Cleveland is in the news this week with the amazing rescue of three women and their children who had been held captive for 10 years in a quiet suburban residential neighborhood. Many in Cleveland are pointing the finger at the city's overworked and under-skilled police force for having dropped the ball. Others blame Cleveland's crumbing infrastructure and scattered, dwindling population. If you want to do a bit of armchair traveling to explore Cleveland in a fictionalized setting, here are some great choices:
David Foster Wallace, The Broom of the System
Set in Cleveland in 1990, this early novel by the legendary (and late) David Foster Wallace is filled with his hallmarks: elaborate stories, nested narratives, a fascination with pop culture and footnotes. Ostensibly the story is about a woman named Lenore who goes on a hunt for her grandmother (also named Lenore) who vanished from her retirement home. But it's just as much a combination metafictional romp and dissertation on the relationship between the self and language, which Wallace juggles while remaining eminently readable.
Harvey Pekar, American Splendor
Harvey Pekar has been described as "the poet laureate of Cleveland." Although virtually all of Pekar's work is set in Cleveland, American Splendor is his most popular, which makes it more readily available than other Pekar stories. His autobiographical comics each feature the artwork of different artists, from R. Crumb to Alison Bechdel.
Les Roberts, the Milan Jacovich mysteries
Voted "Cleveland's Favorite Author" by Cleveland.com, Roberts' series of mystery novels explore Cleveland's darker side. His main character Milan Jacovich is a blue collar private investigator with "a master's degree, a taste for kielbasa sandwiches and Stroh's beer, and a knack for finding trouble." Roberts pilots his character through Cleveland's various crime scenes with panache and humor, making this series popular with fans and critics alike.
Main image courtesy Flickr/edebell
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