Media Mix

Book

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The Gravedigger's Daughter

By Joyce Carol Oates

Ecco

$26.95

The prolific novelist imagines the story of Rebecca Schwart, a World War II-era German immigrant forced to struggle through life after a series of horrific personal setbacks.

"She would not think about it. Not the future beyond the next few days. As her parents had gradually ceased thinking about the future. Like animals they'd become, at the end."

— Rebecca tries to come to terms with her new role as wife and mother

It's easy to identify with the main character's struggles, and the elements of intrigue (secret identities, lost family histories) woven into the plot keep you engrossed.

Oates likes to take her time setting up characters, and this book is no exception: The first 100 or so pages feel like an overly drawn-out exercise in character development.

— Reviewed by Sara Cardace

B

Book

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The Last Blue Mile

By Kim Ponders

HarperCollins

$24.95

In this novel by a former Air Force combat pilot, Cadet Brook Searcy navigates a tumultuous first year in the Air Force Academy, complete with a cheating scandal and the death of her friend.

"People could vanish. Bin Laden had done it. Lance Sijan, the Vietnam War hero, had done it, too. It seemed to be an important lesson, though Brook could not say exactly why."

Despite the thriller-like plot, this is a meditative, often profound and mercifully non-jingoistic illumination of a complex culture unfamiliar to most "civilians."

Ponders crams the book with so many weighty ideas about honor, gender, religion, family and more that the characters sometimes buckle under the weight; that said, the last third simply soars.

— Adriana Leshko

B

CD

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Double Up

R. Kelly

Jive

$18.98

The master of hyperbolic sex jams returns with another fantastic addition to his dirty-minded discography.

We can't print most of the lyrics, but in "The Zoo," Kelly somehow manages to rhyme "rain forest" with "sexasaurus."

The first single, "I'm a Flirt (Remix)," might be the most perfect five minutes of pop music you'll hear this year.

The Virginia Tech tribute anthem "Rise Up" feels out of place. (It's between the slow-burning "Sex Planet" and a track about picking up girls with R. Kelly ring tones.)

— Chris Richards

A

CD

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Sweet Warrior

Richard Thompson

Shout Factory

$18.98

The British folk icon sounds off on the Iraq war, setting a timely message to some rather timeless tunes.

"Dawn patrol went out and didn't come back / Hug the wire and pray like I told you, Mac / Or they'll be shoveling bits of you into a sack"

— "Dad's Gonna Kill Me"

When he's not on the soapbox, his more personal ballads deliver pangs of poignant melancholy and regret.

With the disc clocking in at nearly 70 minutes, even Thompson's breezier numbers feel longwinded.

— C.R.

B-

Comic

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Forever Nuts: The Early Years of Mutt & Jeff

Edited by Jeffrey Lindenblatt

NBM

$24.95

This polished collection celebrates the centennial of "Mutt and Jeff," Bud Fisher's classic turn-of-the-century comic strip about two down-on-their-luck average Joes.

"You're mistaken, Jeff, when you shoot for the left corner pocket and go in the right hand side pocket, it is what we call a raz-paz-as. . . . "

— Mutt makes up rules to hustle Jeff out of pool money

The recurring gags, sharp pacing and sardonic wit in Fisher's work set the standard for every newspaper strip that would follow.

Some of the gags overstay their welcome, and parts of the strip didn't age terribly well.

— Evan Narcisse

B+

DVD

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Hannibal Rising: Unrated

Not Rated

Weinstein Co.

$29.95

After his beloved sister is murdered by Nazis, a young Hannibal Lecter (Gaspard Ulliel) develops a, er, taste for revenge.

"What did I ever do to you?"

"Aside from eating my sister? Nothing."

— Hannibal prepares a dish best served cold

Sadists will enjoy the improbably elaborate torture sequences, while masochists can ingest a host of deleted scenes and a director's commentary.

Explaining Hannibal's pathology by making him a victim of Nazi persecution is grosser than any of his killings. And Ulliel's Lecter is not nearly as magnetic as previous Lecters Anthony Hopkins and Brian Cox.

— Greg Zinman

D

Game

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Shrek the Third

PS2, Wii, Xbox 360

Rated Everyone 10+

Activision

$39.99-$49.99

It's the same plot as the movie but with fewer jokes and more punching.

Several multiplayer mini-games — especially a chaotically fun castle-demolition challenge — outshine the main adventure.

The famous fairy tale folks all look good, thanks to smooth animation.

Without all the Shrek characters in it, this could be any generic platform-jumping video game.

— Christopher Healy

C