September 15, 2010 – Eliza Victoria

Scott Pilgrim is a 23-year-old Canadian slacker living in Toronto who plays bass in a band called “Sex Bob-omb”. He is also dating a high school girl named Knives Chau, much to the derision of his friends and band mates. One day he begins having recurring dreams of a girl in rollerblades, whom he later sees in a library. Her name is Ramona Flowers, an American from New York who now works as an Amazon.ca messenger. Scott is mystified by her, and he ends up dating two girls. He later breaks up with Knives. However, in order to become Ramona’s boyfriend, he has to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends.

I am writing this with the last few panels still humming in my head. Ramona stands in front of a door, and holds out a hand for Scott to take. “And so,” Scott says, taking her hand, “we try again.” Yes, the series is neurotic, and hyper, and self-reflexive, and funny, and inventive, but it is all about these two confused twentysomethings who have managed to hurt a lot of people because they cannot stay put, who cannot stay put because they still cannot find the reason to remain.

In the end, they do, and they take each other’s hands and step through the door.

* * *

The Mighty Reading List!

Hunger Games

The Unnamed

Catching Fire

Next: We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg, or Mockingjay

The Year of Fog

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint

Notes on Extinction

Wild Mind

The Spooky Art

on the side: Twisted 8 1/2, Storm of Swords, Scott Pilgrim, PSF V (last few stories!)

At a certain point, the plot trajectory becomes predictable. I’m sure this is the experience of most readers – there are moments of genuine surprise, but ever since the appearance of the mockingjay pin in Book 1 (and its multiplication in various forms in Book 2), you’ll know where everything is headed.

Only Katniss remains clueless, but then she’s an unwilling symbol for the rebellion, and she can’t seem to make up her mind as to which boy to love. A girl who for years has lived from hand to mouth, Katniss loves based on convenience: if Gale is there, she holds his hand; once the arena closes, she leans her head on Peeta’s shoulder.

She annoys me sometimes. But maybe I’m just too old. Maybe I should be more compassionate.

The story is compelling enough to hold my attention, so I suppose I’ll read Mockingjay, the last book in the trilogy, just to find out what happens next.