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What are you reading? (December 09)
- Thread starter afternoon delight
- Start date
- Status
Finished another short one this week...
The Dreamfighter and Other Creation Tales by Ted Hughes.
The Review:
Apparently, this Ted Hughes fellow was a big deal in the United Kingdom. In 1984, he held the post of British Poet Laureate, which basically means he was the country's representative wordsmith. No pressure. He held this post and title until his death in 1998, having written numerous collections of poetry and children's books. Oh, he was also married to a woman named Sylvia Plath, but let us try to focus on his own works and accomplishments. Ahem.
To be frank, I had never heard of Ted Hughes before opening the covers of this short story collection. However, after going through this charming assortment of creation tales, I can certainly respect and understand why he has been held in such high esteem by the writing world. He has a very biting and wry style that make the stories in The Dreamfighter and Other Creation Tales a twisted pleasure to read. There is indeed mischief, misbehaviour, and plenty of misunderstandings that shed a light on the headaches that God likely would have encountered at the dawn of time. The collection I read has eleven stories in total; there is another edition of the book that has 360 pages, so I am assuming that one has a greater number of tales to be told. Regardless of which one you read, I am confident you will enjoy the playful theatrics housed therein.
As mentioned, these are meant to be children's stories, but they are written in such a matter-of-fact way and are so interesting that they are also appropriate for an adult audience. One can take the stories as straight forward entertainment, or he or she can find little nuggets of social and cultural insight as well. It is in this way the book transcends age boundaries.
The stories in this collection generally begin with a problem of some sort, and end with a resolution that is usually humourous. The endings also enlighten the reader about how a certain creature came to be, and how its habits were formed. For example, the ant on the cover of this book was originally a giant that grew larger and larger, as he took the job of being God's bodyguard; someone who would protect Him from His nightmares. As the nightmares eventually go away, the giant has no purpose, and becomes a really angry and unpleasant thing. To solve this problem, God creates a Snow Bride that melts into the crannies of the Earth. The giant is so eager to please and be useful to God, that he asks to be made small, so that he can search the earth to find God's Snow Bride. God turns the giant into the first ant, and this is why ants are scouring the Earth today and hiding in little dirt caves; they are looking for God's lost Snow Bride.
It is stories like the one above that brought a smile to my face throughout Ted Hughes' collection. There are demons, there is a trickster frog who invents gambling, a camel who feels like he is one of God's rejects, and God's mother even makes an appearance. The tales are highly imaginative, speculative, and there is hardly a dull moment in any of them. I can see myself reading these to my own children some day, and discussing the moral choices and implications of the decisions made by God's creations in these stories. Or just enjoying the humour.
The Verdict:
There is not much to complain about here. Hughes writes like someone who has been reading and telling stories his entire life, and regardless of whether or not you believe in an all-encompassing God or not, there is a good deal of charm and even some poking fun at the All Mighty, so that anyone can pick this up and enjoy it. While there does seem to be a favouring of the Abrahamic understanding of God in these stories, people of any faith should be able to appreciate the bite-sized-but-grander-than-grand stories of this collection.
4/5
Next Up:
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson.
More info at my blog: http://backlogbooksblog.blogspot.com/
The Dreamfighter and Other Creation Tales by Ted Hughes.
The Review:
Apparently, this Ted Hughes fellow was a big deal in the United Kingdom. In 1984, he held the post of British Poet Laureate, which basically means he was the country's representative wordsmith. No pressure. He held this post and title until his death in 1998, having written numerous collections of poetry and children's books. Oh, he was also married to a woman named Sylvia Plath, but let us try to focus on his own works and accomplishments. Ahem.
To be frank, I had never heard of Ted Hughes before opening the covers of this short story collection. However, after going through this charming assortment of creation tales, I can certainly respect and understand why he has been held in such high esteem by the writing world. He has a very biting and wry style that make the stories in The Dreamfighter and Other Creation Tales a twisted pleasure to read. There is indeed mischief, misbehaviour, and plenty of misunderstandings that shed a light on the headaches that God likely would have encountered at the dawn of time. The collection I read has eleven stories in total; there is another edition of the book that has 360 pages, so I am assuming that one has a greater number of tales to be told. Regardless of which one you read, I am confident you will enjoy the playful theatrics housed therein.
As mentioned, these are meant to be children's stories, but they are written in such a matter-of-fact way and are so interesting that they are also appropriate for an adult audience. One can take the stories as straight forward entertainment, or he or she can find little nuggets of social and cultural insight as well. It is in this way the book transcends age boundaries.
The stories in this collection generally begin with a problem of some sort, and end with a resolution that is usually humourous. The endings also enlighten the reader about how a certain creature came to be, and how its habits were formed. For example, the ant on the cover of this book was originally a giant that grew larger and larger, as he took the job of being God's bodyguard; someone who would protect Him from His nightmares. As the nightmares eventually go away, the giant has no purpose, and becomes a really angry and unpleasant thing. To solve this problem, God creates a Snow Bride that melts into the crannies of the Earth. The giant is so eager to please and be useful to God, that he asks to be made small, so that he can search the earth to find God's Snow Bride. God turns the giant into the first ant, and this is why ants are scouring the Earth today and hiding in little dirt caves; they are looking for God's lost Snow Bride.
It is stories like the one above that brought a smile to my face throughout Ted Hughes' collection. There are demons, there is a trickster frog who invents gambling, a camel who feels like he is one of God's rejects, and God's mother even makes an appearance. The tales are highly imaginative, speculative, and there is hardly a dull moment in any of them. I can see myself reading these to my own children some day, and discussing the moral choices and implications of the decisions made by God's creations in these stories. Or just enjoying the humour.
The Verdict:
There is not much to complain about here. Hughes writes like someone who has been reading and telling stories his entire life, and regardless of whether or not you believe in an all-encompassing God or not, there is a good deal of charm and even some poking fun at the All Mighty, so that anyone can pick this up and enjoy it. While there does seem to be a favouring of the Abrahamic understanding of God in these stories, people of any faith should be able to appreciate the bite-sized-but-grander-than-grand stories of this collection.
4/5
Next Up:
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson.
More info at my blog: http://backlogbooksblog.blogspot.com/
And another one...
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson.
The Review:
This book is a riot, plain and simple. Yes, it is meant for children. Yes, the writing is quite simple. Neither one of these things changes the fact that the story is incredibly entertaining, funny, and surprisingly ponderous for a book of its type. As a children's book, it asks the child in all of us to ask questions about the things adults tell us and expect us to take at face value. It is about challenging paradigms, as much as it is a fantastic Christmas story.
Essentially, everyone at school is terrified of the Herdman family - a group of six brothers and sisters who are models for bad behaviour, come from a broken home, wear dirty clothes, and live out of a garage at the edge of town. While the focus is on the family as a whole, Imogene Herdman gets the most attention in the book, since she is the one who decides to play Mary in the pageant. By the way, the only reason the Herdmans get mixed up in the school's Christmas pageant is because they heard there were free refreshments and cake given out at Sunday school. These are the kids who beat you up in school, but likely did it as a defense mechanism to shut out their own feelings.
What makes this book such a hoot is the way it plays with social stereotypes. There is Mrs. Armstrong, the head of every committee at the school, and the one who feels that things can not function normally if she is not around. This is put to the test when she injures herself and the nameless narrator's mother is forced to take over the Christmas pageant. There is also Alice, who is the model of perfect childhood behaviour and morality. She normally plays Mary each and every year, but is threatened by Imogene, so she is forced to back out. Throughout the story, she can not help but display her bitterness and goody two-shoes personality, as she criticizes everything that is now surrounding the Christmas pageant. Barbara Robinson creates these characters to oppose the terrifying Herdmans, but ultimately sides with the so-called bad apples; and for good reason.
As someone who grew up with Christmas pageants, and who had the (mis)fortune of being in one, this book was particularly fascinating. Yes, it is certainly more targeted towards a Christian audience who have some familiarity with the story of Jesus' birth, but the way it questions everything associated with the story itself makes it possible for non-Christians to jump on board and enjoy the pop culture criticism as well. Imogene is the voice of reason, as she wonders out loud why Mary did not get to name her own child, why Herod was allowed to live, why the three wise men would bring such useless gifts for a child, and why an inn keeper would make a pregnant woman sleep in a barn. These types of questions permeate the book and bring some real life to a story many of us have taken for granted. It would likely serve many adults well to read this with their own children, and to take it to heart as well.
In the end, the book is about hope and redemption. Hope that the bad apples in our society can have some good in them. That they can even be redeemed and in turn show the rest of us the true meaning of virtues like love and charity. It is a book that an adult can read in about an hour's time, and one that is deceptively simple. Beyond the humorous surface, there are real questions posed about the danger of making assumptions, about our social systems and authoritative structures, and our numbed attitude towards others and ourselves. Despite my own feelings about faith and religion, it is incredibly hard not to be touched by the conviction of a book like this. Sometimes, you do need someone loud and blunt to remind you of why you are here, and why you are going to all the trouble of pleasing people around you this time of the year.
Hey! Unto you a child is born!
The Verdict:
This is a personal Christmas classic. I love how it is fueled by the energy and enthusiasm of its characters, how it asks questions, and how it aims to educate as well as entertain. A book like this shows that children's books do not only have things to teach children, but adults too. It also shows that children's books can be subversive and respectful towards their subject matter at the same time.
4.5/5
Next Up:
Blankets by Craig Thompson.
More info at my blog: http://backlogbooksblog.blogspot.com/ (shameless, I know.)
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson.
The Review:
This book is a riot, plain and simple. Yes, it is meant for children. Yes, the writing is quite simple. Neither one of these things changes the fact that the story is incredibly entertaining, funny, and surprisingly ponderous for a book of its type. As a children's book, it asks the child in all of us to ask questions about the things adults tell us and expect us to take at face value. It is about challenging paradigms, as much as it is a fantastic Christmas story.
Essentially, everyone at school is terrified of the Herdman family - a group of six brothers and sisters who are models for bad behaviour, come from a broken home, wear dirty clothes, and live out of a garage at the edge of town. While the focus is on the family as a whole, Imogene Herdman gets the most attention in the book, since she is the one who decides to play Mary in the pageant. By the way, the only reason the Herdmans get mixed up in the school's Christmas pageant is because they heard there were free refreshments and cake given out at Sunday school. These are the kids who beat you up in school, but likely did it as a defense mechanism to shut out their own feelings.
What makes this book such a hoot is the way it plays with social stereotypes. There is Mrs. Armstrong, the head of every committee at the school, and the one who feels that things can not function normally if she is not around. This is put to the test when she injures herself and the nameless narrator's mother is forced to take over the Christmas pageant. There is also Alice, who is the model of perfect childhood behaviour and morality. She normally plays Mary each and every year, but is threatened by Imogene, so she is forced to back out. Throughout the story, she can not help but display her bitterness and goody two-shoes personality, as she criticizes everything that is now surrounding the Christmas pageant. Barbara Robinson creates these characters to oppose the terrifying Herdmans, but ultimately sides with the so-called bad apples; and for good reason.
As someone who grew up with Christmas pageants, and who had the (mis)fortune of being in one, this book was particularly fascinating. Yes, it is certainly more targeted towards a Christian audience who have some familiarity with the story of Jesus' birth, but the way it questions everything associated with the story itself makes it possible for non-Christians to jump on board and enjoy the pop culture criticism as well. Imogene is the voice of reason, as she wonders out loud why Mary did not get to name her own child, why Herod was allowed to live, why the three wise men would bring such useless gifts for a child, and why an inn keeper would make a pregnant woman sleep in a barn. These types of questions permeate the book and bring some real life to a story many of us have taken for granted. It would likely serve many adults well to read this with their own children, and to take it to heart as well.
In the end, the book is about hope and redemption. Hope that the bad apples in our society can have some good in them. That they can even be redeemed and in turn show the rest of us the true meaning of virtues like love and charity. It is a book that an adult can read in about an hour's time, and one that is deceptively simple. Beyond the humorous surface, there are real questions posed about the danger of making assumptions, about our social systems and authoritative structures, and our numbed attitude towards others and ourselves. Despite my own feelings about faith and religion, it is incredibly hard not to be touched by the conviction of a book like this. Sometimes, you do need someone loud and blunt to remind you of why you are here, and why you are going to all the trouble of pleasing people around you this time of the year.
Hey! Unto you a child is born!
The Verdict:
This is a personal Christmas classic. I love how it is fueled by the energy and enthusiasm of its characters, how it asks questions, and how it aims to educate as well as entertain. A book like this shows that children's books do not only have things to teach children, but adults too. It also shows that children's books can be subversive and respectful towards their subject matter at the same time.
4.5/5
Next Up:
Blankets by Craig Thompson.
More info at my blog: http://backlogbooksblog.blogspot.com/ (shameless, I know.)
Alucard said:
I'm interested in your "read 40 books" project. Did you have all 40 picked out at the beginning of the year? Did you find that it made it easier to keep on track with a goal? I am thinking of making a reading list for next year, but I am starting small - one book per month I think will be a good goal for me.
deadbeef said:
I chose 40 that have been sitting on my shelf for a while. Essentially, I had allowed my book buying to get out of control, to the point of having 40+ books on my shelf that have never been touched. My goal is to finish these 40 before buying any other new books. My first blog post explains it a little clearer, and has my entire book list:
http://backlogbooksblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/beginning-year-of-backlog-books-blog.html
bengraven
Member
StormyTheRabbit said:
Are you me from a year ago?
Other than Ambergris, I should say.
If it helps, I read WWZ immediately (not as long or involving as the others), then the first Dune book, which segways very nicely into the SoIandF series (I consider Song to be kind of the Fantasy version of Dune in some regards).
Alucard said:
And you're me like right now. I should have known, considering we share the same taste in fantasy.
My wife is going nuts with all the books on my shelf that I can't wait to bite into, but one series or another gets in my way or of course videogames.
bengraven
Member
BTW:
Was pretty cool. Some sticky cliches and occasional bad writing (he's a younger writer like myself and I find some similarities to my own writing and bad writing as well, so I suppose I'm being self-critical).
The concept is pretty awesome. But the
raised my eyebrows and were almost laughable.
That said, it's a good G. R. R. Martin break from G. R. R. Martin.
Was pretty cool. Some sticky cliches and occasional bad writing (he's a younger writer like myself and I find some similarities to my own writing and bad writing as well, so I suppose I'm being self-critical).
The concept is pretty awesome. But the
parts when he suddenly gets all sumo wrestler on demons
That said, it's a good G. R. R. Martin break from G. R. R. Martin.
Alucard said:
Man, I was hoping you wouldn't say that. I probably have more than 40.
I won't list them here and embarrass myself, but you have sparked a flame in me. I will work to finish my book backlog as well. Maybe I should make a goal of more than 12.Anyway, picked this up tonight, and can't stop laughing. Looks to be a very enjoyable read.
deadbeef said:Man, I was hoping you wouldn't say that. I probably have more than 40.
I have been reading between 30 and 36 books a year for the past two years, so I thought I would push myself just a bit more and challenge myself to finish 40 by September 13, 2010. I'm currently at 7 and am behind the pace, but that is mostly because it took me forever to get through Neuromancer. I've picked up some shorter and lighter books to catch up a bit, and it's working nicely; I've finished 4 books over the past week. I hope to continue to mow them down and keep up a realistic pace. If I can catch up, I should only need to read one book every nine days, which is completely doable, provided that I read on a daily basis, which I intend to, and have in the past.
Good luck in your quest! 12 does seem modest, but it depends on how much you read. Be realistic with yourself.
Alucard said:
I figure that one per month would be an easy thing to monitor. Of course, I can always go on a tear and finish 2 in a weekend, but those occasions are increasingly rare. I'd like to have a more predictable, regimented reading schedule, but I'm so easily distracted, that I've never been able to manage that.
Incidentally, I'm reading Antony Beevor's 'Berlin: The Downfall'.
It is really quite gripping, and has so far educated me in two stunning respects. First, that the world owes the Red Army much more than it knows or is willing to admit. Second, no barbarism approaches what humans do to each other in wartime.
Can't wait to read 'Stalingrad'.
It is really quite gripping, and has so far educated me in two stunning respects. First, that the world owes the Red Army much more than it knows or is willing to admit. Second, no barbarism approaches what humans do to each other in wartime.
Can't wait to read 'Stalingrad'.
Monroeski said:
Not at all. To (almost certainly mis)quote Harlan Ellison when asked if he'd read all of the (vast number) of books in his personal library: "Hell no! Why in the fuck would I want a house full of books I've already read?"
FnordChan, who has a helluva lot more than 161 unread books waiting patiently for their turn
movie_club
Junior Member
amusing ourselves to death is an extremely dry and fantastic readAlucard said:I chose 40 that have been sitting on my shelf for a while. Essentially, I had allowed my book buying to get out of control, to the point of having 40+ books on my shelf that have never been touched. My goal is to finish these 40 before buying any other new books. My first blog post explains it a little clearer, and has my entire book list:
http://backlogbooksblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/beginning-year-of-backlog-books-blog.html
movie_club
Junior Member
GAF i need help picking out a book to give to my girlfriend. She doesnt read much, so i want to get her something light/interesting. Any ideas or recommendations?
You could get her the McSweeney's Panorama.
Mine is probably in the mail about now, and I can't fucking wait. So awesome.
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/SFPanoramaPR.html
Mine is probably in the mail about now, and I can't fucking wait. So awesome.
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/SFPanoramaPR.html
Finished this last night:
Blankets by Craig Thompson.
The Review:
First love is tough. There is enthusiasm, a sense of discovery, laughter, passion, grace, and for most, the eventual shattering of personal ideals. Craig Thompson captures all of these feelings and more in Blankets, by using his own experiences as a template for his illustrated autobiography. He wrote, drew, and inked every page of this ambitious work, and the amount of labour put into it shows in the complex finished product. Blankets is an intimate and passionate purging of personal demons, and a beautiful encapsulation of teenage innocence and growth. By using his own life as the basis for the book, Craig Thompson ensures a closeness and honesty with his work and his audience. Regardless of how much he may have embellished or idealized some of these scenes, the end result is still an affective work of literature.
There are numerous parts to this graphic novel. It begins in a small town in Wisconsin, where a grade 3 Craig and his kindergarten brother Phil sleep in the same bed, using the wonderful imaginations that boys have to enact various action-packed scenarios. This innocence is portrayed beautifully by Thompson, who uses his talents and his medium to their fullest potential. For example, he will begin with the boys on the bed, but then do a full-page spread of them lost at sea, with sharks circling their boat. The result is joyful, rambunctious, and lively. He does this throughout, not only to show his relationship with his brother, but to depict his relationship with his family, his first love, and his faith.
Craig's personal struggles with himself and his faith permeate every scene of the book, and his relationship with his Evangelical upbringing and God in general inform much of his guilt and perceived personal failings. He is ashamed to touch a girl, or to even lay alone in her bed; he attempts to be a picture of moral purity. What is interesting is how his faith journey begins as a commitment based on the desire to escape his mortal shell. Since he is not the most popular kid in school at any age, Craig envelops himself in the belief that he is only a shadow passing through and that he has heaven to look forward to as a reward for his piety and mortal suffering. Thompson uses Bible passages throughout to emphasize the weight of faith in his journey, sometimes depicting the Bible stories themselves with charming mastery.
Thompson could have been very blunt with this book. Instead, he takes his time developing his characters, and there is a long cumulative effect to how Craig comes to certain realizations in his life. Yes, there are obvious touchstones throughout the story, but they generally come after a long period of personal discovery. It is this patience that gives the book an honesty and a very human feeling. The most mundane things are depicted, but never without reason, and always with meaning. How the author is able to fill each panel and page with something new and wonderful is a testament to his artistic commitment.
When Craig does want to emphasize something, he does it with style, grace, and a romantic purity that is difficult to criticize. Yes, he romanticizes certain scenes, but the emotional staying power of these images and their implications can never be denied; this is a book whose scenes and images stay with you long after you put it down. The graphic novel format, more than any other, has the power to entrench its messages in the reader's mind, as it begs for re-reading and re-seeing. The reader is able to stop at any time and admire an image, in all its subtlety, for as long as he or she wishes. All the better when the artwork has such full, sharp, and flowing lines like it does in Blankets. Sometimes, the pictures are all you need to tell the story.
So, why call the book Blankets? Aside from Craig and his brother having to share the same bed, and Raina making a homemade quilt for Craig, there does not seem to be much meaning behind the title. But just as the rest of the book has a cumulative structure, so does the title: it becomes the common bond between each of Craig's storylines. If you really wanted to analyze the book, you can say that the blankets represent warmth and comfort, just like Craig's memories and his faith serve the same function. However, the opposite effect is that blankets can also coddle and overprotect us, closing us off from the real world. Eventually, we need to step outside and engage the world ourselves, allowing it to scar us, while gradually gaining the confidence to make our own footprints in the snow. I will not spoil the ending, but I will say its sentiment is a perfect closing to everything that has come before. It gives purpose to Craig's journey and offers a simple yet profound idea, while bringing everything full circle. Yes, there are still some questions and minor frustrations at the end, but the dominant emotion I was left with was one of admiration.
The Verdict:
This book is an achievement in autobiographical fiction. There are a few loose ends, such as an early sexual abuse experience that is never fully reconciled or talked about between Craig and his brother, but this is forgiven when every other aspect of the book is considered. I fully recommend this to graphic novel aficionados and the uninitiated alike; it is simultaneously microscopic and massive in scope.
4.5/5
Next Up:
The Gunslinger by Stephen King.
More info at my blog: http://backlogbooksblog.blogspot.com/
Blankets by Craig Thompson.
The Review:
First love is tough. There is enthusiasm, a sense of discovery, laughter, passion, grace, and for most, the eventual shattering of personal ideals. Craig Thompson captures all of these feelings and more in Blankets, by using his own experiences as a template for his illustrated autobiography. He wrote, drew, and inked every page of this ambitious work, and the amount of labour put into it shows in the complex finished product. Blankets is an intimate and passionate purging of personal demons, and a beautiful encapsulation of teenage innocence and growth. By using his own life as the basis for the book, Craig Thompson ensures a closeness and honesty with his work and his audience. Regardless of how much he may have embellished or idealized some of these scenes, the end result is still an affective work of literature.
There are numerous parts to this graphic novel. It begins in a small town in Wisconsin, where a grade 3 Craig and his kindergarten brother Phil sleep in the same bed, using the wonderful imaginations that boys have to enact various action-packed scenarios. This innocence is portrayed beautifully by Thompson, who uses his talents and his medium to their fullest potential. For example, he will begin with the boys on the bed, but then do a full-page spread of them lost at sea, with sharks circling their boat. The result is joyful, rambunctious, and lively. He does this throughout, not only to show his relationship with his brother, but to depict his relationship with his family, his first love, and his faith.
Craig's personal struggles with himself and his faith permeate every scene of the book, and his relationship with his Evangelical upbringing and God in general inform much of his guilt and perceived personal failings. He is ashamed to touch a girl, or to even lay alone in her bed; he attempts to be a picture of moral purity. What is interesting is how his faith journey begins as a commitment based on the desire to escape his mortal shell. Since he is not the most popular kid in school at any age, Craig envelops himself in the belief that he is only a shadow passing through and that he has heaven to look forward to as a reward for his piety and mortal suffering. Thompson uses Bible passages throughout to emphasize the weight of faith in his journey, sometimes depicting the Bible stories themselves with charming mastery.
Thompson could have been very blunt with this book. Instead, he takes his time developing his characters, and there is a long cumulative effect to how Craig comes to certain realizations in his life. Yes, there are obvious touchstones throughout the story, but they generally come after a long period of personal discovery. It is this patience that gives the book an honesty and a very human feeling. The most mundane things are depicted, but never without reason, and always with meaning. How the author is able to fill each panel and page with something new and wonderful is a testament to his artistic commitment.
When Craig does want to emphasize something, he does it with style, grace, and a romantic purity that is difficult to criticize. Yes, he romanticizes certain scenes, but the emotional staying power of these images and their implications can never be denied; this is a book whose scenes and images stay with you long after you put it down. The graphic novel format, more than any other, has the power to entrench its messages in the reader's mind, as it begs for re-reading and re-seeing. The reader is able to stop at any time and admire an image, in all its subtlety, for as long as he or she wishes. All the better when the artwork has such full, sharp, and flowing lines like it does in Blankets. Sometimes, the pictures are all you need to tell the story.
So, why call the book Blankets? Aside from Craig and his brother having to share the same bed, and Raina making a homemade quilt for Craig, there does not seem to be much meaning behind the title. But just as the rest of the book has a cumulative structure, so does the title: it becomes the common bond between each of Craig's storylines. If you really wanted to analyze the book, you can say that the blankets represent warmth and comfort, just like Craig's memories and his faith serve the same function. However, the opposite effect is that blankets can also coddle and overprotect us, closing us off from the real world. Eventually, we need to step outside and engage the world ourselves, allowing it to scar us, while gradually gaining the confidence to make our own footprints in the snow. I will not spoil the ending, but I will say its sentiment is a perfect closing to everything that has come before. It gives purpose to Craig's journey and offers a simple yet profound idea, while bringing everything full circle. Yes, there are still some questions and minor frustrations at the end, but the dominant emotion I was left with was one of admiration.
The Verdict:
This book is an achievement in autobiographical fiction. There are a few loose ends, such as an early sexual abuse experience that is never fully reconciled or talked about between Craig and his brother, but this is forgiven when every other aspect of the book is considered. I fully recommend this to graphic novel aficionados and the uninitiated alike; it is simultaneously microscopic and massive in scope.
4.5/5
Next Up:
The Gunslinger by Stephen King.
More info at my blog: http://backlogbooksblog.blogspot.com/
Alucard said:Finished this last night:
Blankets by Craig Thompson.
The Review:
First love is tough. There is enthusiasm, a sense of discovery, laughter, passion, grace, and for most, the eventual shattering of personal ideals. Craig Thompson captures all of these feelings and more in Blankets, by using his own experiences as a template for his illustrated autobiography. He wrote, drew, and inked every page of this ambitious work, and the amount of labour put into it shows in the complex finished product. Blankets is an intimate and passionate purging of personal demons, and a beautiful encapsulation of teenage innocence and growth. By using his own life as the basis for the book, Craig Thompson ensures a closeness and honesty with his work and his audience. Regardless of how much he may have embellished or idealized some of these scenes, the end result is still an affective work of literature.
There are numerous parts to this graphic novel. It begins in a small town in Wisconsin, where a grade 3 Craig and his kindergarten brother Phil sleep in the same bed, using the wonderful imaginations that boys have to enact various action-packed scenarios. This innocence is portrayed beautifully by Thompson, who uses his talents and his medium to their fullest potential. For example, he will begin with the boys on the bed, but then do a full-page spread of them lost at sea, with sharks circling their boat. The result is joyful, rambunctious, and lively. He does this throughout, not only to show his relationship with his brother, but to depict his relationship with his family, his first love, and his faith.
Craig's personal struggles with himself and his faith permeate every scene of the book, and his relationship with his Evangelical upbringing and God in general inform much of his guilt and perceived personal failings. He is ashamed to touch a girl, or to even lay alone in her bed; he attempts to be a picture of moral purity. What is interesting is how his faith journey begins as a commitment based on the desire to escape his mortal shell. Since he is not the most popular kid in school at any age, Craig envelops himself in the belief that he is only a shadow passing through and that he has heaven to look forward to as a reward for his piety and mortal suffering. Thompson uses Bible passages throughout to emphasize the weight of faith in his journey, sometimes depicting the Bible stories themselves with charming mastery.
Thompson could have been very blunt with this book. Instead, he takes his time developing his characters, and there is a long cumulative effect to how Craig comes to certain realizations in his life. Yes, there are obvious touchstones throughout the story, but they generally come after a long period of personal discovery. It is this patience that gives the book an honesty and a very human feeling. The most mundane things are depicted, but never without reason, and always with meaning. How the author is able to fill each panel and page with something new and wonderful is a testament to his artistic commitment.
When Craig does want to emphasize something, he does it with style, grace, and a romantic purity that is difficult to criticize. Yes, he romanticizes certain scenes, but the emotional staying power of these images and their implications can never be denied; this is a book whose scenes and images stay with you long after you put it down. The graphic novel format, more than any other, has the power to entrench its messages in the reader's mind, as it begs for re-reading and re-seeing. The reader is able to stop at any time and admire an image, in all its subtlety, for as long as he or she wishes. All the better when the artwork has such full, sharp, and flowing lines like it does in Blankets. Sometimes, the pictures are all you need to tell the story.
So, why call the book Blankets? Aside from Craig and his brother having to share the same bed, and Raina making a homemade quilt for Craig, there does not seem to be much meaning behind the title. But just as the rest of the book has a cumulative structure, so does the title: it becomes the common bond between each of Craig's storylines. If you really wanted to analyze the book, you can say that the blankets represent warmth and comfort, just like Craig's memories and his faith serve the same function. However, the opposite effect is that blankets can also coddle and overprotect us, closing us off from the real world. Eventually, we need to step outside and engage the world ourselves, allowing it to scar us, while gradually gaining the confidence to make our own footprints in the snow. I will not spoil the ending, but I will say its sentiment is a perfect closing to everything that has come before. It gives purpose to Craig's journey and offers a simple yet profound idea, while bringing everything full circle. Yes, there are still some questions and minor frustrations at the end, but the dominant emotion I was left with was one of admiration.
The Verdict:
This book is an achievement in autobiographical fiction. There are a few loose ends, such as an early sexual abuse experience that is never fully reconciled or talked about between Craig and his brother, but this is forgiven when every other aspect of the book is considered. I fully recommend this to graphic novel aficionados and the uninitiated alike; it is simultaneously microscopic and massive in scope.
4.5/5
Next Up:
The Gunslinger by Stephen King.
More info at my blog: http://backlogbooksblog.blogspot.com/
It is so easily my favorite graphic novel. That said, I've only read a handful of things: Watchmen, Y: The Last Man, Blankets, The Killing Joke
Anyway, I'm reading Cat's Cradle. Never finished it when I read it a while back.
Before that, I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower and before that I read Downtown Owl.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
I just finished
Pretty awesome crime thriller. About a hitman who enters Witsec and becomes a doctor. Very funny and pretty brutal at times.
Next up, I will read
I saw House of Leaves mentioned here a few times... I bought that a while ago and read it... kind of regretted, it just sort of frustrated me a lot.
Pretty awesome crime thriller. About a hitman who enters Witsec and becomes a doctor. Very funny and pretty brutal at times.
Next up, I will read
I saw House of Leaves mentioned here a few times... I bought that a while ago and read it... kind of regretted, it just sort of frustrated me a lot.
movie_club
Junior Member
Let me know how it isTheOddOne said:I'm reading
Just started...
just finished "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell, will definately will be picking up his other books. he is able to explain complicated things with very simple english and interesting examples. i've now started on "Fortress Beseiged" by Qian Zhonshu based on Salazar's recommendation and am pleasantly surprised by how funny it is. here's an example early on:
"some called her a charcuterie - a shop selling cooked meats - because only such a shop would have so much warm coloured flesh on display"
"some called her a charcuterie - a shop selling cooked meats - because only such a shop would have so much warm coloured flesh on display"
Yasser said:
I love books like that. I'm almost finished with "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond, and that's definitely one of them. Very interesting, eye-opening stuff. "Freakonomics" by Levitt and Dubner is another.
Does anyone have recommendations for other books that explain complex things simply?
Blackace
if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me fool, help the bear!
aidan said:
Finally decided it was time to take the plunge and start reading Daniel Abraham's The Long Price Quartet. I've been saving it for a rainy day, and now I wish I'd read it sooner.
How is it?? I have been eyeballing it for a second! Would love some feedback
Alucard said:I chose 40 that have been sitting on my shelf for a while. Essentially, I had allowed my book buying to get out of control, to the point of having 40+ books on my shelf that have never been touched. My goal is to finish these 40 before buying any other new books. My first blog post explains it a little clearer, and has my entire book list:
http://backlogbooksblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/beginning-year-of-backlog-books-blog.html
Reading just Dragonbone chair isnt going to cut it though
... its a 4 title series that counts about 700+ pages per book.I'd really really recommend reading the others as well though.
By coincidence I'm now reading:
I was quite curious what a Tad Williams/Beale childrens book would be like.
-Nearly done with it and I must say I can imagine this would sparkle the lust for reading with younger kids. Not as spectacular as Tads other works, but it does the job.
This one is up next... I just love Murakami, this will be the fifth of his I'll read.
BobsRevenge
I do not avoid women, GAF, but I do deny them my essence.
I got about half way through Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy and I had to stop. The main characters were pretty much evil, and I didn't like how Cormac was presenting them. The judge felt too unrealistic as a character and made the whole thing feel to fantastic for me to forgive the actions as a realistic presentation of what might've happened during the period it takes place. Cormac also seemed to be having fun presenting the judge, which I found vaguely offensive. I just flat-out was not enjoying it.
So I switched to The Masterpiece by Emile Zola, who is my favorite novelist, and I'm already loving it. Zola is a fucking master. Unfortunately a british dude did the translation, so I ran across the words "humbug" and "trollop", which was kind of weird. I'm used to American translations of his work.
So I switched to The Masterpiece by Emile Zola, who is my favorite novelist, and I'm already loving it. Zola is a fucking master. Unfortunately a british dude did the translation, so I ran across the words "humbug" and "trollop", which was kind of weird. I'm used to American translations of his work.
Blackace said:
So far, about a third of the way through, it's exceeding my (high) expectations. It's not Fantasy in the traditional sense magic is subtly weaved into the culture and economy of the world, asian-insipred setting, no quest to kill a bad guy, etc... but has all the political intrigue, beautiful world-building and razor-sharp dialogue and politicking that you could ever want. It's a great, original take on the genre, and will certainly be near the top of my favourite reads of the year.
Cyan said:
I've picked it up and put it down several times, but chose to stick with it this time and have been greatly rewarded. The prologue particularily the rhythm of Abraham's writing, and the unusual setting take a bit of time to get used to, but once it's all sorted out in your head, the story and characters are sublime and the dialogue is wickedly sharp and genuine. It's not a quick story, and there's basically no action up to this point (so if that's your thing, these may not be the books for you), but it's bloody good and certainly showcases that the Fantasy genre can be so much more than most people give it credit for.
crowphoenix
Banned
Sounds exactly like something I'd want to read. I'll be checking that out soon.aidan said:
JetBlackPanda
Member
Just started reading:
I went to three bookstores looking for The Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss but they were all sold out and I really needed a new novel, I remembered the cover for the way of shadows from another Gaf thread so I took the plunge.
I went to three bookstores looking for The Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss but they were all sold out and I really needed a new novel, I remembered the cover for the way of shadows from another Gaf thread so I took the plunge.
Blackace
if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me fool, help the bear!
aidan said:
sold!
aidan said:
double sold!
One more question. I actually love characters more than fighting for the most part anyways. I like my action to be swift and brutal like real life..
But what makes his writing style hard to follow at first. I am used to dealing with a ton of characters from Martin and Jordan being my standard for fantasy..
BattlestarDT
Banned
God's War
It's a book about the Crusades, its pretty sweet
It's a book about the Crusades, its pretty sweet
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