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91st out of 1,502 books
—
3,026 voters
Louis Riel (Louis Riel)
"It has the thoroughness of a history book yet reads with the personalized vision of a novel." -Time
Chester Brown reinvents the comic-book medium to create the critically acclaimed historical biography Louis Riel, winning the Harvey Awards for best writing and best graphic novel for his compelling, meticulous, and dispassionate retelling of the charismatic, and perhaps ins
...more
Chester Brown reinvents the comic-book medium to create the critically acclaimed historical biography Louis Riel, winning the Harvey Awards for best writing and best graphic novel for his compelling, meticulous, and dispassionate retelling of the charismatic, and perhaps ins
Paperback, 280 pages
Published
August 22nd 2006
by Drawn and Quarterly
(first published 2003)
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Biography is always a tricky thing to pull off well. Ignoring the matter of interpretation, the biographer still has to grapple with the reality that there are not really any such things as brute facts. The biographer is never simply representing What Happened, but instead puts forth a version of what happened—a story that conforms more or less plausibly with the ultimately unknowable way history actually spun itself out.
In my response to Christopher Frayling’s biography of Sergio Leone, I wrot...more
In my response to Christopher Frayling’s biography of Sergio Leone, I wrot...more
This is an ambitious effort to deal with a very complex part of Canadian history. The artwork is excellent, but unfortunately the resulting story is over-simplistic. Brown compensates for this somewhat in the extensive notes at the end of the comic book, where he goes so far as to admit that he made John A. MacDonald appear more villainous to improve the story. Not sure it's a good idea to take such liberties with important historical figures (i.e. Canada's first prime minister) for something th...more
I knew nothing of Louis Riel, or any Canadian history for that matter, before reading this, drawn to the series only because of my admiration for Chester Brown's other work. Spare, unsentimental, and by no means exhaustive, Brown's graphic biography of Riel and his times is all the more powerful for its limitations, openly acknowledged by Brown in his extensive footnotes. The power of this biography, then, comes from Brown's choices; like a savvy director, he directs the reader's gaze to only th...more
louis riel, a french-canadian farmer, rebeled against the canadian government's boorish dividing-up of farmers land in the 19th century. The way they broke up land destroyed the system that farmers had devised, and forced on them a new order that felt to them less equal and less efficient.
the story is great - it's really incredible what extremes louis riel went to to fight for what was right - and the drawings are gorgeous. chester brown was influenced by harold gray's little orphan annie drawi...more
the story is great - it's really incredible what extremes louis riel went to to fight for what was right - and the drawings are gorgeous. chester brown was influenced by harold gray's little orphan annie drawi...more
Yes, it's shelved in the history section at the library, and yes it should be. This is the first thing I've read by Chester Brown, and I was pretty massively impressed. I don't know anything about the actual story, although I've been to the area of Canada in which it takes place, so I can't say how much is altered or shaped (although I don't really have to; Brown provides a bunch of endnotes that explain choices he made). The art seems amateurish at first, especially in panels that feature actio...more
Chester Brown’s Cartoon biography of Louis Riel is a fantastic piece of art meets history. The story focuses on a small portion of Louis’s story and by the author’s own admition makes some stretches and assumption about some elements.
The Book is drawn simply but is still beautiful to look at and hold.
The story is well paced and flows well. I read the entire 200 pages in an evening. The book is a great summary for those that know Riel’s story or a great introduction to it but this should not be y...more
The Book is drawn simply but is still beautiful to look at and hold.
The story is well paced and flows well. I read the entire 200 pages in an evening. The book is a great summary for those that know Riel’s story or a great introduction to it but this should not be y...more
This book did the impossible - it made me interested in Canadian government/history. At least for the confines of these pages.
The first few pages did nothing for me but the story got interesting as it went on - this is the sort of thing they should use to teach people in school - much more engaging. I'll probably remember more of this than any Canadian history in high school!
It was not my fave graphic novel and I have put it off a long time (I've read all of Chester Brown's other works) - I woul...more
The first few pages did nothing for me but the story got interesting as it went on - this is the sort of thing they should use to teach people in school - much more engaging. I'll probably remember more of this than any Canadian history in high school!
It was not my fave graphic novel and I have put it off a long time (I've read all of Chester Brown's other works) - I woul...more
As a rebel, a leader, a christian and a father Louis Riel was a very interesting guy. This book took some time to settle in my brain because the protagonist takes a trip that was hard for me to get behind. Interesting when considering that the author is Quebecouis and has a pretty clear pro Riel agenda. Chester Brown says in his introduction to the book that he emulates the old Little Orphan Annie comics for his drawing style. He nails the strong intention with simple lines and is very successf...more
Brown biography of Riel is direct to the point of simplicity and he never really hits the emotional core of his subject who at times seemed to be a politically astute revolutionary and at others to be a self-deluded messianic holy man. I like the power of Brown's simple art, though.
Notes:
Brown's narrative style is a little too direct to allow for total immersion in his tale. Riel's story is important, but I'm not sure the comic book form helps us understand it any better the way Sacco's work doe...more
Notes:
Brown's narrative style is a little too direct to allow for total immersion in his tale. Riel's story is important, but I'm not sure the comic book form helps us understand it any better the way Sacco's work doe...more
I enjoyed this! I came to this book by chance, having no idea who Louis Riel was and, sadly and embarrassingly, knowing very little about the history of Canada (despite my love of both history and Canada!) as I realized when I opened the book to the first map section. It's a beautiful book (I read the hardcover) that makes the history clear and engaging, and manages to convey both humor and tragedy rather well. The endnotes are great: they explain where the comic strip departs from or muddles th...more
You know how they make comic versions of classic novels to get kids interested? Like Moby Dick or something? This feels like an artisanal version of that. Very enjoyable, but I pay attention to the use of "comic strip" in the subtitle and hold it more to that standard rather than that of a graphic novel. By a comic strip standard it's extremely good. I think if you approach it from that angle and if you don't really know Riel's story, this is great. And really it's just great because the guy's t...more
Story of an interesting historical figure that should be (but isn't) well-known outside of Canada.
Chester Brown's art is subdued, clean and simple – perfect for a comic book history.
The book doesn't pull any punches with Riel, who clearly goes off the deep end and makes some serious strategic errors in the Metis' war against Canada.
It'd be cool if Brown did a "sequel" that's a sort of alternative history in which the Metis win, gain their independence and form a French-speaking Native America...more
Chester Brown's art is subdued, clean and simple – perfect for a comic book history.
The book doesn't pull any punches with Riel, who clearly goes off the deep end and makes some serious strategic errors in the Metis' war against Canada.
It'd be cool if Brown did a "sequel" that's a sort of alternative history in which the Metis win, gain their independence and form a French-speaking Native America...more
A new forum for sharing history. I studied Riel in Canadian history, so I can point out the historical flaws but this is a great book for a basic understanding of the Rebellion and Riel in general. The artist captures the characters pretty well, though I think there is mention in the back somewhere about his adding to their visual in order to make them likeable or not.. This is biased. Overall, I would recommend this to any high school history student, though I read this for university history (...more
Brown retells the history of Louis Riel using his unique drawing skills. Each of the characters are given blank eyes and expressionless faces, as well as enormous hands and small heads - deliberate choices by the artist.
The story is a bit dusty for most of the book. This law was passed which meant this border changed which meant this happened which meant people had to move until this law was passed, blah blah. Unless you're really into 19th century Canadian history regarding the Metis people yo...more
The story is a bit dusty for most of the book. This law was passed which meant this border changed which meant this happened which meant people had to move until this law was passed, blah blah. Unless you're really into 19th century Canadian history regarding the Metis people yo...more
A phenomenal way to learn the history of the Metis rebellion and to gain an understanding of the traitor-hero-rebel behind it all. A side-effect of reading it was a sinking disgust and disappointment in my own country, as a white middle-class anglophone.... a sense of privileged shame that still has a place today, as Metis and aboriginal peoples remain on the marginalized fringes of our society. This graphic novel was, for me, an account of where that began, a reminder of what we took from a peo...more
Since I can only ever seem to pay attention to history books, I figured I'd take a break and read one with a lot of pictures. I had high hopes for this biography, and was happy with it. However the sparse treatment of dialog left me feeling a tad removed from any of the characters as much as I was drawn along by the story. Sometimes really passionate words come off like dry, wooden statements. Still, the whole Riel story is fascinating and rather epic, and I recommend this highly. Chester Brown'...more
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This! Is! Canadian! History! :D This book is like Kate Beaton minus most of her humour. Except I still find it funny because lol Canada. Always talking about our past. Always with the problem of French-English-Native relations. There is something inherently giggleworthy of seeing what is essentially my eighth grade history class in a comic book. I don't know why it is I have so much trouble taking my own country's past seriously. :/ Maybe it's because our present is so depressing. 3.5 stars
Americans are taught almost nothing about Canadian history in K-12. Like, most of us leave high school thinking of Canadians as passive British sycophants who fell to socialism in the 1980s. That's why this comic is so hilarious.
So before picking this up, I knew almost nothing about Louis Riel, except for what I'd heard here and there while living in Canada. This book did a decent job of keeping the history interesting, though I did get a little bored in some of the battle scenes. The art grew o...more
So before picking this up, I knew almost nothing about Louis Riel, except for what I'd heard here and there while living in Canada. This book did a decent job of keeping the history interesting, though I did get a little bored in some of the battle scenes. The art grew o...more
Story of the man largely responsible for the creation of Manitoba who fought for the rights of the first peoples-descended residents.
Truly horrifying stories of the many ways the Canadian government tried and generally succeeded at screwing over the homesteaders.
I was fascinated, although when Riel started going off the deep end, I started to lose interest and considered not finishing. It becomes a bit less of a story vindicating the little guy and more tragic tale of a mad man. At least in my...more
Truly horrifying stories of the many ways the Canadian government tried and generally succeeded at screwing over the homesteaders.
I was fascinated, although when Riel started going off the deep end, I started to lose interest and considered not finishing. It becomes a bit less of a story vindicating the little guy and more tragic tale of a mad man. At least in my...more
If you live outside canada you may have never heard of Louis Riel, the Red River Rebellion or the mètis. Chester Brown changes all that in the most entertaining way possible by telling the gripping tale of faith, devotion and insanity in simple but strikingly beautiful pictures. A really good biographical comic about an episode in the conquest of a new continent that sucks you into the world of a pretty interesting guy and his interesting times. A canadian friend gave this to me. Thanks a lot G.
A fascinating story, from a historical standpoint. But I particularly liked how Brown did this version--with copious notes in the back, he explains exactly what changes he's made for simplification, and where he's using opinion, fact, or something in between. So, on top of just the story, we get a good idea of the actual events, too.
In terms of art, Brown uses very simple page designs (6 square panels per page) and an easy-to-follow style, which is particularly important since there are so many...more
In terms of art, Brown uses very simple page designs (6 square panels per page) and an easy-to-follow style, which is particularly important since there are so many...more
I liked the concept of this a lot better than the actual book. The artwork and the writing are super simplistic. The artwork is also poorly proportioned, with tiny heads and huge hands. And normally I would forgive this if it suited the writing, or had a purpose, or even if the writing was just so kick ass that you didn't care what the artwork looked like. But none of those are true, it was just kinda bad art. The writing itself was just too oversimplified for words. There was no flow, the chara...more
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I'm not even sure how to explain this one, but it was gorgeously drawn, scholarly in content and presentation and fun to read. Not to mention that it tells a presumably little known piece of Canadian history and gives our northern neighbors some much-deserved crap for not being as nice as they purport to be. Excellent, totally recommended. Bonus points to the guys at Forbidden Planet for recommending this as a gift for a friend and a library book for self. A stunner.
The hard fact is that when someone writes non-fiction, it almost never holds up to the slam-bang standards we use to grade fiction. This book was informationally clear, well-illustrated, thorough, and helpful. But, like most of you, I want edgy slam-bang eye-melting action in my comics. That is not what you find in a graphic non-fic piece about a French-Indian uprising in 1890s Canada involving about 100 people.
I love the idea of making a graphic novel biography and who better to pull it off than our old Canadian pal Chester Brown. I had never heard of Louis Riel prior to discovering this book but in short he was a Canadian politician and a leader of a small Metis (half breed) group of the Red River Colony. Not giving anything away, the English pulled their usual horrible English stuff at that age, pulled a fast one on the people, and causing a rebellion. Not as cool of a rebellion as America put on, b...more
This book was borrowed from my sister and a great graphic novel to read and look at as I am living in Winnipeg at this time, and this book centres around the history of this city, before its existence. Drawing and characters fill the novel along with the black and white drawings sharing with the reader a portion of the history of the First Nations and more specifically the Metis people in this areas of Canada. I have Metis heritage and can now understand more about Winnipeg and its area because...more
I picked up Louis Riel with hardly any knowledge of Canadian history, and was reading it primarily out of respect for Brown's other work. The story and history covered is fascinating, but I sometimes found it hard to keep track of all the different characters and their beliefs. I'd like to learn more about Canadian social history and the railroad industry as a result of having read this.
If only history were taught using the very human elements at the heart of it all... I hated studying Louis Riel in high school, what with the stodgy texts and the tests for memorized dates & names. But this, this is wonderful storytelling from start to finish. Let's hope that someday an inspired artist sets down the truths about Prime Minister Harper and his lot's lies, too.
A "biography" done as a graphic novel. I read this as part of my Experimental Book Club. The author takes great liberty with historical events, to the point it is probably fiction rather than non-fiction. However, it was interesting to read about this major figure in Canadian, whom I knew nothing about, that some consider a martyr and others consider a rebel and a murder.
The panels give me claustrophobia -- and they should, because this is a suffocating and very heavy story. I like how Brown does not shy away from Riel's stranger behaviours. I've read and re-read this book several times, but I keep feeling like it's a new story -- because it's so damn big, and the panels are so small. Really good work.
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Chester Brown was born in Montreal, Canada on May 16, 1960 and grew up in the nearby suburb of Chateauquay. His career path was set at the age of 12 when the local newspaper, The St. Lawrence Sun, published one of his comic strips.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
At 19, he moved to Toronto and got a day job while he worked on his skills as a ca...more
More about Chester Brown...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
At 19, he moved to Toronto and got a day job while he worked on his skills as a ca...more
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