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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2007)
BY MOLLY TEMPLETON Not Clowning Around Monica Drake’s debut isn’t baloney CLOWN GIRL, fiction by Monica Drake. Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts, 2006. Paperback, $15.95. S niffles lives in Baloneytown, in the sunroom of a house belonging to her ex, Herman. Herman’s current la- dyfriend of sorts, Nadia-Italia (Sniffles can’t keep her name straight), isn’t exactly wel- coming to Sniffles, who is battling the out- side world and her own tangled ideals in search of a life that will let her practice her art — including her clown interpretation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Clown Girl is Portlander Monica Drake’s first novel, and it’s easy to imagine some- thing of the City of Roses in Sniffles’ world, where Baloneytown residents hide from the cops and men from King’s Row pay top dol- Balloon Tying for Christ when she faints, starting off a chain of unfortunate events. A nice cop who smells of cinnamon helps her up and then keeps reappearing; doctors tell her different things are wrong with her; her friend Crank sets up iffy jobs that bring in money but destroy Sniffles’ spirit; she loses her precious rubber chicken and her dog, Chance. Her lover, Rex Galore, is in the Bay Area auditioning for Clown College, and she hasn’t yet had the heart to tell him that right after he left, she had a miscarriage. And that’s not even half of it. Drake’s imagination is bound- less, her compassion intense. No matter how absurd a situation this antiheroine gets herself into, it’s impos- sible not to will her to get back out. The strange world that Drake creates in Clown Girl is peculiar- ity entrancing and wholly, vividly imagined: You can substitute any put-upon, impoverished, outside-the- mainstream or even simply imperfect sort of individual or group for her clowns, or you can read Clown Girl as a gorgeous mix of charac- ter study and unlikely manifesto about the artist’s place in the world. Sniffles — Nita, the rare times she uses her real name, or Clown Girl to Nadia-Italia — is lost in a world that doesn’t know what to do with her, but she’s also lost in her own world, the one where juggling flaming torches in the back- yard at 4 am is nothing to bat an eye at. The world won’t make room for Sniffles, so she has to make room for the world, even the parts of it that she’s always run away from. She is the one who has to open her eyes, put down the valerian and leave the nest — or, in this case, the clown-costume stuffed antique ambulance. ew Monica Drake reads at 7 pm Thursday, March 8 at the UO Bookstore. BOOK NOTES: Jerry Oltion speaks on “Science Fiction Demystified,” 6:30 Drake’s imagination is boundless, her compassion intense. lar for dates with clowns. There are clown fetishists and clown haters; there are ques- tionable jobs for clowns and places where clown-bashing is a danger. Sniffles, when the book begins, is working from the manual pm 3/1, Baker Downtown Center. $10; Willamette Writers members free. Dorianne Laux reads from Facts About the Moon and Laton Carter reads from Leaving, 7 pm 3/6, Knight Library, UO. Tad Williams reads from Shadowplay, 7 pm 3/6, Powell’s in Beaverton. Malidoma Some discusses Of Water and the Spirit, 7 pm 3/7, Tsunami Books. Monica Drake reads from Clown Girl, 7 pm 3/8, UO Bookstore. Ellen Klages reads from The Green Glass Sea, 2 pm 3/10, Powell’s on Burnside, Portland. Kevin Young reads, 7:30 pm 3/12, First Congregational Church, Portland. $18, $14 stu., sr., $5 youth. Jennifer Baumgardner reads from Look Both Ways, 7:30 pm 3/13, Powell’s on Burnside, Portland. Tim Flannery reads from The Weather Makers, 7 pm 3/14, Powell’s in Beaverton. Mary Gaitskill and George Saunders speak at 7:30 pm 3/15, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland. $26, $20 stu., sr., $5 youth. William Vollman reads from Poor People, 7:30 pm 3/15, Powell’s on Burnside, Portland. Jennifer Baumgardner HELP SARA SMILE would like to thank the silent auction donors who made the event at La Follette Gallery possible and thank you to all who attended who made the event successful. Please support these great businesses. They give back to the community. Actors Cabaret of Eugene Backstage Baird Safe and Lock Co. Baja Fresh Bighter Homes Lighting Broadway Apothecary Contours Gym Dept. of the Interior Dr. Gray Grieve, Dentist Emerald City Coffee Eugene Beauty Supply Euphoria Footloose Massage Center Gold’s Gym Hartwick’s Kitchen Dining and Entertaining Hideaway Bakery I Run With Scissors IMUA, Inc. Jerry’s Home Improvement Keystone’s Cafe Kohl Kraus, Artist Lanette Hadley Photo Max Long’s Meat Market Lucia Skin Care Marge Templeton @ Juliari Design McKenzie Honey Farms Modern Nichole Cummings LMT Pacific Land & Sea Food Co. Passion Parties By Patti Ring of Fire Ruby Chasm Ruthie B’s Splash Starbucks The Basket Market The Pearl Day Spa and Hydrotherapy Clinic The Shamrock Flowers & Gifts Walter Libby LMT Wolff Sun Center A very special thanks to La Follette Gallery who hosted the event. $ORIANNEô,AUX &ACTSô!BOUTôTHEô-OON MIND • BODY • SPIRIT Alternative Fitness for Everyone -JGF'PSDF'JUXJUI+BZ.PO 8FE1. 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