It's Superman!

Guten tag!

I finished that book I was reading, It's Superman! by Tom De Haven last week (give me a break, I'm slow), so I thought I'd do a little book review. I'll try to do it with as few spoilers as possible, but if you find you'd like to read it for yourself, I'll use a different text color so you can skip over those parts where I reveal a detail or two, deal?

And by the way, if you're fortunate enough to know me, I'd be more than happy to lend this book to you. I love talking about books with people.

I. Absolutely. Loved. This. Book.

Yeah, that about sums it up. This novel is half bildungsroman, half intriguing, romantic detective story. We follow four main characters; Clark Kent, who some of you may know as SUPERMAN, Willi Berg, the photographer, Lois Lane, the ace reporter, and Lex Luthor, alderman of New York City.

The story goes that Willi Berg, Lois Lane's boyfriend and photographer, finds himself in a situation where he is on the run from the law and travels around the country until, in a small farm town in Kansas, he meets a boy named Clark Kent, who has some very unique abilities. Clark, feeling out of place and alone, joins Willi on the lam and through his coming of age, he forms the values and reinforces the morals he learned from his parents to become the iconic hero we know and love. It's Superman.

I enjoy De Haven's use of the present tense throughout because it keeps the reader in the action and makes the characters, who are already iconic, near godly figures, more real and personable. Most people don't know a "Superman" or a "Lex Luthor" because they are archetypes, ideals. By keeping the reader so close to the action, they become real people with real problems and emotions that pull the reader into a sympathetic passion for them. I found myself rooting for Lex Luthor at some points!

Since I know if anyone reads this, they're probably comic dorks like me and had the same thoughts that I had; did he stick to the story? The answer is a little more complicated than that. Yes and no. Is Superman an alien? Maybe. Does he live his early years in Smallville, Kansas? Yes. Does he move to Metropolis? No. Does he love Lois Lane? Of course.
The details De Haven chooses to keep in line with Siegel and Shuster's origin story (or any of the many retcons over the years) are carefully chosen. Early in the novel, De Haven establishes that this is just one more version of the story (much like people consider Smallville to be an alternate version of Superman's origins), but the details that he changes about the origins of the man of steel are intentional, and are meant to create a more realistic personality.

De Haven's style is both witty and intense. There's a great deal of ironic descriptions for the comic nerds, metaphors that really stir the emotions. He uses very strong contextual details to remain consistent and give the reader a strong sense of time and setting. He's very good, and I mean very good at utilizing free indirect discourse to maximum effect. When narration carries over into a character's thoughts, it reveals a great deal about the character and their state of mind in the moment. The rich vocabulary makes this a hearty read. I frequently describe the emotional content conveyed in his language as "being a lot like eating meat and potatoes." It's filling.

Here's one line I think captures a lot of what I'm saying, it's one of my favorites;

...the shot was the loudest sound Clark had ever heard, ever. It was a cannon, it was a plane crash, it was a planet blowing up.

It's just good. The nerd in me is happy because of the indirect hint at Clark's origin, the reader in me sees the shift from narration to Clark's own thoughts, and the teenage kid in me knows how Clark feels.

The characterization throughout the novel is strong as well. Each character's dialogue is unique to the character, even if they have a similar attitude or mannerism as another character, the differences are clear. Each character has a history that shaped their opinions and personalities up to the point in the novel that we meet them.

The plot has some strong moments of suspense, as well as dramatically ironic suspense, if that makes sense. In some instances, the audience knows how a tense situation is going to turn out, even if the characters don't. And in some cases the reader will be surprised at what happens. There's a lot of conflict going on and it's very interesting to guess and see how it's going to get resolved, or not get resolved if that's the case.

On my scale, the book is a 10/10. It's touching and inspiring. If I had to name something I didn't like about it? I probably couldn't. Even if I found myself getting all nerdy and saying "That's not in continuity with the comics!" I would be pleasantly surprised at how well it still fit, or in some cases, how much better it is than the comic origin. Plus, it's like I said before, there's a disclaimer for comic continuity dorks.

This had to be a challenging book to write, but it was a delight to read.

-Steve