TRAGIC LOVE MONTH #12: Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)
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In Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov uses elegant language, mold-breaking protagonists, and point-of-view to play with the reader's concept of morality.
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February 2017: TRAGIC LOVE MONTH
February is the month of Valentine's Day, that special day of roses, expensive prix-fixe menus, and heart-shaped everything that has couples celebrating their love. Except not everyone is happy on Valentine's Day. Many singles scowl at their calendars when the 14th rolls around, rebelling against tradition with depressing music or action movies. If you're one of those people, this series is for you. The following culture recommendations focus on the painful side of adoration, from the aching of unrequited love to the repeated lacerations of codependence.
TRAGIC LOVE MONTH #11: Wolf Children, by Mamoru Hosoda (2012)
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Wolf Children uses the struggle between nature and civilization to tell the story of a loving mother raising two half-wolf children while being unable to connect with their bestial sides.
Read MoreTRAGIC LOVE MONTH #10: To the Moon, by Freebird Games (2011)
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Video game To the Moon puts players as two doctors who dive into a dying widower's memories to fulfill his last wish.
Read MoreTRAGIC LOVE MONTH #9: Being John Malkovich, by Spike Jonze (1999)
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Being John Malkovich uses its bizarre premise to examine self-loathing and escapism.
Read MoreTRAGIC LOVE MONTH #8: Heartbreak Soup, by Gilbert Hernandez (1982)
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Heartbreak Soup combines soap opera melodrama with indie comics introspection to deliver stories of love and loss.
Read MoreTRAGIC LOVE MONTH #7: The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor, by Sherman Alexie (1993)
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A couple breaks up when one man just cannot stop making jokes, in a short story by Native American author and humorist Sherman Alexie.
Read MoreTRAGIC LOVE MONTH #6: Hadestown, by Anaïs Mitchell (2010)
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Anaïs Mitchell takes the tragic Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydices and turns it into a rousing folk opera set in 1930s America.
Read MoreTRAGIC LOVE MONTH #5: In the Mood for Love, by Wong Kar-wai (2000)
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Wong Kar-wai's film In the Mood for Love offers a story of two people in 1960s Hong Kong who let love slip through their fingers.
Read MoreTRAGIC LOVE MONTH #4: Monsterhearts, by Avery Alder McDaldno (2012)
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A roleplaying game that features highschool monsters clamoring for social leverage and base fulfillment, Monsterhearts offers a deadly serious take on teen sex.
Read MoreTRAGIC LOVE MONTH #3: Apollo and Daphne, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1625)
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When master sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini used his tremendous skill to bring the Greek myth of Apollo and Daphne to life, he created an amazing depiction of unrequited love.
Read MoreTRAGIC LOVE MONTH #2: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski (1993)
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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm focuses on Batman's love life to explore the larger sacrifices he made to become the Dark Knight.
Read MoreTRAGIC LOVE MONTH #1: Tallahassee, by The Mountain Goats (2002)
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On Tallahassee, folk band the Mountain Goats portray the last gasps of a doomed relationship between two dysfunctional people.
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