Persians, Pants, and Pastry

A little bit of everything this week, folx, from history to disability rep to Star Wars, and back again. Let’s jump right in: 

Persians by Lloyd Llewelyn-Jones 

Did you know that Ataxerses II punished a defector at the battle of Cunaxa by making him carry a naked prostitute around for an entire day?

Or that a man named Gimillu, whose 40+ year criminal career needed four scribes to document it? It included defrauding Uruk’s Eanna Temple not once but twice (the chief priest let him keep his job the first time, probably because he was getting a cut) and dude was absolutely hilarious even when on trial (meticulous record keepers, those Achaemenids)?

Or that one of the many reasons the ancient Greeks hated the Persians was “pants?”

If you don’t think history is interesting, you’re reading the wrong history. 

And if you’ve read even casually about the Achaemenid Empire, you know the Greek Version of the story which is what gave us… whatever Xerxes (Xshayarasha in Old Persian, an absolute banger of a name)  was in The 300 when, in fact, he like many of his much maligned Great King brethren were not, in fact… whatever that was but capable administrators, decent rulers, and pretty excellent warriors. There is, in fact, quite a lot we didn’t know about what author Lloyd Llewelyn-Jones calls, “The Persian Version,” until recently when archeologists uncovered caches of clay tablets, papyruses, and other mediums upon which the Persians recorded their meticulous records of pretty much everything.

So hold onto your… pants. Basic Books Persians is here to drop a whole lot of knowledge on you in an entertaining, densely packed volume at what the Greeks spun their way, the Achaemenids PRed the hell out of, and how/where a historian can dig around to find the truth which is somewhere between Herodotus and his Agenda and the trilingual claims the Achaemenid Imperial image makers carved into public buildings. 

And enjoy some fascinating history. Including Gemillu’s very modern defense of: “Okay, yes, I did steal that sheep, but I donated two others to the festival.”

Jobs for Girls with Artistic Flair by June Gervais

Jobs for Girls with Artistic Flair is a huge departure from my usual and I absolutely loved it. Growing up in the suburbs in the 80s as a kid who didn’t fit in (and is now, at 43, heavily tattooed) it hit all the right notes for me. And as someone who reached for the arts and was blocked by parents who didn’t understand who, or how, anyone could possibly make a living creating or studying those creations, or even why a person would want to, had me feeling some kind of way about protagonist Gina’s journey and her determination to make a living with, and a life surrounded by, paint and ink. Also, as a child of parents who accept queer as a concept but not as a specific, same-sex partner for one of their children, complaining about how it “reflected” on them and on the family name and image, well… I identified with Gina in many ways. 

I love character driven stories but find really really well crafted ones that move at the perfect pace for said character to be few and far between. Jobs for Girls with Artistic Flair is one of them and I adored it.

Run on Your New Legs by Mindoro Wataru

With the exception of Perfect World, I haven’t seen a ton of disability rep in manga which is why I almost broke my finger smashing order when I saw Run on Your New Legs float across my Twitter timeline. The story of a high schooler who was a soccer star and then lost his leg in an accident, knocking him out of contention for the team and, to his mind, ruining his life is so human, his depression and anhedonia so genuine (as someone who regularly gets smacked down by migraines and can’t read, write, or make art - my three favorite and income generating activities). At the same time, however, Midori makes sure that neither the accident nor the loss of his limb define Midori; this is a person to who things have happened not the things that have happened to a person. They have affected him deeply but they aren’t the sum total of who he is. 

Run on Your New Legs also demonstrates that even something that changes your body in such a massive way can change the way you participate in something you love but doesn’t have to be a permanent roadblock to keep you from doing it forever. When a prosthetist/inventor sees Shouta running to the rescue in a subway station on his everyday prosthesis, he’s shocked by how quickly the teenager can move; and wonders how much faster he would be on a running prosthesis. It takes him a while to convince Shouta to try running but once he’s competing again, even though it’s not as a soccer player, Shouta rediscovers his joy in movement and the thrill of the chase. 

Definitely recommend. 

Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters 

I realized lately that I’ve been reading a lot of queer, YA, romance and also that I’m reading a lot of queer, YA romance because I didn’t ever have the chance to be a queer teen or young adult. 

I don’t have much to say about Right Where I Left You because it’s pretty much perfect exactly the way it is. A slow burn romance between two teens of color that delves into the meaning of friendship, being afraid of the future, and most importantly, anxiety and the people who care about you being patient and kind around it even when it frustrates them. It’s about different kinds of families and forgiveness and it being okay not to forgive. How to protect yourself and when to open up. And when you’re too close to see what’s right in front of you. 

I loved this book. Everyone should read it. 

Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez, Danica Brine, Hank Jones, and Hassan Otsnabe-Elhaou

Adorable. This graphic novel is so freaking adorable I’m pretty sure I squealed out loud at least five or six times while reading it. Keep in mind though, that adorable doesn’t preclude meaningful or a book having some serious and thought provoking moments as well.

This one is also about friendship. How to balance that just-out-of-school life, finding your passion, being there for your friends’ passions, and first love. It’s about that stage in life where you’re looking for your thing and still trying to please your parents (that can last longer than anticipated; I just gave up on trying to please my mother this year and I’m 43) and wondering why you still care what they think even as you’re struggling to shut one door and open the one that leaves you grinning like an idiot. 

Also, there’s a super taster pig and I would die for him. 

I loved that at no point were any of the conflicts about the protagonist being gay. This is a book about life and alphabet mafia status is just A Thing we know about Ben. I went to a panel at Emerald City Comic Con several years ago wherein there was much discussion about the need for stories of exactly this sort; folks living life who happened to be queer rather than queer folks living life. There are more now than there were then one still has to look for them. I’m thrilled this one fell into my lap and I hope we get either more chapters in this story or spin-offs. 

Read on, friends!