You Have To Wonder

It’s a clever conceit, and the longer it goes on the more clever things Tidhar does with it.  For example, a counselor to a gang is called a conciliator, a Latin word just a few letters off from the Italian Mafia term consigliere.  It’s unrelentingly grim, though, with everyone acting in their own interest and taking the most homicidal path to get there.  The only time we see a hint of peace is at the end, when we get vignettes of ordinary people whose lives are about to be destroyed by the upcoming war.  It feels like cheating; if these people had been living happy or at least contented lives all this time, why didn’t we get to see them earlier?

Doug is not as bothered by bloodshed as I am, and he really liked it.  Not only that, but according to him I missed a whole bunch.  There are references to Goodfellas, including one scene in a bar that’s a near copy, as well as to other mob movies.  And Guinevere, of all people, is modeled on Omar from The Wire.  I saw The Wire and liked it, and yet when people yelled, “Guinevere’s coming!” I somehow missed the connection.  I did notice that Lancelot here is a black, Jewish Kung Fu artist, and I caught some of the other references, so I’m not completely clueless.

So there you have it.  Lisa: Pretty dark and violent, has some cool parts.  Doug: Highly recommended, check it out.