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culture _________________________________________ Buffalo Bookshelf: Buffalo Kid
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The Buffalo Kid (a story about winners)
by Real J. Laplaine
A recent arrival to Buffalo falls in love, and writes his love story to
a city in the form of a fantasy that imagines an inter-terrestrial
intervention to save the life of a man who resembles his hometown, both
very much down on their luck. Real J. Laplaine is French Canadian by birth. After spending time in California, he stopped off in Buffalo for a few months en route to Denmark where he will be moving with his Danish wife. He is a most unique individual. He is a dreamer, a lover, and a storyteller.
What happens when a French Canadian Californian dreamer, lover and storyteller lands in Buffalo for an extended visit. Something very similar to what happens in his novel,
The Buffalo Kid, when a humanoid scout from a more advanced civilization in a distant galaxy stops in Buffalo for a few months to observe, and determine Earth's worthiness to receive advanced knowledge from the visitor's planet.
If you know Mr. Laplaine, you recognize him in the character of Kaeton, the alien observer. He talks about his unique perspective on Buffalo, seeing the city from his outsider perspective, yet finding himself bonding with the place and the people quickly, and making it his mission to tell the world there is more to Buffalo than the rustbelt, wings, and snowbanks stereotypes, but at the same time to tell Buffalo "they" are stuck in a rut and the city is suffering because of it.
From a literary-critical perspective, the book is a little rough around the edges in places,
but.. its plot is compelling, its characters are sympathetic, and its author's love for the city, stated and restated less anyone miss the point.
The biggest challenge of writing a fantasy is making it believable, convincing the reader to accept the fantastic assumptions about reality the storyteller makes. On this point, Laplaine succeeds marvelously. I found myself being completely taken in, and caring so much about the characters and the plot that I couldn't put the book down. I had to know what would happen next and how it would end.
The author's message to Buffalo, Buffalonians, and anyone down on their luck is, don't give up on yourself. Anything's possible, and it's never too late.
Anyone who loves Buffalo will not give up on this book. -jwh-
The Buffalo Kid, by Real J. Laplaine, Lulu Books, 2009, available at the author's
website, and soon, on Amazon.com.