Matthew McElroy > Recent Status Updates

Unfortunately, Grann saved the most interesting AND most important part of the tragedy for the final third of the story.
It seems like only two white people ever took these events seriously, Tom White and David Grann, and they did it 100 years apart.
If you are remotely familiar with history, then almost none of this will surprise you. But the story must be told.

Ummm, what exactly is happening?

Did they make Wolverine boring?

He's never been my favorite character, but at least he has never been boring. This is pretty confusing, and strangely, dull.

It looks like we have a villain. And he is one helluva villain, too. The lengths that he has taken to steal this money are beyond belief. There is a true

Welp, I am reading it again. I didn't expect to. For some reason, I don't really remember this story. Which could explain my distaste for it earlier.
I don't know about you, but on a rainy day, nothing beats heading to the library to see what is on the shelves.

Brooks and White don't hold much back in their depiction of Black soldiers fighting... Well, the entire world, during World War 1.
I have read one book and watched a documentary on them, so there isn't much new here. But this is also a great way to introduce, or reinforce, the sacrifices of Black Americans to an adolescent.

How do we balance out the ruthless efficiency it takes to solve crimes quickly, but retain the human touch that provides justice to all parties?

Hoover is doing things all of us would do at our jobs. Creating standardized paperwork that is also easier to complete. Providing meaningful training and background checks. But he is already compiling his dossiers on politicians for his own power grab.

The most ridiculous, silly, immature type of adolescent smut. It's so good.

Oh great, Hoover is here. Turns out that he had problems long before he was trying to get MLK to commit suicide.

Remember the criticism of rap in the early 90s, where artists rapped about a small percentage of the Black population? The reasonable pushback was that, though many people were affected by drug dealers and police brutality, most people went to work, and paid rent and raised their children. Talty has the right to write the story of his life. Is he the Chuck D of Indians, shouting about drug abuse and poverty?

Many of these stories end with a sigh or a whimper. Something big happens- something violent, something funny, something sad. But by the end, the emotion has been resolved, even if the situation hasn't been.

It's a very different read.

Talty is a talented writer. He has a straightforward way of setting a scene and moving the action forward. I thought this was a collection of horror stories. Instead, it is a collection of stories told in the first person from a young man without a name, and a young boy named David.
This reminds me of John Updike, if Updike knew what to do with his talent, rather than writing the Rabbit books.

What is the appeal of these types of sacrificial stories? Off the top of my head- Battle Royale, The Purge, The Hunger Games, and that was 15 seconds
Does it go back the era where humans sacrificed virgins to appease the gods? Does it speak to a terrible part of us that says the only way to communicate with power is through the death of innocent's? And also the death of innocence?

A Black family is one of the 13 richest families in America? No denying that Africans CREATED the wealth of the 13 richest families in America. But represented on one of these lists? I am dubious.

The tag line is "the Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI". In the first chapter, they establish that, thanks to oil and minerals, the Osage are the per capita richest people in the United States.

I wonder if the FBI was formed to protect Indians or protect the money? 😒

Trust me, it's good. But all of the characters are a little too flat. The bad guys are evil and the good guys are heroic. None of the miners are abusive alcoholics. None of the strike-breakers are the sons of miners who were able to open a store.
Nope. The miners are fighting to take care of their families. The strike-breakers are there to kill as many as possible.
Sheriff Chafin is real. And he is evil.

Marvel took it's highest profile antiheroes and threw them into a single book, along with one of the most notable sword and sorcery characters, Conan the Barbarian. I don't know much about Doctor Voodoo. It seems like they are trying to class up a bland stereotype from the early 80s, but I will approach this with a relatively open mind. I hate the Punisher- always have, always will.

Edison's familial relationships are a reminder that you don't have to like someone to find them fascinating.
No doubt, he viewed the entire world through a different lens than any of us.

The chapter closes on the most interesting possible line, a credit to Morris's writing ability.
Edison doesn't seem to be a progressive of any kind. Work hard, get what you earn- a real Ayn Rand feel.

But apparently, he is 💯 a fan of clean energy. He believed natural forces could generate the energy the world needed.

More delightful, disgusting schlock. If you like crime noir, slasher flicks, Svengoolie, Stephen Graham Jones or Social Distortion, then you will love this.

This has been thoroughly enjoyable and regrettably enlightening so far. If you aren't familiar- the state of West Virginia and the violent, cruel mine owners waged a government sanctioned war against their own citizens and workers. Who would think that people who see violence every day would turn to violent means when everything has been taken from them?

Complete schlock. I love it.

Whoa whoa whoa.

So you have created a story with at least two solid threads. Maybe a third.

And you think this is the big reveal?

Each individual chapter is very good. However, there are so many different threads that it makes the stories difficult to follow. The characters are interesting and lively. The stories are disjointed.

Hold up- I totally get group solidarity. Seriously - it makes a ton of sense for small and underrepresented groups of people to stick together. But Leslie is finishing a day of vaccinations, may have to deliver twins, and he is worried about that jerk Stevie?

Whoa- definitely unlike anything I have ever read. Probably because I have never read any literature written from a transgender perspective. Obviously, that tension is central to the story, but something else is happening in Spar Creek, and I am going to find out what it is.

I am rereading this because there is a major shift in the second half, and I want to see if I figured out the catalyst. I haven't read Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer in decades, and may go back to visit one or two, just because of how excellent this is.

James and Grandad from the Boondocks agree on at least one thing- don't go around telling white folks the truth.

When someone is completely brainwashed, sometimes they have to discover the facts on their own.

"It doesn't matter if they understand us. They always come anyway. The good people always try."

Given the context, one of the saddest lines I've ever read.

Every aspect of this story is perfectly told. There are no loose ends. The dogs aren't trying to be heroes, they are just trying to figure out how they got into this situation. If you were a human watching these dogs, everything they did would make sense.

Quite possibly the most intense thing I have ever read.

And I just finished James.