‘The Bagger’ is an Akron novel set in 1980s | Book Talk

The essence of Akron in the 1980s is captured in “The Bagger,” a spirited novel by William Zink. New wave music echoes through Polsky’s, Tangier, abandoned factories and Swensons as Akron struggles through the loss of industry and hope.

Freddie “Beckman” Beck is a gifted photographer who mostly works at weddings but also does some headshots for wannabe, never-gonnabe models. He spends most of his time with his best friend Sonny, who’s not quite as good a photographer.

He lives in an apartment with a depressive roommate and visits his girlfriend at Quaker Square, where she works in a shop. Like most young men, Beckman dreams of fame and money that will take him out of “this broken-down city — all this decay and dereliction,” but he is fiercely defensive of detractors and says he finds “beauty in all this ... their belief that things are going to be all right.”

Beckman’s been having lapses of memory — he wakes up after a one-night stand with no idea of his activities; Sonny tells him they had started drinking at the Sun bar in Spicertown, picked up a couple of women in Portage Lakes and drove them to Kent. His lapses become longer and more frequent.

Beckman is relaxing in the gardens at Stan Hywet when a girl approaches him and demands to know if he is “the bagger.” He’s perplexed, especially when she hands him a red balloon and walks away. He and Sonny, who is Black, have been like brothers, but Beckman begins having racist thoughts and suspecting Sonny of betraying him. Beckman finally has a big opportunity, to direct a music video for a star who might be modeled after Madonna; she wants to “capture the real soul of the Rust Belt.”

Beckman’s life collapses. Beckman is an unreliable narrator and the reader will wonder if he is purposely evasive or hallucinating, unaware of his actions. His girlfriend Karina tells him “You’ve got your friends and enemies confused — reversed — like you’re living in some upside-down world.” It’s hard to tell if she’s right.

The book is billed as a sequel to Zink’s 2022 “North Hill,” in which a young man named Puck lives in a Tallmadge Avenue house with his parents, grandparents and eight siblings. It’s not until about halfway through “The Bagger” that the relationship between the two books is confirmed, and it could count as a standalone novel.

“The Bagger” (306 pages, softcover) costs $15 from online retailers. Zink will launch “The Bagger” from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Trust Books, 1884 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls. “Ohio River Dialogues” was a finalist for the 2008 Ohioana Book Award in Fiction.

‘Night Watchers’

In the 2022 “Story Monsters Among Us,” Barberton author Conrad Storad proposed that there are shape-shifting creatures called story monsters that have existed since the days of cave paintings. Their purpose is to listen to stories so their meanings will not be lost to time.

In “Night Watchers: Nocturnal Creatures of North America,” Eddie the Elf Owl keeps an eye on things in the desert. He tells the Story Monster about the creatures that inhabit his world: “Coyotes, Snakes, Owls, Spiders, and More.” Eddie explains the value of mosquito-eating bats and the danger of messing with scorpions. This fun environmental lesson ends with activity and vocabulary guides.

The graphic black-and-white illustrations are designed to be used as a coloring book for even more fun for children.

“Night Watchers: Nocturnal Creatures of North America” (40 pages, softcover) is recommended for ages 4 and older and costs $12.95 from Story Monsters’ Press. The illustrations are by Indiana artist Jeff Yesh. Storad has written more than 50 books and is an alumnus of the University of Akron.

‘Roy Fox and the Palmatian’

Reynard is the traditional name of the trickster fox in medieval Europe. “Roy Fox and the Palmatian,” a charming fable by Wooster medievalist C. Dale Brittain, might star a relative of Reynard.

It seems that Daisy Fox has been sent to the king’s dungeon for stealing chickens (she might be guilty) and Roy needs to free her. His outlandish scheme involves entering a dog show as the exotic “Palmatian” breed and convincing the rich but easily duped duke to buy another specimen.

Roy’s sly finagling takes him from the king’s palace to the dark cells. This clever tale is made for reading aloud.

“Roy Fox and the Palmatian” (50 pages, softcover) costs $7.95 from online retailers and is recommended for readers 7-10. C. Dale Brittain is a pseudonym; her other books include the Royal Wizard of Yurt series and the fascinating “Positively Medieval: Life and Society in the Middle Ages.”

Events

Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson): Dinara Mirtalipova reads from and signs her children’s book “North Pole Village,” noon to 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Fireside Book Shop (29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls): Austintown author Nancy Christie signs “Mistletoe Magic and Other Stories,” 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Beachwood branch, 25501 Shaker Blvd.): Kerrie Taber discusses “Quarantining Hate,” about a shocking secret she learned about her grandfather, 7 to 8 p.m. Monday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Cleveland Public Library: Lee Matthew Goldberg talks about “The Great Gimmelmans” in a YouTube and Facebook Live event at 7 p.m. Monday. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Jess Montgomery talks about the Kinship Series, about a real-life female sheriff in 1920s Appalachia, in a virtual event at 7 p.m. Thursday. Register at cpl.org.

Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library: Young adult fantasy author Victoria Aveyard joins the Online Author Talk Series to discuss the Red Queen series and the Realm Breaker series, 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at smfpl.org.

Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library (Coventry Village branch, 1925 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights): Kathy Ewing reads from “A Grandmother’s ABC Book,” 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at heightslibrary.org.

Lakewood Public Library (15425 Detroit Ave.): Annie Zaleski talks about “This Is Christmas, Song by Song: The Stories Behind 100 Holiday Hits,” featured Oct. 15 in Book Talk, 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Mac’s Backs (1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights): Thrity Umrigar signs “Museum of Failures” and her other books at a wine and cheese party from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday.

Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): Poets Brian Brodeur (“Every Hour Is Late”) and Katie Hartsock (“Wolf Creek”) read from their work, 7 p.m. Thursday. At 3 p.m. Saturday, Melissa Heintz launches her identity-swapping novel “What Would Rose Do?”

Cuyahoga County Public Library (North Royalton branch, 5071 Wallings Road): Cincinnati author Jessica Strawser talks to Kylie Logan (the Jazz Ramsey series) about “The Last Caretaker,” 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at cpl.org.

Special announcement

The Buckeye Children’s and Teen Book Award Council has announced the winners of the 2023 awards: For Grades K–2, “Pizza and Taco: Too Cool for School” by Stephen Shaskan; Grades 3-5, “Endlessly Ever After” by Laurel Snyder and Dan Santat; Grades 6-8, “Play Like a Girl” by Misty and David Wilson of Stow; Teen: Heartstopper, (Vol. 4) by Alice Oseman. The voters are young readers from Ohio.

Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McInture tweets at @BarbaraMcI.

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘The Bagger’ is an Akron novel set in 1980s | Book Talk