiction, but his familiarity with the area and background gave him a richness of knowledge to complete this wonderful book. He writes how he came to appreciate his family tree and how good values and love can affect a person. SCANNING THE BOOKSHELF Osamu Tezuka played such a central role in Japanese comic books (manga) and animation (anime) that he is often called the Asian Walt Disney. Tezuka himself cited “Bambi” and other Disney works as inspiration, while his most famous creation, “Astro Boy” (1952-68), bears an uncanny resemblance to Mickey Mouse. Fair enough. But if you pick up either “MW” or “Apollo’s Song,” both among this year’s Eisner Award nominees, don’t expect “Snow White” or “Little Mermaid” with a Japanese accent. Instead, expect a revelation. Read separately or together, these graphic novels make a case for Tezuka as Disney’s superior in producing page-turners that are also provocative morality tales. Tezuka (1928-1989) died almost 20 years ago, but the bulk of this prolific artist’s work has yet to be translated into English. His dozens of manga series ran the gamut from science fiction to historical epics, from works aimed at children to the risque “Cleopatra: Queen of Sex.” His eight-volume “Buddha” is a triumphant master class in how to weave religious themes into a suspenseful, fast-moving biography. He could be a man of his times in the worst ways: The “African” characters in his early works are embarrassments -- and in the best: His World War II childhood informs the five-volume “Adolf,” a fierce critique of Japan in the 1930s and ‘40s. But Tezuka could also be ahead of his time, as we see in “MW,” written between 1976 and 1978, but only now published in English translation. Father Garai is a Tokyo-based Catholic priest with a male lover, Michio Yuki, a bank executive who moonlights as a mass murderer. Garai is guilt-stricken about betraying his vows of celibacy -but even more by his inability to halt his lover’s crimes, Lorraine highly recommends this book to everyone and said it is a book you will never forget. FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING Dark Masterpieces: Classic Works by Tezuka Now in English PETER ROWE Lorraine Martinez which may be rooted in nerve damage caused when both men were exposed to a chemical weapon, MW. “MW” is as melodramatic as a soap opera, but one told with Dickensian sweep. Chapters delve into office intrigue, party politics, Shinto ceremonies, Catholic theology and love affairs, both straight and gay. Garai, wavering between duty and desire, is a complex character, at once frustrating and sympathetic. While Tezuka is often lauded for his universalism, “MW” also reflects the resurgent nationalism that led many to question Japan’s subservience to the United States. The chemical weapon of the title is stockpiled on Japanese soil by Nation X “to inflict mass casualties in Vietnam and Laos.” At the story’s climax, Yuki steals MW and hijacks a jet, intending to kill millions. Police track Yuki to Nation X’s Japanese base, but are turned away by a general whose uniform looks suspiciously American. “Forget it!” the general snarls. “The base is our jurisdiction! I can’t let you enter!” “Where’s our sovereignty!” cries a Japanese detective. While not as radical in its plot line or politics, “Apollo’s Song” will never inspire a Disneyland ride. The book begins with millions of anthropomorphic sperm racing to reach “the queen.” This 1970 work is about the long odds against perfect love -- and the never-ending quest for the ideal partner. The son of a bar girl and one of her casual liaisons, Shogo Chikaishi is a sadist who delights in tormenting couples. In a dream, a goddess reveals that Shogo will lose his heart to a woman, but death will prevent the consummation of their love -- a fate they will suffer over and over, as they are reincarnated through the ages. Shogo and his beloved, Hiromi, meet in a Nazi concentration camp. They are castaways on a remote island in present-day Tokyo, and in the not-too-distant future. When Shogo insists he cannot continue loving and losing, the goddess’ words reveal that Tezuka sees his doomed characters as bittersweet stand-ins for all of us. “Thou shalt see her again soon. In every era, in every world, she shall await you.” Vertical is the latest American publisher to sample Tezuka’s wares (Dark Horse and Viz are other members in this fraternity). These are handsome editions, most featuring covers designed by Chip Kidd, a graphics guru for books. Earlier this year, Vertical expanded its Tezuka offerings with the first two volumes of “Dororo,” a samuraiand-sorcery tale. The final “Dororo” is due next month, while “Black Jack,” tales about a renegade doctor, will begin appearing in September. Tezuka’s work has some dated touches, and this may prevent “MW” or “Apollo’s Song” from winning Eisners. But for crafting entertaining tales with strong, adult plots and characters, he deserves (and seems to have won) the ultimate prize: an enduring readership. (Copyright 2008 Creators Syndicate Inc.) HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY Holiday Mathis If it seems like the universe is playing with the lights this week, the sun’s is dimmed by the moon for a solar eclipse in Leo. Likewise, we earthlings adjust our vision to see Leo matters - creativity, love, self-esteem and leadership - and others in a whole new way. While eclipses are unpredictable, change is certain! The spectrum of possibility is vast, but generally, new doors open in one area while others are destined to close. ARIES (March 21-April 19). The universe is pushing for you to meet your next goal. Early in the week, you barely have to make the effort - any small gesture will do to propel you forward. It’s like the physical laws of inertia have been altered just to favor you. As long as you don’t act in a way that is counterproductive, you’ll shoot ahead. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re not one to take action just to look busy. Why, that would be wasteful! However, don’t fall asleep while waiting for the impetus to move. The power players around you need to know that you’re one of them. Do keep an attitude of observant intensity. Be ready to move when the time is right. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Events are happening fast. You may feel like you took a wrong turn and are now heading down the interstate in a direction that’s opposite to where you wanted to go, no exit in Continued on Page C5. John MacIntyre 47: Percentage of “high performers” -- measured based on their annual job performance appraisal scores -- who say they are actively looking for other jobs, according to a study conducted by Leadership IQ. 18: Percentage of “low performers” who say they are actively looking for other jobs. Source: Leadership IQ. 28 million: Estimated number of debit card transactions in 2007, according to a report by Packaged Facts. $1.4 trillion: Estimated total debit card dollar volume in 2007. Source: Packaged Facts. 1: Rank of the U.S. health care system as the most unpopu- lar, according to surveys by Harris Interactive that asked an identical question to a cross-section of adults in 10 developed countries about their respective health care systems. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5: Ranks of The Netherlands, France, Canada, New Zealand and Australia on the list of the most popular systems. 33: Percentage of Americans who believe that the American system “has so much wrong with it that we need to completely rebuild it.” Source: Harris Interactive. 51.5: Percentage of new graduates who say they plan to begin looking for jobs and start their careers right away, according to a survey conducted by Capital One Financial Corp. 1: Rank of a comprehensive benefits package (66 percent) -- including health care, 401(k), child care and domestic partnership benefits -- among the most cited factors influencing new graduates’ searches for employment. 2, 3: Ranks of starting salary (64 percent) and job location (60 percent). Source: Capital One Financial Corp. 21: Percentage of U.S. workers who regularly attend after-work drinks with co-workers, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com. 15: Among those who attend, percentage who say they attend to hear the latest office gossip. 13: Percentage who say they go because they feel obligated. Source: CareerBuilder.com. 1, 2, 3: Rank of pens, pencils or rulers (66 percent), paper, post-its or file folders (57 percent), and calculators, staplers or tape dispensers (11 percent) on the list of supplies most often taken by workers, according to a Spherion Workplace Snapshot survey. 8: Percentage of workers who admit to having taken higher priced items such as laptops, PDAs or cell phones. Source: Spherion. 15: Percentage of baby boomers who said retirement sav- ing was the most important financial lesson they learned from their parents, according to findings of a study of generational differences in retirement planning conducted by Mathew Greenwald and Associates. 21: Percentage who believe they have done an “excellent job” saving for retirement. 57: Percentage who reported success in avoiding credit card debt. (This is 24 percentage points lower than their parents’ responses.) Source: NAVA. 93: Percentage of executives who feel that a good cover letter is valuable and can open doors, according to an OfficeTeam survey. Source: OfficeTeam. Idle Thought “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” -- Oscar Wilde (Copyright 2008 John MacIntyre inc. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.)