So many novels, so little time.

I'm going to do something a little different this time. Since I've gone through so many graphic novels lately, I feel as though I am still digesting their meanings and do not want to give them full reviews at this current moment. I can rate them, yes, but if I feel the need to review I will simply go back later and edit this post. For now, I'll just give you an idea of how much I liked them by supplying a rating and a few words of description.

Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki.
OVERALL RATING: 4.5

Beautiful, girly, dark; captures the essence of high school quite well.


Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie
OVERALL RATING: 4

Intricate, detailed artwork; story is interesting but not incredibly captivating.








Ice Haven by Daniel Clowes
OVERALL RATING: 5

Dark, funny; stylistically different and interesting; captivating in story and art.




The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
OVERALL RATING: 5

Will keep you reading for quite a while (in a good way); soap opera-ish, but smarter.

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

Graphic Novels Galore

I found this one in my local public library and was intrigued not only because it was not the story of Alice, but because the artwork seemed so intricate and whimsical. I learned that Wonderland (book one in a series of three, written by Tommy Kovac and illustrated by Sonny Liew) is actually published by Disney Press, so many of the characters look quite similar to the Walt Disney interpretation of Lewis Carroll's story in the Disney movie Alice in Wonderland. I thought at first that I would like to have seen things in a non-Disney interpretation, but then I couldn't be too bothered by it because I actually do like older Disney artwork and this particular one is nostalgic for me. It's still got a touch that isn't exactly Disney when it comes to new characters, backgrounds, environments, etc. The story was a fun adventure, and while it included a darker twist, it would still be totally appropriate for children.

OVERALL RATING: 4.5

The cover art on this one has always intrigued me, and it's a graphic novel that I see absolutely everywhere, so I couldn't help but check it out as well. Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli is far from an Alice in Wonderland tale; it's almost entirely realistic in storyline and the art is far less whimsical and more simplified. However, this doesn't mean it's dry! I found this one to be one of my favorite graphic novels to date. While simplified, the artwork still has a very original personality. The way each character is drawn truly lends to the who they are as people and the way they behave. The color palette is limited to a few colors per environment, but each are expertly chosen to feel appropriate for that scene.

I also enjoyed the story as much as I did the art. Asterios Polyp is in interesting man, and you get to watch his life unfold in a way you know he wouldn't have predicted for himself. It's interesting to see the way he handles it, the way he and others around him grow or change based on the situations that occur. I'm a sucker for a good life story (fiction or non) with a pinch of unfortunate happenings, and this fits the bill perfectly.

OVERALL RATING: 5

Back into Graphic Novels

Long time no read! Graduating from college proves incredibly distracting from one's goal of leisure reading. But I'm back on the horse, so away we go!

When I read Mother Come Home, I became an instant fan of the art and storytelling of Paul Hornschemeier. He's honest and dark, and (if possible) does depressing stories well. When I found this small one by him in a nearby comics store, I picked it up quickly and without question. I found that Return of the Elephant is not far from the melancholy mood of Mother Come Home, and in fact may be even more grim. It's "short" but incredibly thought-provoking, and for the faint of heart I don't suggest daring to read it. But it evokes sympathy for a character one would typically feel very repulsed by; it's a mish-mash of feelings after finishing this one, for sure. The art, as always, is tremendously commendable despite the rather sad story. It will make more sense in my graphic novel collection once it gets larger, but for now I'm just going to tuck this one away in a drawer for safe-keeping... hm.

OVERALL RATING: 4

Vonnegut & Beckett

If ever there was an appropriate time to read a book that points out the flaws in different economic systems, I suppose it would be now! I accidentally had good timing with reading Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut. The main character was involved in the Watergate scandal. While he worked in a capitalist environment, he had once dabbled in putting his beliefs in communism. While you get a background of his life, the real story begins with him being released from jail: his wife is dead, his son hates him and never contacts him, he has no friends, and essentially all he's got is a song in his head and a raggedy suit.

As usual, the shockingly honest and all-too-real Vonnegut humor is present throughout the entirety of the sad tale of the main character, Walter. I shall quote a song in the book:

"Sally in the garden,
Sifting cinders
Lifted up her leg
And farted like a man.
The bursting of her bloomers
Broke sixteen winders.
The cheeks of her ass went [clap clap clap]"

One is supposed to actually clap at the end. Hilarious, no?

And Vonnegut is such a good Athiest. Real, real, real. All that is here is all there ever is. The main character says late in the book "We are here for no purpose, unless we can invent one. Of that I am sure. The human condition in an exploding universe would not have been altered one iota if, rather than live as I have, I had done nothing but carry a rubber ice-cream cone from closet to closet for sixty years." How's that for truth?

Anyway, I really liked this book (as I do for most Vonneguts).

OVERALL RATING: 4.5

I think by high school most people have read Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, but somehow I seemed to have escaped it until now. And actually, it's probably the first play I've read since something Shakespeare, and is probably the only play I've ever really enjoyed reading.

It was interesting to me that these two men, Vladmir and Estragon, keep waiting for this Godot character and think that he and apparently only he can rescue them from whatever their troubles are. They wait for two days and almost exactly the same things keep happening, and Godot never shows up. It's quite like man to think that someone else can save him and to stand around and wait for it to happen, while time could be better spent putting efforts into saving themselves instead of waiting!

I haven't the energy to verbally analyze plots and themes and underlying meanings, but I think these are the kinds of things one can subconsciously understand and absorb while reading. So if you want to read something funny and probably existential, this play is where it's at!

OVERALL RATING: 4

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