Jokerman 8

By Richard Melo

A west coast posse of forest radicals based out of San Francisco State University, Jokerman engages in a wild array of pranks -- they sink whaling ships at harbor in Iceland, skydive into the winter forest of British Columbia on a bend to save a pack of wolves from a government-sponsored slaughter, and stage a Tree-In in a southern Oregon old-growth forest where it is believed the first pine trees evolved. Jokerman spikes trees, jerryrigs tractors, spoils traps, and conserves enough energy to laugh and drink beer at the end of the day. In numerous subplots encompassing both present and past, a young husband flees San Francisco for Portland during the Draft, another young husband sets himself on fire in front of what he thinks is Robert MacNamara's office in the Pentagon, and the Yippies succeed in levitating the Pentagon, inspiring the Jokerman Eight to respond by building a pyramid next to the Pentagon.
Written in a polyphonous prose where every tendency is contrapuntal to another--rollicking yet meditative, whirlwind yet lax, lush yet stark, ghostly yet grounded, complex yet accessible--the novel can best be summed up by its final (and shortest) sentence: "Live happy."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932360344
• ISBN13: 9781932360349
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Soft Skull
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Put aside your preconceptions and pick up Jokerman 8

Jokerman 8 is billed as "a rockin, rollin, wild-eyed journey through the American eco-saboteur movement, and a restless multistranded narrative about two pasts that can never be reconstituted: happy childhoods and forests." Reviewers have noted how it moves through the decades with some wild characters and a collective "we" used for the first person narrative. I'm not one for gimmicky books, so I freely admit to being apprehensive about reading and reviewing Jokerman 8. Also, I'm a liberal and a capitalist at heart, and I believe at working for change within the system, so how was I going to get along with a brand of renegade environmentalists? Melo manages to pull it all off. Music ties the adventures of the edo-sabateurs together, from The Beatles and a daughter named Jude to U2's Joshua Tree, complete with a several-page analysis of "With or Without You." The lyrics and allusions in Melo's prose made me want to run out and listen to these albums. His characters are off-the-wall but always shine with their true colors in a way that endears them to the reader. I admired Willie Shoman's principled approach to his tree-spiking jail sentence, as he chose not to kowtow to the man to get a shortened sentence. I cracked up at the dedication of Eleanor Cookee, who wanted to set up a Wildlife Legal Cooperative, but couldn't find any lawyers in California to donate their time, since time is money. "She does find, however, lawyers who are willing to donate money, which is, in turn, used to hire lawyers. Frequently, she hires back the same lawyers who donated the money in the first place." One the machine is in place, Eleanor loses interest and looks for new challenges. Melo's book is one that has a generation-spanning audience. The characters are children of the 1960's, but many of their ideals are still held by today's young activists. It's certainly not for everyone, but pick this up if you have an open mind or want to remember a time when you cared more about saving the world than your own personal gain.

Read Jokerman. Repeat.

I like how he uses Beatles tunes as a thread to weave through storyline. Read Jokerman just to hear the story of a girl named Jude. :) Plethora of earthy, rich, colorful visuals plop you, amazed into his 60's and 70's Oregon forest rain, startling and fluid movement rush you back in forth from idealistic decades to current time, and you realize idealism still thrives. Read this book with your friends, to your children, out loud around the campfire, because this is a book that will hook monkey hearts who celebrate facts like love and hope, unabashed, are sustainable. This is the book that teaches us how important it is to take turns on each others shoulders.

An Ode to Joy

Jokerman 8 follows a shifting group of eco-saboteurs in the eighties, from their loose beginnings at college to the end of their days as a group. Individual characters are memorably described, but most of the action happens smack in the middle of a collective consciousness. The author accomplishes this through the use of a rare device--first person plural narration, the collective "we." I can't think of it being used in any book besides The Virgin Suicides, which is another incredible portrait of time and place. The "we" places us in the middle of missions to protect old-growth timber stands, Canadian wolves, and more. The "we" invites the reader in and along. It's uncanny. You have to read the book to understand what a joyful stomping journey it is.

A Novel of Friendship

Stories told around singular events often have the unfortunate distinction of being remembered for the small details, at the expense of the big picture. Think the rape scene in Deliverance or El Gordo's Last Stand in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Jokerman 8 has no dearth of singular events. Some are quite spectacular, moving and memorable. But a careful reading will reveal that the bigger picture looms over all these events. Just as Hemingway complained that his tale was one of loyalty, and not war, Melo could easily make the case that Jokerman 8 is nothing more than an ode to friendship. The people we love, and more importantly, who return that love, overshadow any incident, whether it's the levitation of the Pentagon or the sinking of a ship.

Tread Lightly and Stop to Take Pictures

It took me three tries to get out of the basket chair on my porch this morning. Coffee in one hand, the nearly finished reviewer copy of Jokerman 8 in the other, loaned from a friend. I don't know how else to begin a review of a book that starts at such a basic level: humankind's connection to the world, to the universe, to childhood, and to the petty bourgeoisie melodious humdrum of daily life. I hate that this book is compared to The Monkey Wrench Gang, not out of any particular loathing for Abbey (a damn fine Utahn and a personal hero) but more because the sway of Jokerman 8 follows its theme: gentle impulses. This is not a burn and slash, this is a flow, albeit a tragically funny one at times. Melo has indulged us with the subtle presence of youth; tree spiking and eco-salvation take a backseat to laughter and the revolving door quality of causes and friendships in our 20's. More importantly, Melo is not starting a cult. Anger is not fuel for Jokerman, as it was for Hayduke and pals. Why read this? Mainly, because Jokerman 8 will make you remember. Or at least recall THAT moment of sway and simple acceptance; the laughter of youth interfused with political infrastructure; a genuine love of Nature--not only as the outdoors, but as something constantly inherent to ourselves and our ultra-blind staggering through the concrete Wilderness.