Comic Novel: MARIA M. by Gilbert Hernandez

 Comic Novel: MARIA M. by Gilbert Hernandez, 2019, 9781683960164.

I'm not sure what I have read of LOVE AND ROCKETS. I did read one of his books about Luba and probably have it at home somewhere.

Maria comes north from Central America looking to restart in the U.S. Without cash and a super zaftig body she is recruited into dancing, modeling, and sex work. She marries a mob boss. She cheats around a bit. The mob boss's violent son has a hankering for his stepmother. The other mob son is dangerous but not hands on.

Anyhoo. A good story as Maria keeps surviving for years with dangerous people, keeping secrets, and getting dumped by her husband. She gets a happy ending.

Decent: A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER by Roger Zelazny

 Decent: A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER by Roger Zelazny, 1993, 9780688125085.

Narrated by a dog who is Jack the Ripper's pal and familiar. The dog works for Jack and they are in a small town that will be the site of a possible opening to hell or some other dark side full of bad stuff. At the end of October will be a prescribed conflict between pro-hell and anti-hell sides to compete over whether the magic portal will be opened.

Dog walks and sniffs around keeping an eye on the participants and their familiars. Those participants and interlopers are obvious literary and folklore and real-life characters but are never quite named. Heck, Jack is not called the Ripper; it's just obvious. Characters include Sherlock Holmes, Rasputin, Frankenstein and monster, some werewolf, others I forgot. 

The animal familiars make alliances. The animals argue and trade insults. There is humor. There is danger. I enjoyed it.

This is more likely the first Zelazny novel I ever read. I think of him as being the fantasy and scifi king of the 1980s. His books were everywhere.

DNF: THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG by Mimi Pond

 DNF: THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG by Mimi Pond, 2017, 9781770462823.

Memoirs in comics format. Someone on Patti Abbott's blog recommended the book but I just didn't get into it.

Memoir of 1970s Oakland as author is in early part of her cartooning career and working as a waitress. 

Paperback: THE VOICES IN MY HEAD by Charlie Stella

 Paperback: THE VOICES IN MY HEAD by Charlie Stella, 2021, 9781951473501.

The great crime novelist Charlie Stella writes a "fictional memoir" from pre-birth to, I don't know, 2018-ish?

Stella had a rotten dad. Stella had a caring mother. The rotten dad's sleazy behavior messed up the entire family. He was frequently out every night with girlfriends and not trying too hard to hide it. He uses a family mob connection to run a private department store of stolen merchandise in the basement of the family home. That family home breaks apart when Dad has an affair with a relative's wife. (Yech. What the hell is wrong with you?)  Dad claims poverty and screws over his ex-wife and children but getting out of paying any decent maintenance or child support. Dad is an awful father. Charlie just wants approval, acceptance, love, etc. All the things every child needs. Charlie gets into frequent fights. Charlie ends up going to a mental hospital a couple times. Charlie's sister craves paternal approval as well, instead of starting fights she takes on the Dad's behavior of belittling and Charlie.

Anyhoo. Charlie keeps on trucking and gets to reading. Charlie makes poor romantic decisions. Charlie makes more poor romantic decisions. Charlie sleeps around with party people. Charlie gets into loansharking and bookmaking and makes a ton of money that goes to supporting his gambling habit, his mother, his children, his ex-wives. 

I'm not going to attempt any literary interpretations or psychological analyses except to say Stella opens up a lot. I presume making it 'fictional' is a way to focus on his memory and emotions rather than fact check everything. 

Paperback: DIRT BAGS by Eryk Pruitt

 Paperback: DIRT BAGS by Eryk Pruitt, 2014 (original) 2025 (reprint by Rock and a Hard Place Press), 9798999100016.

The back cover description says the book is not a feel good story. 

Short: Three dirtbags get involved in murder-for-hire and murder-for-fun. 

Long: Dirtbag Restauranter wants his ex-wife murdered. He hires the husband of his mistress to do the job. Husband brings along Dirtbag Pal in a drive from North Carolina to Dallas, TX.

Murder ensues. Spree killing ensues. Cops are flummoxed. 

A fun book.

Short Stories DETROIT IS OUR BEAT by Loren D. Estleman

 Short Stories DETROIT IS OUR BEAT by Loren D. Estleman, 2015, 9781440588457.

Police goon squad in WW2 Detroit. Estleman's introduction about life in Detroit in the 1940s was interesting. How does he balance modern sentiment presenting accurate characters when the cops were violent, racist, misogynistic and more in the 1940s. He also provides a big ass bibliography - an impressive list for any fiction title.

Anyhoo Short stories about a group of four Police Detectives of the Racket Squad. The police department is severely undermanned with Officers joining the service and other able bodied men in the production plants. The Racket Squad are restricted from joining up after being labeled essential. Or, as long as they don't upset their commanders enough to send them to the Navy. 

Actually, the four of them seem to figure that military sign-up is inevitable. They are just doing their jobs arresting black marketeers and hitting protestors with clubs until then.

Quit: PARADAIS by Fernanda Melchor

 Quit: PARADAIS by Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes. 201 for original Spanish. 2022 for English. 9780811231329.

Guy working as maintenance at a gated and exclusive community in a smaller Mexican city sorta makes friends with a creepy local teen. The friendship is based on the skeezy local guy stealing money from his grandparents and buying booze for him and the maintenance guy.

A short novel at 112 pages. But, I think there are no sentences shorter than half a page. Loooooong sentences throughout the work and the style got way too annoying. 

Comments:

• Are the long sentences meant to show a thought process by a character?
• Long sentences as a constant mental bebop of the character?
• Long sentences as a "check this out literay pals!" by the writer?
• Doesn't matter because I just wanted to read the story and not analyze the style or text.