Book Buzz

DAVID LESTER

Quite an amazing graphic novel, The Listener intertwines the story of a Canadian artist, Louise, haunted by the death of a man called to action and protest by her sculpture and the story of Hitler’s rise to power which led to the second world war. Louise does a tour of Europe trying to comprehend what has happened in her life and to her art. Among the most important people that Louise meets is an elderly couple named Marie and Rudolph. They tell her a little-known tale of an election in the small German state of Lippe (only about 100,000 inhabitants) in January of 1933. At the time, while the Nazis were the largest political party in Germany, being the largest party in a plurality does not necessarily mean much if you can’t do anything with your power. While they remained the largest party, the Nazis had begun to lose seats and their momentum was beginning to wane (and as you all know, a large part of Hitler’s power was harnessing forward momentum). So when Lippe held a parliamentary election in 1933, the Nazis through everything they had into winning the election to keep up their momentum. Marie and Rudolph tell the story of the underhanded spin-doctoring that was used to secure that election for Hitler and therefore solidifying their power in Germany.

Great and quick read.

Frederik Peeters

When Fred and Cati meet again after many years it is love a first sight. A deep bond formed instantly. But when thing get serious Cati confesses that she and her son are HIV positive which stimulates Fred to face his values and priorities. It is a good graphic novel but I kept wishing for more. It would have made a better novel than graphic. Too many nuances are left out. I hope Peeters considers rewriting this in a longer form.

CHRIS RYALL and GABRIEL RODRIGUES

It took a graphic book to finally get me to read this classic. I hadn’t even known that it was from Denmark. This graphic novel is based on the movie screenplay by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary. Now I will have to rent the movie. So thank you to creators of graphic books for this introduction to Beowulf.

AUDREY NIFFENEGGER

An almost wordless book. Beautiful illustrations tell the story. Themes similar to Her Fearful Symmetry: sisters, ghosts, abandoned children. In the post-word the author wrote that as the pictures developed the words fell away. “When I try to explain SISTERS to someone who hasn’t seen it, I tell them to imagine a silent film made from Japanese prints, a melodrama of sibling rivalry, a silent opera that features women with very long hair and a flying green boy.

Well worth the read and the view

JONATHAN HICKMAN

J M RINGUET

Best Graphic Novel I have read recently. Hickman iluustrates  genetic engineering and the creation of super-humans, from a corporate, profit point of view. The book is a documentary telling the story of two rival scientists who were both trying to bring about the next step in human evolution but solely for a profit. The rival scientists are both trying to create superhumans; one via genetic engineering and the other using technological modifications. Au cureent is the inclusion of venture capatalists who fund the research again for a profit share.

I enjoyed the way Hickman slowly revealed the consequences of this human engineering.

Art: lauralengyel.com

WILL EISNER

So many graphic novels are aimed at a youth audience, it is refreshing to chance upon a graphic novel for adults. However this is not a pretty book. Eisner tackles some major issues of our time. The father is incapacitated due to age? Alzheimer’s? The family reunites to discuss how to take care of him. Buried resentments and past abuses surface for each child. Be happy that this is not your family in crisis.

But like all graphic novels powerful graphically but still a quick read.

ALAN MOORE and DAVE GIBBONS

This graphic novel made Time’s 100 Best Novels! Superheros in 1985 are vermin, hated and not trusted by most people. Being a masked hero enforcing law and dispensing justice is illegal. Fear is flowing through the nation – Russia has just invaded Afganistan. Some suspect that Pakistan will be next. Advisors are advocating Nixon to use the nuclear arsenal in a strike first scenario. And someone is executing the masked heros. Classic comic book themes. Good vs Evil. But who decides what is good and what is evil? Interestingly Watchmen is not a quick read. The plot can be confusing.

It was good to read something so completely different.

JOEL ORFF

This graphic novel is about old friends who reconnect by accident for one day. I love the flights of fancy the young man’s imagination takes him through the illustrations. They explore both their dreams and their reality. A quick light read with great illustrations.

LAT

HOWARD ZINN

MIKE KONOPACKI

PAUL BUHLE

This is a follow up edition to Zinn’s People’s History of America (I had recommend this book earlier in the blog). American Empire is in Graphic Novel form so is a light read in that way. It focuses on the external politics of the US rather than the internal affairs. It also tells Howard Zinn’s personal story of becoming a radical. An interesting feature is the comparison of past mistakes with what is currently happening.

The illustrations are wonderful. The illustrator frequently incorporates period photographs into the illustration strip.

I would recommend this to all who are interested in world politics. I would put this in all high schools.

MARIKO TAMAKI (words)

JILLIAN TAMAKI (drawings)

Skim is a graphic novel for young adults set in a girls’ academy in Toronto. “Skim,” aka Kimberly Keiko Cameron is would-be Wiccan goth. When her classmate Katie Matthews is dumped by her boyfriend, who then kills himself, the entire school goes into mourning. Major teenage drama. Apart from the main stream Skim falls in love with her neo-hippie English teacher, Ms. Archer. This made me think of the female teachers in Saskatchewan this past decade who have been charged with abuse after affairs with young girls. Suicide, depression, love, being gay or not, crushes, cliques of popular, manipulative peers, divorce, alternate spirituality, this book has all the teenage angst. 

GUY DELISLE

Guy’s wife, Nadege, is a doctor with Doctors Without Boarders so this is not the first graphic novel that he has written about time spent in exotic locals. Burma has fascinated me since my visit in 1990. It it such a beautiful country, a jewel. Guy is at home in Rangoon with their son, trying to work despite the frequent lack of power. Nadege can only be in the field a week when she must then return to the capital to renew her passport. DWB in Burma is drowning in bureaucratic regulations. 

Though “Burma” is focused on Rangoon, it does open an interesting window into Burmese culture. Great read. I am looking forward to reading some of his past work and what he comes up with in the future.