Demons of our own creation

I remember this one time, shortly after I finished my undergrad, when I was reading The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. The title was more than enough to raise the eyebrows of anyone who hadn’t bothered to read the book, but insisted on making their own snap judgment about its contents.

You’re reading what?

Well, judgmental people, here we are a year and a half later, and I’m glad to say that Jesus is my homeboy, at the very least an acquaintance, that I’m still down with. His followers though, are another question. Anyway, while we’re on the topic of questionable book titles, I wanted to talk about a book that I just recently finished reading called One! Hundred! Demons!

I’ve probably offended those of more delicate sensibilities, and here’s a funny story to go with it: I was sitting in the communal laundry room at my apartment complex. The building is composed mostly of hard-line conservative Catholic, nuclear-family, middle-aged, get-married-before-you-live-together-or-perish-in-the-fires-of-hell-for-all-eternity, Filipinos. While I waited for my overloaded washer to finish its spin cycle, I held One! Hundred! Demons! up to my face. The door creaked. I lowered the book at there stood…

SATAN HIMSELF.

Just kidding. It was a horrified Filipino mother with her three-year old in tow. Her stunned expression included eye sockets that were so wide I thought her eyes would fall out of their head. She’d gotten a look at the title. She gave me a filthy look and shook her head. I looked at the book, still in my hands, and saw the title upside down. Oops.

I thought I would share One! Hundred! Demons! today because:

• a. It’s a pretty cool book
• b. Its design is unique
• c. The author (Lynda Barry) is part Filipino, and you don’t see many Filipino authors with a North American background

A pretty cool book that doesn’t afraid of anything

My favourite story in Barry’s collection is called Head Lice and my Worst Boyfriend. What made this my favourite is that I think it does the best job of highlighting how the things that weigh us down, the things that hold us back, our demons, are often shaped by the people who are closest to us. Have you ever had that sibling who has a tendency to bash everything you do (as all siblings have)? How about that significant other who, for better or for worse, derided your interests and hobbies? Or maybe in your forays through the workforce, there’s been that boss who has time and again taken a shit all over your ideas without hearing you out. One! Hundred! Demons! touches on these kinds of demons. The kind of demons that aren’t other-worldly, but instead those demons that are created by us and those around us.

But going back to the sub-heading of this paragraph “doesn’t afraid of anything.” How is it that this book qualifies as such? It’s not often that we confront our demons honestly, but Barry does, and in doing so, forces the reader to confront the things that plague their own lives.

More than just a picture book

Andy Warhol (the Campbell’s soup can guy. Yep, that one.) is quoted with saying, “I never read, I just look at pictures.” If you’re the kind of person who enjoys looking at pictures more than you do reading, you’ll enjoy One! Hundred! Demons! Barry’s book is unified with the use of hand drawings that take you back to when you were a kid. Each panel is usually dominated by a bunch of text, which isn’t a bad thing; but if that’s the case, the text better be damn good. And is it? Hell yeah. While text-heavy elements can take away from story based on graphics, text in One! Hundred! Demons! is implemented for maximum effectiveness as an addition to the visual story telling. So the next time you’re taking crap from your pals who don’t read, break open this book  that combines images and text into something that will keep both readers and picture-lookers busy for hours.

The author is part Filipino

Quarter Filipino, in this case. It’s not everyday that I come across an author of (semi-) Asian descent whose work is commended by Dave Eggers. In addition, it’s not often I find a Filipino author of note whose presence has been recognized in pop culture. If there are any out there, please do let me know, as I’m really interested in reading Filipino authors writing in a North American context (post-Carlos Bulosan). But I digress: however Filipino, or un-Filipino, as you might see Lynda Barry, the fact that she can identify with a Filipino upbringing (however slight) makes One! Hundred! Demons! an important piece of work to read as individuals who are part of the Asian diaspora in North America. As our generation ages and writers and artists from increasingly varied ethic backgrounds come into popularity, I’m sure we’ll see more narratives similar to the one that Lynda Barry presents in One! Hundred! Demons!

Writing of a different kind

What will be different? I believe that we’re seeing it already and that we’ll see more of it in the near future (if not in the present already): as the generation before us wrote of the difficulties of integrating into North American society, the children of immigrants will write of their experiences as hyphenated Canadians (or in a broader sense, hyphenated citizens of the country that they reside in). It’s the new year, BananaLoft readers, and what better time to find the things that define you as an individual and as part of a group? Set off to find it if you must (and you must), but before you do, ensure that you’ve confronted and defeated the demons of your past.

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