A Contract with God

MAN I wanted to know what was written on that freakin' rock. I assume it had something to do with having no one die in Frimme's life, or maybe something as broad as "I don't want anything bad to happen to me", but for some reason I just have a burning desire to know the specifics. Maybe that's the point, though, and I'm supposed to rack my brain over what personal information I should be understanding about the character I see falling deeper and deeper into a scorn-driven lifestyle of wealth and hollow satisfaction. It certainly kept me reading, so... good going, Eisner. I feel bad for the next kid, though.

I feel like "A Contract with God" and the other tenement stories are meant to show me that no one is as they initially appear. For instance, at first I see Frimme as a Disney-tier father figure and all-around good man, and then I realize that he truly only kept his faith under the constant, self-imposed restrictions he'd set for himself as a child? That seems fickle at best; it appeared as though he didn't even try to see how, possibly, God hadn't broken his side of the promise (but then again, I don't know what it was so... I guess I'll never really know that part about Frimme).

And the singer? Eddie? Royally SCREW that guy. A liar, drunk, oppressive husband, and a man who appears to lack any willpower, he's truly an amalgamation of some of my most hated aspects of people. But, knowing none of that at the beginning of his tale, I really liked the guy initially. I imagine Sinatra (who I'm sure is no goody-two-shoes either, but run with me on this) walking from alley to alley, providing entertainment just to earn a buck, and I was immediately rooting for him. So, again, no one is as they initially appear. Marta Maria, perhaps, but she wasn't exactly the focus of the story.

Now Mr. Scuggs is an interesting case, and quite the opposite from Eddie's. I really was not a fan at the beginning of his story, but if there's any way to get me on the side of a low-browed, ill-tempered, pedophiliac lug like him, it's to have him love a dog more than life itself. It's cheating, really; you show me anyone who loves dogs that much and I'm sold. Sure, he had a creepy perversion that's frowned upon in society, but at least he didn't appear to be acting upon it. Sure, he was rude to the tenants and harsh when they didn't have rent immediately, but, y'know, that was kind of his job.

And it'd take a damn long time to go over all of the "oh, this person is actually like this?" moments from the vacationers' stories, so let's just leave it at the fact that I had to mentally and emotionally u-turn about seven or eight times. Overall, I was surprised with myself at having read the whole thing -- normally I read enough to understand and then as much I can while still being entertained, but this entire collection was pretty riveting throughout. I should really check out more of Eisner's work.

-Will Avery