Hotel Africa 2

Again, nothing would make me happier than seeing Tokyopop resume Hee Jung Park’s series, specifically this and Martin and John.  This was one of the most unique series that came out last year, in its own subdued way.  I enjoy the framing devices used, the two different times and places its set in, and how you need to consider the feelings of all characters involved at both ends of the time periods in the story.

In case you’re not familiar with Hotel Africa… it’s difficult to explain, but I believe the series is set in the present, with most stories starting with situations that arise around Elvis, the main character, his roommate Ed, their friend Jul, and one or two other people.  The situations are usually not very serious, and can be anything from a haircut to pet-sitting, whatever.  Just common, everyday things.  These trigger Elvis’s memory, and he tells stories about growing up at his mother’s hotel, Hotel Africa, in Utah.  These memories are the bulk of the volume.

My favorite story in the volume was probably the one about Hillie, the dog Elvis took care of for that sad old man.  That was a sad story in general, and as much as I hate to admit it, it almost made me cry when I read it on the bus.  It’s really well-told, and it’s one of those “After School Special”-type stories where Elvis learns what death and to say goodbye means at a young age.  Though it’s weird that he knows the dog is dead, but his mother doesn’t bother to tell him about the dog’s owner.  The whole thing with the owner coming back for the dog was what did it for me, really.

I’m not sure what the next best one was after that.  I did like the story that focused on the roommate Ed’s memories of his first love, which was also very tragic.  I liked the slow way the relationship developed in that one, even if you could sort of see that the two of them would get together, and you could tell what Ian was going to do in the end, too.  This story was only made better by the subsequent Ian chapter, which was an entirely visual representation of what went through Ian’s mind in the end.

There’s a bunch of other good stuff in here… a kind of weird one about a pair of lovers that I wasn’t clear on whether or not they were actual siblings or were just raised by the same person, one about Elvis changing his hairstyle, one about his mother’s friend coming back to the town and her life in the city (which was also quite good, now that I think about it, even though the character wasn’t sympathetic at all), and one about a blind boy and his mother that closed out the volume.

It’s the character development more than anything that does it for me.  Very few of the stories are actually about Elvis and his mother and grandmother.  Mostly they are all stories about the travelers passing through the hotel, their jorneys, and how their lives go from then on.  It’s a really nice idea for a series, and like I said, it’s a true tragedy that we probably won’t get to see more.  But who knows, maybe we’ll see a revival.  Hee Jung Park’s series certainly deserve it more than a lot of the other series that were cancelled, I think.