Sacco

Tonight I finished reading War's End: Profiles from Bosnia 1995 - 96 by Joe Sacco. I read most of this graphic novel a few weeks ago before I moved to a new town and just now got around to picking it up again, but as soon as I opened it I immediately remembered where I'd left off. I find all of Sacco's novels to be that memorable because his story-telling abilities are so great; it's almost like you're watching a movie unfold, and even if you relate to one story more than another they each are uniquely captivating. It's chock full of frightening truths, of people in the midst of chaos who are constantly having to repair themselves and try to live as best as possible. His novels always invoke in me a sense of sympathy for the people in the stories. Most of the goings-on in his novels have happened either slightly before or during my early lifetime, and yet even still the stories seem very much alive. There's so much honesty; he's not hiding anything because it's gory and he's not hiding anything to protect anyone. It's all out in the open, and that is what I like most about Sacco. His artistic skills are incredible as well, but I've mentioned them before and won't go on about it again. Another gem by Sacco. Read it.

OVERALL RATING: 4

Two Satrapis and a Collection

After reading and adoring Persepolis, I wanted to get anything I could find by Marjane Satrapi. I loved everything from her style of art, to the way she tells her stories, to the actual stories themselves. I enjoy her perspective, which I see as realistic with a sense of humor, and her portrayal of friends and relatives. Chicken With Plums is the story of Nasir Ali Khan, her great uncle and fantastic musician, whose life is challenged by a serious turn of events. (I hope no one minds a vague description; I really dislike giving away too much plot in these reviews since they're really just for my own purposes of noting opinion and being able to go back and remember what books I've read!) His story has moments of heartbreak, happiness, humor, and sadness, as anyone's real life tale usually does. But to watching it unfold as told by Satrapi becomes an almost magical experience, because things are pieced together bit by bit until you finally come to understand the point at which Nasir Ali Khan has reached in his most current stage of life. Despite the overarching tone of sadness, it's beautifully done all around.

OVERALL RATING: 5

In American culture, one rarely gets a glimpse into the private lives of Iranian women. Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi is graphic and hilarious, sad and beautiful. "Controversial" as noted in a review on the back cover is probably another good word for it. I was happy to see Marjane's grandmother, who is both a know-it-all and comforting. The story is basically a collection of stories told by various women in Marjane's life. As they come together for a tea, each begins to reveal a look into her private love life. I really can't give away more than that without revealing too much of one story; they're best read all together. At times Embroideries can be uncomfortable, but it's nothing short of interesting for sure. It will leave you thinking "Wow..." no matter who you are!

OVERALL RATING: 4.5

Best American Comics 2009 of The Best American Series is edited by Charles Burns, Jessica Abel, and Matt Madden. This is the fourth book in the series of Bests. It gathers, obviously, the best of comics from various sources and compiles them into one book. I was happy to stumble across this at a used book store, and even more happy that it introduced me to a plethora of comic artists I hadn't yet heard of and reminded me of some I had. If you're just getting into graphic novels and you're not sure what you would like, this book would be a great way to find your answers. It has a variety of art and story-- plenty to choose from. There were certainly some I didn't like but I mostly enjoyed peeking into all of them at some point or another. And one of the nice features is that it's a collection of clips from different artists, so it invites flipping around instead of reading entirely linearly. I definitely have a new list of things to check out thanks to this. So get it, read it, love it! It's great.

OVERALL RATING: 5

Holy childhood memories, Batman! Skyscrapers of the Midwest by Joshua W. Cotter is a combination of much non-reality paired with serious realistic traits, and to a lot of the realistic elements I greatly relate. I know that feeling of being endlessly frustrated with a younger brother who worships you, and even though you get mad at him all the time you don't hate him. I know the general rural-country feeling (including being baptized at a young age most likely because of peer pressure, then fearing eternal damnation because you knew you did it for the wrong reasons) and colloquialisms that result from the geographic area-- like my grandfather called his wife, my grandmother, "Mother" instead of her name or a more normal pet name like "honey," as an old man in one of the side stories called his wife. Beyond personal things, it depicts the main character, a little boy, and his family/friends/neighbors as cats. Human cats, I guess. This and other elements of fantasy, like robots, robot-cats, dinosaurs and so on make frequent appearances. It's sometimes difficult to separate fantasy from reality in this book, but this is how it goes when speaking of childhood. The main character is a nerdy little boy and you get all these funny glimpses into his various traumas and adventures, and more. It's a really complex, creative book and very enjoyable. OVERALL RATING: 4.5

So, I must be a sap for childhood tales of woe, because I really liked Chester Brown's I Never Liked You: A Comic-Strip Narrative. In this graphic novel, Brown recounts (as much as memories will allow) his childhood past. He's a gawky, awkward teen who according to the girls he knows, could be much better looking if he'd do something with his hair and wear better clothes. Little do they know, there are much deeper things going on in Chester's life. Even though he goes through all the usual teenage boy thoughts of getting with girls, he's got real struggles. His mother is mentally ill, and announces to her two sons that she is admitting herself into a mental hospital. He later depicts her in the hospital as shriveled and unlike her old self, unable to respond to her visitors with more than a few grunts. It's terribly sad, yet Chester barely feels a thing. It's an interesting point; sometimes in the face of real tragedy we are unable to have the appropriate feelings, especially in the cruel self-centered realm of the adolescent years. OVERALL RATING: 4.5

My significant other was reading through Guy Delisle's Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea at the same time I was, and described it quite accurately as "Sacco lite." (Light? Is lite just a newfangled, new-aged made-up spelling?) Delisle is an animator who finds himself traveling to North Korea to work on a project. His experiences there are incredibly limited, as he is not allowed to do many forms of travel without an escort. Everyone he encounters (with the exception of non-Koreans) has the same "brainwashed" mindset of being obsessed with their leader and former leader, Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. (Forgive me if I forget which is which!) Everything is very sterile and pretty much every aspect of the North Korean's way of life is consumed with ways of serving the great leaders. It's certainly no detailed, truth-bearing Sacco novel, but it's funny and an interesting sociological report. Worth reading, but nothing to rush out and get. It's good if you find it though! OVERALL RATING: 4

Two more down the hatch!

I often fall in love with graphic novels, but how do you know when you want to make the super commitment of purchasing one when you're a struggling college student? I have decided to make a list of all my favorites at the end of the summer when I'm done with my graphic novel binge, and then based on the "connection" I felt to each one (quite arbitrary; connection does not necessitate actually relating to the main subject, as is exemplified with the novel Epileptic by David B.) I'll pick out a few that I want to add to my permanent book collection.

The reason that I bring this up is that after reading Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, I feel that it will wind up in the collection of those novels that I wish to one day purchase. No, I can't relate to what it's like being a lesbian who grew up in a home of a dysfunctional family who runs a funeral parlor, but something about the narration of her childhood and her particular rationality with life matters reminds me in little specks of my own. The story, without being completely "relatable" to me personally, is captivating and entertaining, and simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. I like a good sense of duality in a novel and I like life stories, especially when they're illustrated well and are written intelligently. I learned quite a few new words! Bechdel, by example of her father, is quite the literary junkie and has an expansive vocabulary not often seen in comic form. She also has a pretty good sense of humor for someone who grew up with death as a reoccurring theme in everyday life. It's a really good book, and one day I'm going to buy it! OVERALL RATING: 5

Sloth by Gilbert Hernandez is an unusual form of storytelling as compared to other books I've read so far. He begins with the story of teenager Miguel, who has recently awoken from a coma. One day, Miguel says, he simply did not wake up. And then a year later he did. The only defect left with him after being in a coma is a physical slowness. He and his two best friends are intelligent and talented, too much so for the suburban settings they reside in. He says that falling into a coma is a much better way to deal with life than most of their peers choose (ie. drugs, alcohol, bullying, etc.).

So, you get to what you think is a turning point in the story and suddenly a new story begins. His girlfriend/best friend is the one who has been in a coma. By the end of the book, his best guy friend is in a coma. Each of the characters take on the main plot of the original character. Why does Hernandez do this? I'm not sure, but it's interesting to see how perspectives change and sympathies shift when it's a sub-character that suddenly becomes the main character. I don't know if it's some sort of existential message, and I'm not particularly up to analyzing it that far. What I do know is that it's well-drawn, well written, certainly unique, and at times it's even spooky. I admit that I may not have fully grasped the point but at least I can appreciate what is an original! OVERALL RATING: 4.5

Much, much reading.

You know, while you're sick or working as a computer lab monitor you can really get a lot of reading done! I'll begin with Flight...

Through visiting various comic artists' websites over the years, for example the likes of Vera Brogsol, Clio Chang, and my personal favorite Jen Wang, I found out about the Flight series. I've always been interested and I was happy to discover that my library at least had Volume 2 on the shelves! I had mistakenly thought it a single story, but in actuality it is a collection of unrelated comics done by various artists such as the aforementioned.

In Flight, Volume 2 there is a great variety of subjects; a little something for everyone, really. There are monsters, adventures, talking animals, animal heroes, people heroes, futuristic scenes, space scenes, nature scenes, city scenes, love interests, family stories... really, everything! I enjoyed at least 90% of its content, and what I didn't like I just skimmed over because nothing goes on for too long anyway. My only gripe would be minor writing problems, in that some of the stories ended far, far too abruptly. But the art is all fantastic and worth viewing no matter what the writing is like. And if you're a comic nerd like me it'll give you leads to artists you now like but didn't know about before! So check it out because you're bound to like something in it. OVERALL RATING: 5

I've finally completed my Sacco reading, that is unless he has more books that I am unaware of. This one includes the same amazing illustration work as Palestine and Gorazde, but it is a little less weighty in content. However, it doesn't make it any less respectable or any less interesting-- in fact, it was refreshing to be able to read through a Sacco novel with greater speed while still maintaining all the seriousness in subject and details in drawings. I had no idea what the title meant so I won't spoil the surprise for anyone else by giving away specifics. I will say though that it again captures the essence of a war-tired area of people who become an anthropological study in comic form via Sacco's perspective. What would YOU do if your country went to war and everyone lost nearly all sense of rationality? It's hard to say what anyone would do in that kind of situation, but Sacco provides one example in this book. Sometimes this is how it goes when there's war, so don't be shocked when there's plenty of violence and abnormal behavior. OVERALL RATING: 4.5

Pathetic people abound, Summer Blonde is filled with stories that make you simultaneously pity and loathe the lead characters. It's a collection of fictional stories set in modern times about people who want love (or something) but just can't quite make it.

It's kindof one of those books that leaves you with a weird taste in your mouth. Are these people sane or sick? They seem so real and so unappealing.

However, the art has the opposite qualities from its main characters-- it's lovely and has great continuity from frame to frame, in an almost cinematic quality. I'd recommend it if you're up for a modern story with a not necessarily happy ending. OVERALL RATING: 3

Now HERE's a graphic novel I really enjoyed. (I feel that I should make a disclaimer: I thoroughly enjoyed Flight and The Fixer, but I expected to, and so this one may get written about more passionately as a result.)

While the author did live in Mexico, the story in the graphic novel is not autobiographical of her life. Although the story is dramatic, it seems entirely plausible, which I liked. Rarely does a work of fiction seem so real; realistic ones are definitely common but there always seems to be an element of falsehood present. You know it's false, therefore its fictional qualities seem more evident. But in La Perdida, Jessica Abel tells the story so well that I didn't realize it wasn't true until I looked at the author's name about halfway through the book.

The drawings have a quick, sketchy quality that reminded me of an unpolished version of Craig Thompson's book, Blankets. It bothered me at first that there was this sense of roughness to the visuals but it made the story seem so real, like it could have almost actually been her diary while she was in Mexico. OVERALL RATING: 5

I am in the middle of reading what I think is Daniel Clowes' most popular work, Ghost World, but I feel educated enough to make the statement that his style feels quite similar to Tomine's. I'm not quite sure whether or not I even liked the main character. He's pathetic, yet confident, but likable?

Anyway, I found it interesting a storyline enough to read the whole novel if that says anything. But I'm not sure I like this kind of fiction. Somehow, it lacks a sense of humor and a sense of reality, a sense of being genuine even if the characters are total scumbags. I know that Clowes is supposed to be a brilliant comic artist so I won't get clouded by not liking just one book. Read it for yourself, the art is great at least! OVERALL RATING: 2

Joe Sacco

While I have not exactly been burning through graphic novels lately with the kind of speed as I had earlier in the summer, I have still managed to make my way through some real gems.

My recent reads have included two numbers by the same author, Joe Sacco. Neither graphic novel comes without its fair share of recent history and horrors, and one could say they ask a lot of the readers. But I think they are well worth it even though they are quite the task to get through. The visuals are incredible-- his drawing style is perhaps the most detailed stylistic depiction I've seen yet, with incredible use of perspective. They're a lot to digest visually, but even moreso in content. To fully understand the extent of Sacco's journalistic investigations you must read the introduction and even, if you're like me and didn't know a lot of the details about Palestine (or the Bosnian War for the Gorazde book), then you'll need to do a bit of internet research to understand. Nothing a good Wikipedia entry can't catch you up on. What Wikipedia doesn't reveal though is the gruesome horrors and humiliations faced by people in Palestine, and also in Gorzade. I'll speak of them separately for a moment so as not to create confusion...

I knew generally of Palestine-- the location, the people, etc., but I didn't realize what terrors happen as a result of internal struggle and also happened around the time of the Gulf War. This book covers some testimonials of people from the Palestine area. It's Arabic people vs. Jewish people, and like always in life there are good and bad on both sides.

As for Gorazde, I had no earthly idea of the location, the people, the culture, or anything else until I read Sacco's book. At one time in a not too distant past, Serb, Croat, and Muslim people coexisted peacefully, but when Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic (who is now on the top of my "Worst Human Beings Ever in Existence" list) came into power, things fell apart under his attempt to consolidate power and extend his influence into other areas.

To say "things fell apart" for either Palestine or Gorazde is to put things quite lightly. The books are graphic and bloody, not shy with war imagery, but seem unreal because they are so laden with the terrible things people saw. Destruction, gore, death, war, backstabbing, lies, rape, murder, poverty, starvation... the worst things you can possibly think of, including to women and children, happened. I can't even begin to fathom what life for survivors would be like, how existence would seem after having seen such horrible things. It really made me wonder why power and greed can sometimes make man so blinded that he would completely destroy the dignity and existence of another human being to gain the means to his own end. How could you be so awful? How can that really exist? I know life isn't all sugarplums and fairies but, my god!

These books further served to remind me what a watered-down view of governments that text books provide in American schools, how those text books can make the Gulf War sound like nothing at all, like lives are cheap. It reminded me how little I think of my own government on a daily basis, and how I would probably hate every government on earth with every fiber of my body if I knew all the things they really did.

Anyway, if you're reading Sacco's books and you don't understand what life must really be like for these people, consider yourself lucky. I can't pretend to know lots on either situation having read two books, but I certainly feel enlightened. I wish people never had to be so wronged... these are some heavy books, but I would suggest them for anyone. Thumbs up to Sacco.

Stories of Sadness and Depth Beyond Measure

I'll begin by saying that both of the graphic novels featured in this post are particularly amazing and that you should go out and rent or purchase them immediately if at all possible. They have a lot of similarities not in drawing style, but in that they both face incredible darkness viewed through the imaginative mind of a child.

In Epileptic by French artist David B., he tells the tale of his childhood through adolescence, which is fully permeated with the struggles the family must face as the result of his older brother's epilepsy. He comes to know a great amount of pain and suffering at a very young age as he and his family make every attempt to "cure" his brother but ultimately fail each time. The way he deals with this never-ending battle is through an obsession with exactly that: battles. He constantly draws battles of a different nature, detailed war scenes with armor-clad soldiers fighting to the death. He does this as a way to understand, deal with, or sometimes escape the epileptic reality that constantly follows his family.

The art is beautiful and dark, and upon first glance I thought it reminded me of Marjane Satrapi's drawing style in Persepolis. Through a bit of research on David B. I found out that he was actually Satrapi's "mentor and teacher," according to a New York Magazine book review. The art is appropriately dark in most places and exceptionally intricate, and the story is truly captivating. As a reader you really want to see this family prevail and win the battle against epilepsy, against their struggles, against their sadness. A great book, indeed.

While David B.'s art reflect darkness through literally being dark and is also meanwhile a real-life reflection, Paul Hornschemeier's fictional Mother, Come Home is done in a muted color palette and has a much more somber tone instead. Yet both are, to me, the same level of incredible.

It's the story of a little boy whose mother was gravely ill and passed away, and of the little boy's father who is failing to cope well with the loss of his wife. The novel is short, so I won't give away more detail and spoil the story, but it's a very touching thing to say the least. The ending should be shocking and horrific, but in the context of it all it seems only natural. When you read it you'll see what I mean.

I think that I can safely say that these two graphic novels are among my absolute top favorites, and you couldn't ask for a better pair of art and content than what they individually contain. Prepare yourself for seriousness, but don't be afraid of the dark-- it's great.

One! Hundred! Demons! by Lynda Barry

A lot of the graphic novels I've picked out to read have to do with someone's life, the present as they're writing the story and the past events of childhood that formed them. I don't know why this kind of thing appeals to me most, but I've begun to wonder if it's therapeutic in some way. They had it harder than you at times, they had it better than you at times; either way it's a miracle that they can remember so much of their lives and transfer it onto paper in a captivating way. I envy them in that much.

Today's graphic novel was One! Hundred! Demons! by Lynda Barry, and I have to say I enjoyed it! Her drawing style and storytelling was informal, playful, and funny. It wasn't quite the long, heartbreaking life story that some graphic novels turn out to be, but alongside her hardships resided a good sense of humor that made it worth reading. Try it, you might like it!

Craig Thompson

After reading the beautiful novel Blankets by Craig Thompson, I had to get my hands on his other works. I absolutely loved his drawing style in combination with the way he told stories.

Blankets, an autobiography, was so highly personal and introverted but yet completely "relatable," so I wasn't surprised to find that Carnet De Voyage, a travel diary, was also fascinating and entirely non-boring as well. You would expect a travel diary to be uninteresting and just a list of experiences a person had on their journeys, but it's more than that. Thompson has a wonderful way of packing feeling and thought into places where they may not ordinarily be available. It's not just "I went here and did this." I probably do no justice to it with words, so I am recommending it to anyone. Read it, love it. If you're like me, it will only make you want more!

In the spirit of wanting/needing more Thompson, I checked out his only other available graphic novel to date, called Good-bye, Chunky Rice. It is a fictional tale of a mouse and turtle, beloved friends who come to part. The turtle, named Chunky Rice, finds himself needing to go on a journey to find his true home, realizing perhaps too late that his real home is merely on his back (his shell) and also in the shared company of his friend. However, he boards a boat and goes on his way, and the story in between is similar to Blankets in that it's so incredibly lovable and sad. Even though it's a very cartoony style, it certainly is no story for children. It's much too weighty a story even in light-hearted visual form.

After reading the three Thompson creations I feel that I have a true appreciation for his storytelling and his abilities to pull you in and make you feel the story rather than feeling apart from it as you read. Les belles histoires, Craig. Beau.

Blankets by Craig Thompson

I saw this sitting on a featured shelf in the library and thought "That looks pretty. I'll give it a try." And what luck! It turned out to be amazing. I've been through a lot of graphic novels I had no intention of buying in the end, but this one I am definitely adding to my "must be purchased no matter what" list. Also, even though it is a pretty thick book, I got through it in a matter of a few hours. It's like candy you have to keep eating but then you realize you've gotten to the bottom of the box, and then you wish there were more.

This graphic novel is a highly personal autobiography of the author, Craig Thompson, from his childhood to his 20s. The artwork is absolutely magnificent, and if you're interested you should visit his website called Doot Doot Garden, because it too is great. I'd actually stumbled across his website a long time ago without knowing it was the same author of this book, which made for a cool realization once I googled his name.

But back to the book-- I can't praise it enough! I suppose whether or not you'd like it depends on whether or not you like graphic novels, and more specifically graphic novels that are about someone's life and not giant anime robots or Japanese school girls or something. His childhood had some truly saddening moments spattered with a few happy memories here and there. He didn't have the most horrible childhood you can think of but it certainly had it's terrible moments. Despite this, and despite being constantly picked on by his peers, he grew into a shy and sweet adolescent boy full of ideas. He had an ongoing struggle with religion because he grew up in a fundamentalist christian family, but as he grows he begins to find fault in the teachings and cannot bring himself to reveal to his parents that he is no longer religious.

I won't give away the rest of the story because it's very beautiful and real. If you've had a first love then you can tremendously relate to what he feels later on in the book. Read it for the art, or read it for the story-- either way, just read it! It's beautiful.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Recently I was researching movies to watch via Amazon.com, and I came across Persepolis. I had no clue what it was about, but the artwork looked amazing so I decided I should rent it. After viewing the movie, which was incredible, I was told that I should read the graphic novels. Quickly I made my way over to the library and did just that.

Persepolis: The Story of Childhood is one incredible journey to say the least. It is the autobiography of Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian born in 1969 who has grown up to see the modern political changes in her hometown Tehran. She witnessed the Iranian Revolution in 1979, among other violent results of an ever-oppressive government. She's so beautifully, and sometimes terrifyingly, honest throughout this tale of her life. It's an incredible story because she and her family perservere no matter what happens in Tehran, and they continuously face terrors with bravery. This is not to say that they are invincible; they are human-- rational but emotional, and they stick to their beliefs as best they can. I learned more about Iran and Iranians than I ever have (although this is just one family). It's horrifying to know what she found out as a little girl. There was grim news always, of friends and family who faced torture and death in opposition to the government, of the public which constantly turned against itself in fear. I can't even come close to imagining what a childhood would have been like in a country so wartorn. To remain so rational and honest as an adult despite the terrible things she knew is truly an amazing feat.

The second book relays the story of her years as a young adult, of being sent abroad to Austria by her family for safety's sake, and of the adventures and misfortunes of growing up. Obviously, she had a more rocky start than many people she came across.

She made friends, she lost friends, she faced the difficulties of puberty, she got to know love and the feeling that comes post-relationship when you find out the person is not as amazing as you once thought, she clung to her love of punk rock but didn't find herself completely able to relate to its culture.

I should probably do less recounting and just say that this story was amazing in both book and movie form. The art was great in both, the story was gripping in both, and it couldn't be more relevant to the current times (because of the resulting havoc of a recently staged election by the current Iranian government). I hope the near future holds good change for the Iranian people and I think you, whoever you are, should definitely read both graphic novels and watch the movie. And also read the news if you don't know what's going on in Iran. Awareness is important! DO IT!

I Me Mine by George Harrison

I've done a lot of reading and documentary-viewing on the Beatles, particularly George. When I found out that there was a book actually written by George himself I couldn't help but get my hands on it. Once I borrowed it and realized the large size wasn't something I immediately had time for, it sat on my desk for a few months before I got around to opening it. However I quickly learned that even though it's a rather gigantic book there really isn't that much reading to it. So, onward.

Part One is an interesting section because he, and notes recalled by Derek Taylor, give you glimpses into aspects of George's Beatle and non-Beatle life up until the time when he is writing the book in 1980. It's a shame that it wasn't more elaborate as a whole; the stories are very condensed. But you learn through this book (and through various other writings or videos on him, if you've ever come across any) that George didn't treat things elaborately and at least the tale, however short, is from his perspective rather than an outsider writer's. My favorite part was when he discussed the Concert for Bangladesh and complained about the poor quality of its filming. Also, he had said that if anyone featured in the concert didn't like the film or record, they could be taken out of it because "I didn't want them to end up not being my friends after all that." Apparently, even if you've been a Beatle you can still be a decent human being who cares for friends, and about people in the world who need help, who is also into leading a quiet life and gardening. I like that.

Part Two is filled with bits and quips on songs he has written over his lifetime. The lyrics are all there (hand-written and typed), which I confess that I didn't read through. I did read all the notes he wrote on the songs, but for anyone wanting to know all the lyrics I'm sure it's nice to have on record in one place. One story I particularly liked was about Savoy Truffle, in which he said "Savoy Truffle is a funny one written whilst hanging out with Eric Clapton in the sixties. At that time he had a lot of cavities in his teeth and needed dental work. He always had a toothache but he ate a lot of chocolates-- he couldn't resist them and once he saw a box he had to eat them all." I feel the same way, Eric Clapton. I really do.

It was funny at times because while I was reading I'd be thinking "He's very witty, and dry" and then all of the sudden there would be a chunk with complex religious explanation and I wouldn't know at all what he was saying. For an uncomplicated person, he was very religiously complicated. That isn't an insult, since he wasn't an awful kind of religious person who perpetuated the 'this way is right or go to hell' type belief; he was very inspired by his beliefs, and so even when I feel totally distanced from him as a reader during religious parts I still respect him incredibly for it.

Oh yes, and there are pictures. So if you like George Harrison as much as I do, I would suggest that you try this book sometime. I'm only giving it a 4 for a rating because I'm greedy and wanted more stories from it!