When the Only Tool You Have is a Hammer

Two books that have clear messages for the reader are Scat by Carl Hiaasen and The Case of the Missing Marquess, an Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer. The former is an ecological mystery in which a group of kids collaborate and tread on the law in order to save an endangered panther cub. The later stars Sherlock Holmes's lesser known little sister who runs away from home in order to track down her missing mother and avoid being sent to finishing school.

As an adult reading these books it is tempting to find the messages heavy handed- In Scat, kids organizing against corporate forces of evil to save the wilderness. Characters who love said wilderness so much they reject all worldly possessions and societal comforts to camp out in swampland. In The Case of the Missing Marquess, women struggling under the thumb of their male relatives who hold the power, the purse strings, and the opinion that women are of small cranial capacity.

But what of this isn't true? Florida is rapidly being developed to the end of great ecological loss. The state is home to over fifty species of endangered and threatened animals and another fifty endangered plants. It is true that there are fewer than 100 Florida panthers remaining. If the situation is actually this dire, shouldn't we be hit over the head with it?

Enola Holmes is historical fiction and paints a very realistic portrait of 19th century British life. Enola is a keen detective whose discerning eyes are Springer's tool for showing the reader the distinctions between the upper and lower classes, men and women, and adults and children. The dark and blunt way in which Springer describes the wharf and seedier parts of London is reminiscent of Charles Dickens- poverty, violence, and disease are commonplace. Again, what here is unfairly depicted? Enola and her mother have no right to their own estate after the passing of her father, must wear painful and cumbersome attire, and childhood itself is a luxury afforded only the rich. This is, in fact, the perfect avenue for exposing young readers to sexism and other inequalities.

Both of these books are reminders that obvious and repetitive messages are actually accessible and clear messages for tween readers. Considering the importance of environmental issues worldwide and the persistent inequalities among people, I am grateful for these books. They will surely pique the interest of young activists and begin conversations that would otherwise give way to talking about [insert inane and trivial pop culture fad here.]

Further information on the Florida panther:
http://www.floridapanthernet.org/

Art Imitates Art

A book within a book. A film within a film. I'm sure it is merely coincidence that this week I read When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead's homage to Madeleine L'Engle's masterpiece, A Wrinkle in Time, and saw Pedro Almodovar's latest film, "Broken Embraces," which features bits of "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" masquerading under the name "Girls and Suitcases."

While many books and movies are inspired by a specific genre (Pulp fiction, The Big Splash), or some seem like cheap knock-offs (Charlie Bone to Harry Potter), When You Reach Me is a delicately crafted book inspired by, but in no way imitating L'Engle's. Unlike L'Engle, Stead never attempts to recreate another world or invent dark forces that threaten the earth and life as we know it. Rather, Stead creates Miranda, a character struggling to understand friendships, family, and herself- much like A Wrinkle in Time's Meg. Miranda, however, lives exclusively in our world, and the science fiction elements in the book are present only indirectly- a note from the future, a realized prediction. Miranda carries around a copy of "the book" at all times. This book is never named, but is described in detail. I would question the necessity of its inclusion in When You Reach Me's plot if Stead hadn't both managed to make Miranda just the right person to love such a book and woven it into the mysterious notes Miranda receives with the line, "tesser well."

As I sat through "Broken Embraces" earlier this week I wondered why Almodovar seemed to be paying homage to himself. The New York Times review of the movie offers an adequate explanation:

"Its appearance is not vanity or clever self-quotation. Rather, the director’s pastiche of his early, funny work becomes, in the context of this somber new film, a poignant reflection on aging and loss. To catch a glimpse of “Women” in the mirror of “Embraces” is to see how cinematic images can be both tangible and ghostly."

Infusing someone else's work into your own can be to recognize and appreciate its influence on you as an artist, while doing so to yourself is a juxtaposition that can show how you have changed over time. We are, all of us, traveling through time and it is impossible to be unaffected by its passing. As one note to Mira says, "I will not be myself when I reach you."

For the complete Times movie review, go to: http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/movies/20broken.html?scp=1&sq=broken%20embraces&st=cse