Friday, April 08, 2005

twenty-seven/fifty-two

Most recently, I read Maus: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman. This, coincidentally, is the book that Marjane Satrapi said let her know it was possible to tell her story through a graphic novel. And I think everyone on Earth knows the details of this one, but just in case: Maus is the story of Spiegelman's father, a Holocaust survivor. There are tons of essays about this book and the issues it raises available online, if you're interested.

It completely blew me away. If you haven't read it, you should. That's all I can say without employing several overblown adjectives.

twenty-six/fifty-two

The next one was Lynda Barry's The! Greatest! Of! Marlys! I think I am in love with Lynda Barry, or at least her work. I liked One Hundred Demons a little tiny bit better, but I think that's just because I loved all the extra collage elements in that, as well as the autobiographical stuff.

This book is a collection of Marlys comic strips, loosely grouped according to subject. Marlys (the character) alternates between being intensely annoying and so kind it makes you want to cry. She and her world are interesting, and I definitely want to read more about them.

twenty-five/fifty-two

It's been way too hot in my house (spring weather + stolen AC unit = summer inside when it's spring outside), so I've been reading graphic novels, since they're easier to handle in the heat than dense prose.

First was Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It's the story of her life in Iran, after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. She was a teenager living with revolutionary parents, and the story is very well done. It's sweet and sad and I learned a few things about Iranian history that I didn't know.

I'm looking forward to reading Persepolis 2, so I guess it's safe to say I liked this one.