Order WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? here
(in order)
Order TOBACCO-STAINED MOUNTAIN GOAT here
Order 100 YEARS OF VICISSITUDE here
''I'm in love with you, Jack - but I have no clue who you really are.''
I'm having this pseudo-philosophical grudge with superheroes and the important place they occupy in the zeitgiest. They used to be a nerd thing. Not that I ever was a great comic book consumer, but superheroes have lost quite a bit of meaning now that everybody just likes them a little. At least, they lost some meaning to me. The third full-length novel of Australian author Andrez Bergen WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? is all about superheroes and meaning. The idea is absolutely brilliant, yet the execution is puzzling like only Bergen knows how to be puzzling. WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? doesn't give superheroes their meaning back like superpowers, but it's a fascinating deconstruction of the concept in its own way.
In Heropa, things work a little differently. It's a sprawling metropolis inhabited by adoring and oh-so-anonymous masses of people. The city is also inhabited by Capes, people with superpowers who find themselves on polar opposites of the moral compass. When Melbourne teenager Jacob lands in Heropa, he becomes Southern Cross, the new recruits of The Equalizers, a small, ragtag group of superheroes in charge of fighting crime and rogue Capes. The Capes of Heropa have been dying though and Southern Cross will have a trial by fire with a first case that threatens the balance of the entire city.
Andrez Bergen has establishes somewhat of a modus operandi with his first two novels TOBACCO-STAINED MOUNTAIN GOAT and 100 YEARS OF VICISSITUDE. His books are highly referential and it's easy to get lost. Apparently, WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? is a love-letter to the golden age of comic books, which I have no frame of reference for. So my reading was almost enitrely innocent and it felt overwhelming, more often than not, having to deal with so many characters. Andrez Bergen has a very idiosyncratic way of writing dialogue (and dialogue form most of his novels) and I got lost a couple time, ping-ponging between the members of the cast of his most ambitious novel, so far.
''I'm Stan the Doorman.''
Jack decided he liked Stan's eyes. They were warm and accompanied by a suave moustache above a winning smile.
''You may label me the Doormat,'' the gent in red waffled on, ''since there are some here who do just that - but I prefer to be considered a welcoming committee.''
Jack looked at him for a few seconds, rediscovering anew the ability to speak. ''Okay. Um, Can I call you Stan? That Cool McCool?''
One of the things I benefited by reading WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? is that I think I finally wrapped my mind around Andrez Bergen's writing style. He is something close of Douglas Adams meets Wes Anderson. His style is quirky, whimsical, idiosyncratic and fast paced. It's a strange approach for what is technically a superhero novel, but I thought it was more of a deconstruction than a classic superhero tale, where the Capes are all human and all struggle with emotions that would ''normally'' be below the nobility of their duty. It's what fascinated me with WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? and why I didn't really felt strong emotions during my reading: there was no mystique, no proper manifest destiny, just people with a great gift trying to take the right decisions.
I wasn't swept away by WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? but it didn't leave me cold. In fact, it's difficult to put a finger on how this novel made me feel, which is kind of a recurring theme when I read Andrez Bergen. I read this novel with the same fascination of a man looking at an ant farm after smoking a doobie. Things were moving, following their own frame of reference which I don't have, but I could only admire the cohesiveness despite lacking some basic information in order to fully enjoy the extent of this novel's ambition. I wouldn't recommend diving into the quirky world of Andrez Bergen with WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? first, unless you're a comic book buff. His most accessible novel probably is 100 YEARS OF VICISSITUDE, which also happens to be my favourite of his. Anyway, Andrez Bergen keeps his heavyweight title belt of most unique author on the internet with WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? folks. In hindsight, it may be all you need to know.