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The Squirrel Mother
by
Megan Kelso
Kelso's work is characterized by subject matter that fits roughly into two disparate camps: personal and semi-autobiographical stories that draw heavily on the details of her childhood and adolescence, and stories about the idea of America and American history, such as a trilogy of short pieces about Alexander Hamilton. Her work is distinguished from many of her contempora...more
Paperback, 136 pages
Published
July 17th 2006
by Fantagraphics
(first published June 28th 2006)
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[Note: She's not talking about poison.]
I'm pretty sure that most anthologies deveIop as a platform for a couple great shorter works and then other stories are included to pad the length and justify a bound compilation. That padding, to my mind, generally just gets in the way and diminishes from my overall enjoyment of the collection. Still, I can see why a consumer might be more inclined to shell out for a book of nine stories of varying quality than for one of just three solid efforts. Even at...more
Camping sucks, ammirite?
Never was much of a comic book fan. Not much familiarity with graphic novels. Though I DID like Ms. Keslo's illustrations I just didn't "get" much of the content. I mean. I "got" it, but I seemed to be missing somethin; like when you look at a piece of art work and you know the artist is very skilled, but you just don't get it.
The cover blurb compares her short stories to those of Charles Baxter and Alice Munro. I guess someone thinks she's in with the big shots. Here's one of them:
From Leroy D...more
The cover blurb compares her short stories to those of Charles Baxter and Alice Munro. I guess someone thinks she's in with the big shots. Here's one of them:
From Leroy D...more
Mar 03, 2008
Rachel
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
nooooobody
Shelves:
comics-graphic-novels
This collection of short graphic stories is really bad. I don't think I can come up with anything good to say about it--from design to art to story, I've got to pan it across the boards. What irritated me the most was the utter lack of attention to layout. One of the biggest boons of using a graphic novel style is being able to capture the viewer's gaze in an organic way. This artist's style is more suited to the Sunday comics than a book.
(oooh, burn!)
(oooh, burn!)
2 likes · like · see review
I'm going to just go ahead and get started with the review here, since this is a story collection.
My favorite story was "Fuck the Troops". It was completely accurate and talked about how we glorify war and forget our vets. It was a sad tale, but so accurate. I enjoyed all the stories throughout this though and the illustrations were great too. There were stories of love, loss and some that seemed just plain bizarre. Megan Kelso drew upon so many different topics in an entirely interesting way. E...more
My favorite story was "Fuck the Troops". It was completely accurate and talked about how we glorify war and forget our vets. It was a sad tale, but so accurate. I enjoyed all the stories throughout this though and the illustrations were great too. There were stories of love, loss and some that seemed just plain bizarre. Megan Kelso drew upon so many different topics in an entirely interesting way. E...more
Oct 30, 2009
Chili Public
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
female artsy fartsy adults
Shelves:
adults-comics,
adults-reallife
I bought this for my library's teen collection based someone's review, but I really wouldn't recommend this for teens. Not just for the profanity sprinkled throughout or the make out scene between Alexander Hamilton and James Madison or even the oral sex in the last story, although those are probably good reasons on their own. I just don't think teens will be interested in it, but maybe it really wasn't meant for teens.
I think I only gave the book three stars because there really wasn't any cohe...more
I think I only gave the book three stars because there really wasn't any cohe...more
I feel almost guilty giving this only one star. The author obviously thought these stories were very meaningful, and comic book or graphic novel art work takes a long time regardless of how sparse it looks, this just didn't do it for me.
The first story made me think. It was sad, and it had resonance. Who can't sympathize with someone who has lost their dreams, or even the ability to chase them. I read the first and was really excited to read the rest. Too bad, because it was the only one I cared...more
The first story made me think. It was sad, and it had resonance. Who can't sympathize with someone who has lost their dreams, or even the ability to chase them. I read the first and was really excited to read the rest. Too bad, because it was the only one I cared...more
Boy, did I not get this. Not at all. I felt like the last kid on the playground after teams had been chosen for kickball. This graphic short story collection is so far over my head that I don't feel qualified to rate it on content, but the drawings are great.
I loved the artwork in this book, but I felt like many of the stories themselves must have been an esoteric underground manifesto or something, because I'm wasn't really clear on the point. Of course, I guess having a point doesn't always have to be the point in a story - and if that's the case, these were brilliant.
I especially liked the Alexander Hamilton/Thomas Jefferson duel story. That was classic.
Even though the book is nowhere near obscene or offensive, I felt like it was oozing with sex....more
I especially liked the Alexander Hamilton/Thomas Jefferson duel story. That was classic.
Even though the book is nowhere near obscene or offensive, I felt like it was oozing with sex....more
3 likes · like · see review
I just went on a binge of teenage angst in the form of raiding the graphic novel teen section of the Golden Gate Branch of the Oakland Library. Wow--I sure don't miss middle school.
Megan Kelso's collection of short stories provides brief scenes and impressions of the awkwardness of coming-of-age, the surety that we are at once the worst and best people on the face of the planet and in the history of the world. Her quirky stories and simple lines share the themes of "these are moments that shaped...more
Megan Kelso's collection of short stories provides brief scenes and impressions of the awkwardness of coming-of-age, the surety that we are at once the worst and best people on the face of the planet and in the history of the world. Her quirky stories and simple lines share the themes of "these are moments that shaped...more
The Squirrel Mother by Megan Kelso is a graphic novel that is told in short stories or panels that give a snapshot into the lives of various girls of approximately the same age. The majority of the sections are about five to six pages with simplistic drawings that are humorous while also melancholic. Such "short stories" range from a girl learning how to dance to another adolescent girl who sadistically cleans her room. Another story is of a girl who judges her neighbors on the music that they p...more
Aug 11, 2011
Rachael
added it
I was really excited to read this, the cover looks great...I was a little disapointed, maybe i was expecting more of a continous plot, even throughout the individual stories, or a common theme. The art was a lot sparser than I expected, but not altogether uninteresting - I really liked the unconventional frames of grass and whatnot...I couldn;t really appreciate the American history stories, I guess either. SO, overall, it was fine,
S
S
The Squirrel Mother Stories is a graphic novel collection of short stories. The first story, the Squirrel Mother, is excellent, and more or less a five star on its own. The others--eh. Some are short vignettes that seem to have at least a touch of the autobiographical, and some appear to be just random bits. They range in quality, but none of them capture the same emotional points as the first.
Jun 22, 2008
Cathy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
female artsy fartsy adults
Shelves:
adults-comics,
adults-reallife
I bought this for my library's teen collection based someone's review, but I really wouldn't recommend this for teens. Not just for the profanity sprinkled throughout or the make out scene between Alexander Hamilton and James Madison or even the oral sex in the last story, although those are probably good reasons on their own. I just don't think teens will be interested in it, but maybe it really wasn't meant for teens.
I think I only gave the book three stars because there really wasn't any cohe...more
I think I only gave the book three stars because there really wasn't any cohe...more
Horrible. I'd give it less than one star if I could. I very very rarely rate anything this low, but really I feel that this book was 1) miscategorized as YA lit (never mind that it includes mental illness, rape, blow jobs, etc) and 2) really pointless. The graphics were actually good, and a few of the stories could have been told better completely through graphics but unfortunately the author persisted in writing.
Picked it up from the graphic novels display at Trinity, based simply on its cover art. It wouldn't be until much later that I'd realize this is the Megan Kelso who did a blurb for Sherman Alexie's Part-time Indian. Woo hoo! There's something gorgeous about these little stories. I say little in that they're short but also endearing-- even if some of them leave you with a "Huh?" kind of feeling.
Uneven in tone and quality. Some of the stories were moving, many were depressing, a few were historical! I liked the ones that seemed personal to the author the most, but I didn't love any of them, and I found some of the text very difficult to read (as in, the font is too small and close together, that sort of thing). Overall, this was just okay.
Truly remarkable. The story 'meow face' stays with you. Second time enjoying this book. The reviews are love-it-hate-it which I didn't expect. If you have a hard time with it, I suggest reading it more like a short film, but i guess the point is they are comics and not short films. Anyway, I adore Megan Kelso.
Short stories in graphic novel form. There were a couple which were quite nice, but most were too underdeveloped or plotless to hold interest. I completely skipped the historical Alexander Hamilton story. Not bad for a book I picked up solely on the basis of its title, but nothing special.
Each story is a masterpiece. Kelso shows us what comics can do. Simple drawings pose complex portraits by visual means.
We only get a glimpse of the characters and we don't know if they are rendering themselves too vulnerable or just trying to live brightly.
We only get a glimpse of the characters and we don't know if they are rendering themselves too vulnerable or just trying to live brightly.
Short! stories from local comic author Megan Kelso, published by Fantagraphics, one of my favorites. I found the stories sweet, but not entirely stimulating. I do like her drawing style though. My favorite was one about the Green River Killer.
Squirrel!!
so... now that that's out of the way... This is a collection of graphic short stories... or comic short stories... not actually graphic in the 'graphic violence' sense, or comic in the 'ha ha' sense, but, ya know... like graphic novels/comic books... there, that's out of the way... sequential art! hurrah!
little snippets of life, often not fully resolved out into a definitive end, as is true of actual snippets of lives. The art I would place in the newspaper comics section realm. it doe...more
so... now that that's out of the way... This is a collection of graphic short stories... or comic short stories... not actually graphic in the 'graphic violence' sense, or comic in the 'ha ha' sense, but, ya know... like graphic novels/comic books... there, that's out of the way... sequential art! hurrah!
little snippets of life, often not fully resolved out into a definitive end, as is true of actual snippets of lives. The art I would place in the newspaper comics section realm. it doe...more
Carajo, escribí una review haciéndome interesante y justificando por qué la promedio para abajo y por un tecleo de más termina borrándose todo. Otro día justificaré mi inconformidad con este librito.
Definitely not for kids, at times deep and affecting, but confusing at others. But then, it's the first graphic novel I've read in years, so maybe I just need to get back into the groove.
didn't do it for me. loved the color palette and many of the images, but lacked content, or something. the first story was fabulous ... then it just seemed to fall off, for me.
Beautiful art, and I like the graphic short story collection concept. But the stories themselves, as narratives, were uneven and not particularly memorable.
Very bittersweet. This story showed a mastery of graphic design combined with language that really shows what can be done with the genre.
This is an odd little book of slice-of-life comics, some of which I enjoyed, others which I found to be quite boring.
Two stars for lovely graphics. But the short stories left me feeling confused. Like I was missing something.
Short stories written in graphic novel format. Surprisingly moving and a little weird - right up my alley!
I really like the idea of short stories in graphic novel format but I didn't love these particular ones.
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She graduated in 1994 from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.
Kelso started working in the 1990s, with the minicomic Girlhero, which won her a Xeric Foundation grant in 1993. She has since published several other projects including Queen of the Black Black and The Squirrel Mother. She was the editor of the female cartoonist anthology, Scherherazade: Stories of Love, Treachery, Moth...more
More about Megan Kelso...
Kelso started working in the 1990s, with the minicomic Girlhero, which won her a Xeric Foundation grant in 1993. She has since published several other projects including Queen of the Black Black and The Squirrel Mother. She was the editor of the female cartoonist anthology, Scherherazade: Stories of Love, Treachery, Moth...more
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Mar 03, 2008 07:48am