Earlier this week, OGIC revealed her secret identity. She’s Elastigirl. Of course, she goes by Laura in most places, but that’s understandable. How can a journalist go by a cool name like Elastigirl and be taken seriously?
Some are disappointed about this revelation. They say the mystery is gone, that the magic has left the relationship. I don’t understand that thought at all. I suppose if I lived in Chicago and had ran the risk of seeing her on the street, I might feel differently; but on the Internet, one name is as good as another. I don’t know her any better now as Laura than I did as OGIC, and as she explains, I can identify her reviews in the Sun and Tribune. Now, I know that the superhero who blogs at About Last Night is the same one who writes book reviews.
Speaking of the reviews, she points out an interesting one on Nani Power’s The Sea of Tears. “Power’s wide-eyed optimism about the human heart seems like it could be just the thing,” she writes, “a refreshing antidote to the steady cultural diet we’re fed of dysfunctional couples and terrible marriages. By the end of this squishy novel, however, you may find yourself craving more than a soupcon of sulfur, a la Cassavetes, perhaps, or Albee.”
I wonder if this kind of story is having its day in the sun for a while. Sentimentalism seems to be everywhere. Is it a product of shallow thinking? Are we, the American people, swimming toward the kid’s side of the pool?
