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City of Glass: The Graphic Novel
Novel about a novelist named Quinn who's mistaken for a detective named Paul Auster and loses his mind and identity in the course of a meaningless case
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
67 people are currently reading
5330 people want to read
About the author
Paul Karasik
28 books27 followersPaul Karasik is an American cartoonist, editor, and teacher, notable for his contributions to such works as City of Glass: The Graphic Novel, The Ride Together: A Memoir of Autism in the Family, and Turn Loose Our Death Rays and Kill Them All!. He is the coauthor, with Mark Newgarden, of How to Read Nancy, 2018 winner of the Eisner Award for "Best Comics-Related Book". He is also an occasional cartoonist for The New Yorker.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 582 reviews
August 25, 2025
ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY
Credo che fosse il 1991, l’anno in cui ho incontrato Paul Auster per la prima volta: La musica del caso.
E fu subito amore.
Amore grande: c’erano in Auster umori che in letteratura mi sembravano insoliti, fuori, e oltre, che all’epoca percepivo solo nel cinema (non per niente l’esperienza cinematografica di Auster è sostanziosa e fortunata).
Città di vetro era introvabile, così come la raccolta completa, la Trilogia di New York: fuori catalogo, e le biblioteche a Roma funzionavano ancora per modo di dire (nel senso che non funzionavano affatto). Ci volle del tempo per metterci le mani sopra, dovetti aspettare la ristampa.
L’amore è continuato per qualche anno, ho letto di suo tutto quello che veniva tradotto (un po’ troppo tosto in originale per me).
Poi, l’amore è finito: si sa, le storie iniziano e finiscono, solo poche durano per sempre, uno di noi due s’era stancato, forse entrambi, uno di noi due era cambiato, ma non lui: a me sembrava che si ripetesse oltre la mia sopportazione, che giocasse troppo a fare il Paul Auster, indugiasse nei suoi tic, ormai cliché - lui voleva che io gli fossi fedele oltre le mie consuetudini.
Così, alla fine ci siamo lasciati.
E non ci siamo mai più incrociati.
Adesso lui è famosissimo, una star della scrittura, molto occupato con party e mondanità varia nella Grande Mela, a sponsorizzare moglie e figlia.
Io, invece, leggo altro. E quando vado a New York non lo cerco, non gli faccio neppure sapere che sono in città.
Ci siamo proprio persi.
Qui, ottima disanima, ghiotta e densa, resta poco o nulla da segnalare:
http://www.minimaetmoralia.it/wp/tras...
Di mio posso solo aggiungere che mentre leggevo queste pagine le immagini che ho inserito qui mi si sono accese davanti agli occhi della mente come fari.
Io sono nuovo ogni giorno. Nasco quando mi sveglio al mattino, cresco durante il giorno, e muoio la sera.
Credo che fosse il 1991, l’anno in cui ho incontrato Paul Auster per la prima volta: La musica del caso.
E fu subito amore.
Amore grande: c’erano in Auster umori che in letteratura mi sembravano insoliti, fuori, e oltre, che all’epoca percepivo solo nel cinema (non per niente l’esperienza cinematografica di Auster è sostanziosa e fortunata).
Città di vetro era introvabile, così come la raccolta completa, la Trilogia di New York: fuori catalogo, e le biblioteche a Roma funzionavano ancora per modo di dire (nel senso che non funzionavano affatto). Ci volle del tempo per metterci le mani sopra, dovetti aspettare la ristampa.
L’amore è continuato per qualche anno, ho letto di suo tutto quello che veniva tradotto (un po’ troppo tosto in originale per me).
Poi, l’amore è finito: si sa, le storie iniziano e finiscono, solo poche durano per sempre, uno di noi due s’era stancato, forse entrambi, uno di noi due era cambiato, ma non lui: a me sembrava che si ripetesse oltre la mia sopportazione, che giocasse troppo a fare il Paul Auster, indugiasse nei suoi tic, ormai cliché - lui voleva che io gli fossi fedele oltre le mie consuetudini.
Così, alla fine ci siamo lasciati.
E non ci siamo mai più incrociati.
Adesso lui è famosissimo, una star della scrittura, molto occupato con party e mondanità varia nella Grande Mela, a sponsorizzare moglie e figlia.
Io, invece, leggo altro. E quando vado a New York non lo cerco, non gli faccio neppure sapere che sono in città.
Ci siamo proprio persi.
Qui, ottima disanima, ghiotta e densa, resta poco o nulla da segnalare:
http://www.minimaetmoralia.it/wp/tras...
Di mio posso solo aggiungere che mentre leggevo queste pagine le immagini che ho inserito qui mi si sono accese davanti agli occhi della mente come fari.
Io sono nuovo ogni giorno. Nasco quando mi sveglio al mattino, cresco durante il giorno, e muoio la sera.
January 24, 2015
Not only a fantastic, engrossing read, but also the most teachable comic I know. My students in a recent 9 week class took a deep dive into the book and found layers of depth even I was unaware of.
It's also an adaptation that's true to the original, but does much more than merely illustrate the text. It uses every tool in the comics toolbox.
It's also an adaptation that's true to the original, but does much more than merely illustrate the text. It uses every tool in the comics toolbox.
April 13, 2008
the original City of Glass, by paul auster, was a book that i enjoyed greatly when i first read it. i thought it was really unique, a thoughtful, stylish blend of raymond chandler, kafka, and borges. i still like it, but it hasn't aged that well for me. a lot of what i thought was playfulness now seems precious, facile. the prose is polished, but by the same token oddly eroded, flat, sanded down. often it feels like auster doesn't actually inhabit the english language--he reads like he's always already a french translation (which is maybe why he's so popular over there). and anyway, i like exuberence now, headlong run-on rushes and spiky thickets of clauses.
this graphic novel, with art by paul karasik and the amazing david mazzuchelli (one of my all time comic book favorites), is another beast entirely. it takes the fine small bones of auster's narration and clothes it in images. they are, individually, simple--black and white, stylized, deliberately cartoonish. but they flow in and out of each other with the exuberance that auster's prose lacks, and it makes all the difference. in the opening sequence, for example, the protagonist looks out a window and sees a brick wall. the lines of the brick wall turn into a cityscape. the cityscape zooms out, and we see a map of the city, a giant maze. and the maze melts and fragments and abstracts, until we're looking at a fingerprint. and then we see that it's an smudge of ink on a piece of paper... amazing.
this graphic novel, with art by paul karasik and the amazing david mazzuchelli (one of my all time comic book favorites), is another beast entirely. it takes the fine small bones of auster's narration and clothes it in images. they are, individually, simple--black and white, stylized, deliberately cartoonish. but they flow in and out of each other with the exuberance that auster's prose lacks, and it makes all the difference. in the opening sequence, for example, the protagonist looks out a window and sees a brick wall. the lines of the brick wall turn into a cityscape. the cityscape zooms out, and we see a map of the city, a giant maze. and the maze melts and fragments and abstracts, until we're looking at a fingerprint. and then we see that it's an smudge of ink on a piece of paper... amazing.
August 30, 2014
This graphic novel was based on a novella by the same author and Comic Journals voted this in the top 100 for the 20th century. It's about a writer who takes on the role of his detective character to investigate a mystery but this choice sends him down a path of obsessive madness.
It blurs the line between reality and fantasy and even identity as the author of this tale finds himself changing roles, stories and overall identities. The voices coming out of objects and gradual changes and pullbacks were intriguing. That said, it's so cleverly done that I feel there wasn't enough of an interesting story here so I'd say it's worth a look for its overall cleverness but it isn't Sterling Silver quality for the tale. Casual readers will find this graphic novel mind boggling.
STORY/PLOTTING: B minus; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B; SOMETHING NEW AND FRESH: B plus to A minus; ARTWORK: B; OVERALL GRADE: B; WHEN READ: January 2012.
It blurs the line between reality and fantasy and even identity as the author of this tale finds himself changing roles, stories and overall identities. The voices coming out of objects and gradual changes and pullbacks were intriguing. That said, it's so cleverly done that I feel there wasn't enough of an interesting story here so I'd say it's worth a look for its overall cleverness but it isn't Sterling Silver quality for the tale. Casual readers will find this graphic novel mind boggling.
STORY/PLOTTING: B minus; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B; SOMETHING NEW AND FRESH: B plus to A minus; ARTWORK: B; OVERALL GRADE: B; WHEN READ: January 2012.
December 29, 2015
5 Estrelas Gráficas
Li o romance ”A Trilogia de Nova Iorque” do escritor norte-americano Paul Auster (n. 1947) no início dos anos 90, uma obra inicialmente publicada em três partes (”Cidade de Vidro”, ”Fantasmas” e ”O Quarto Fechado”).
Decorridos mais de vinte anos começo a ler ”Cidade de Vidro”, uma ”novela gráfica”, adaptada por Paul Karasik (n. 1956) e David Mazzucchelli (n. 1960), sob os auspícios de Art Spiegelman (n. 1948).
A adaptação de um “bom” romance ao cinema é de tal forma comum que raramente suscita polémica, acabando quase sempre por desencadear as inevitáveis comparações qualitativas entre o livro e o filme.
Agora “transformar” o romance de Paul Auster, ”Cidade de Vidro”, publicado em 1986, numa “novela gráfica”, editada em 2004, é mais incomum e original, e na edição portuguesa da Asa há uma introdução escrita por Art Spiegelman que resume e esclarece as inúmeras dúvidas que nos podem suscitar esta adaptação da obra de Paul Auster; desde a concepção original até ao convite endereçado a Paul Karasik e a David Mazzucchelli para materializar tal ideia.
”Tudo começou graças a um número errado… o telefone tocou três vezes a meio da noite… e, do outro lado, uma voz… perguntando por alguém que não era ele.” (Pág. 1 – 2)
Daniel Quinn, foi no passado um poeta promissor, que perdeu a sua mulher e o seu filho, que “desistira de tudo”, tornando-se, actualmente, num escritor de romances policiais, sob o pseudónimo de William Wilson.
O referido telefonema, efectuado por Peter Stillman, era destinado a Paul Auster, um detective da “agência de detectives auster”, a que Daniel Quinn dá seguimento, aceitando a incumbência de investigar e vigiar Peter Stillman, o pai de Peter Stillman, ambos têm o mesmo nome, que submetera o seu filho a maus tratos, durante mais de nove anos, julgado, declarado louco e internado, mas que vai ser libertado em breve.
O resultado final de ”Cidade de Vidro” é verdadeiramente surpreendente, não apenas pela excelência e pela originalidade de um texto, simultaneamente, ambíguo e misterioso, sobre a identidade e a suas sombras, “um romance dentro de um romance”, onde surgem inúmeras personagens, que acabam por ter identidades que se confundem, “Quinn/William Wilson/o detective Paul Auster/Max Work (o detective narrador dos romances de William Wilson/ Daniel Quinn)/Paul Auster (o escritor, que é uma “personagem”, juntamente com a sua mulher Siri Hustvedt e o filho de ambos, Daniel); mas, igualmente, pela conjugação admirável do “grafismo” de Paul Karasik e a David Mazzucchelli, e pelas inúmeras referências literárias, com destaque para o livro ”The Garden and the Tower” – Early Visions of the New World (“O Jardim e a Torre. Perspectivas primitivas do Novo Mundo”) de Stillman (um livro inexistente), ao livro “Paraíso Perdido” de Milton, a Jorge Luis Borges, a Edgar Allan Poe,.. ; e, igualmente, ao romance “noir”, à sua “femme fatale”; uma ”novela gráfica” para ler e reler…
September 14, 2016
Despite the fact I remembered original novel (including ending, etc.) by Paul Auster, I enjoyed having one day with this comic and think that it is worth reading. Brilliant from the very beginning to the very last page. The ideas of climbing inside an imaginary skin of someone you don’t know, chasing the ghostly footsteps of unknown man, vanishing into the heart of megalopolis seem still catchy for me. While reading I remembered the first time I read novel ”City of Glass” and I loved the nostalgic feeling I had.
What also should be told is that Art Spiegelman who is a real prodigy in comics’ field tells the introduction story about how this book was created. He also speaks about respectability and reputation of comics (uses term “graphic novel”) and etc. Very interesting and good pages to read. As for the art by David Mazzucchelli, I can only say positive words. It hauntingly follows the narration and combined with the story is so good that you cannot skip any panel.
By the way, I still cannot explain how this brilliant novel is not adapted into feature film by any of the good directors of NY School?! I can imagine how Jim Jarmusch and Paul Auster can create the best NY movie of all time!
What also should be told is that Art Spiegelman who is a real prodigy in comics’ field tells the introduction story about how this book was created. He also speaks about respectability and reputation of comics (uses term “graphic novel”) and etc. Very interesting and good pages to read. As for the art by David Mazzucchelli, I can only say positive words. It hauntingly follows the narration and combined with the story is so good that you cannot skip any panel.
By the way, I still cannot explain how this brilliant novel is not adapted into feature film by any of the good directors of NY School?! I can imagine how Jim Jarmusch and Paul Auster can create the best NY movie of all time!
April 12, 2020
[magyarul lentebb]
On my journey of discovering graphic novels... just kidding, I have no intention of doing that. But I really liked this one. With a foreword by Maus's Art Spiegelman, City of Glass has a great story written amazingly (that should not come as a surprise, it's Auster after all), so it had a strong skeleton. But the graphics were not just illustrations either, they helped the story transform into something new. I found an original idea on every page, in the creative use of the grid, showing the character of a voice, the disintegration of a mind in pictures instead of words while still keeping the importance of language, and it was fun to see the drawn versions of Auster and his family, too. My attention never faltered for a second, this graphic novel had a firm grip on it. Very well done.
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A kép(es?)regények világában tett felfedezéseim következő állomása Paul Auster New York trilógiájának átdolgozása. Valójában nincs szó semmiféle műfajfelfedezésről, csak ez a kettő* érdekelt, de az Üvegváros alapján nem tennék le a formáról. A Maust elkövető Art Spiegelman előszavával megjelent kötetnek persze őrülten erős alapja volt, hiszen Auster írta. Az előszó szerint figyelmeztette is a projekt mögött álló Spiegelmant, miszerint már többször próbáltak filmforgatókönyvet varázsolni ebből a szövegből, mindhiába. Karasik és Mazzucchelli párosának végül mégis fantasztikusan sikerült az adaptáció. Nem csupán illusztrálták a történetet, egy egészen új művet hoztak létre. Minden oldalon újabb eredeti ötlettel találkoztam, a képregény rácsainak kreatív használatától az írott jellemzések képi megjelenítésre cserélésén át (miközben a nyelv semmit nem veszít jelentőségéből) a rajzolt Auster-családig. Egy pillanatra sem eresztette a figyelmem, remek munka.
*a másik a Cheshire Crossing volt, sóhaj
On my journey of discovering graphic novels... just kidding, I have no intention of doing that. But I really liked this one. With a foreword by Maus's Art Spiegelman, City of Glass has a great story written amazingly (that should not come as a surprise, it's Auster after all), so it had a strong skeleton. But the graphics were not just illustrations either, they helped the story transform into something new. I found an original idea on every page, in the creative use of the grid, showing the character of a voice, the disintegration of a mind in pictures instead of words while still keeping the importance of language, and it was fun to see the drawn versions of Auster and his family, too. My attention never faltered for a second, this graphic novel had a firm grip on it. Very well done.
-------------------------------------------
A kép(es?)regények világában tett felfedezéseim következő állomása Paul Auster New York trilógiájának átdolgozása. Valójában nincs szó semmiféle műfajfelfedezésről, csak ez a kettő* érdekelt, de az Üvegváros alapján nem tennék le a formáról. A Maust elkövető Art Spiegelman előszavával megjelent kötetnek persze őrülten erős alapja volt, hiszen Auster írta. Az előszó szerint figyelmeztette is a projekt mögött álló Spiegelmant, miszerint már többször próbáltak filmforgatókönyvet varázsolni ebből a szövegből, mindhiába. Karasik és Mazzucchelli párosának végül mégis fantasztikusan sikerült az adaptáció. Nem csupán illusztrálták a történetet, egy egészen új művet hoztak létre. Minden oldalon újabb eredeti ötlettel találkoztam, a képregény rácsainak kreatív használatától az írott jellemzések képi megjelenítésre cserélésén át (miközben a nyelv semmit nem veszít jelentőségéből) a rajzolt Auster-családig. Egy pillanatra sem eresztette a figyelmem, remek munka.
*a másik a Cheshire Crossing volt, sóhaj
September 13, 2024
Art Spiegelman set out to hire some serious novelists to write a comic to help with the graphic novel boom of the 90s. Basically unsuccessful as his only callback came from Paul Auster who told him to adapt one of his existing books! Somehow they got the great David Mazzucchelli on board. He does a fantastic job. It's an excellent book, the only issue being that its adaptation and doesn't add much to Paul Auster's original tale.
It does somehow in just 120 comic pages tell the complete tale. It misses a lot of the internal monologue and descriptive language of course, but it does demonstrate the efficiency of the medium.
Mazzucchelli uses a lot of interesting symbology and visuals to drive home the narrative. I enjoyed the opening of a phone call, but the phone we see is simply a symbol on a phone book when the panel zooms out. I didn't really like his approach when the young Peter Stillman is talking the speech bubbles point to a bunch of random items, it's an interesting attempt to make a talking head more interesting but a tad confusing. Later when Quinn is watching the Stillman's apartment the figure starts to visually merge with the wall which illustrates perfectly that the character has been there for so long no one will notice a bum in an alleyway.
I still wish this was an original story, but it's a cool artifact. Mazzucchelli doesn't have a ton of pages so this is essential reading for fans of his work. I liked how the old Stillman looks similar to the titular character in Asterios Polyp.
It does somehow in just 120 comic pages tell the complete tale. It misses a lot of the internal monologue and descriptive language of course, but it does demonstrate the efficiency of the medium.
Mazzucchelli uses a lot of interesting symbology and visuals to drive home the narrative. I enjoyed the opening of a phone call, but the phone we see is simply a symbol on a phone book when the panel zooms out. I didn't really like his approach when the young Peter Stillman is talking the speech bubbles point to a bunch of random items, it's an interesting attempt to make a talking head more interesting but a tad confusing. Later when Quinn is watching the Stillman's apartment the figure starts to visually merge with the wall which illustrates perfectly that the character has been there for so long no one will notice a bum in an alleyway.
I still wish this was an original story, but it's a cool artifact. Mazzucchelli doesn't have a ton of pages so this is essential reading for fans of his work. I liked how the old Stillman looks similar to the titular character in Asterios Polyp.
December 18, 2015
Θα ήταν πραγματικά αδύνατον το οποιοδήποτε graphic novel να φτάσει τα βάθη και τις λογοτεχνικές κορυφές της νουβέλας του Auster. Παρ'όλα αυτά, στο συγκεκριμένο έχει γίνει εξαιρετική δουλειά τόσο στην εικονογράφηση όσο και στην προσπάθεια να κρατηθεί το ύφος και ο πυρήνας της ιστορίας του αυθεντικού κειμένου του Auster. Έτσι, το αποτέλεσμα αποζημιώνει και με το παραπάνω, κυρίως με τα εκπληκτικής ομορφιάς σκίτσα που καταφέρνουν να μετουσιώσουν σε εικόνες τα διάφορα περιστατικά που λαμβάνουν χώρα στο πρωτότυπο κείμενο.
February 27, 2016
Pure masturbation. Lots of build up with no closure. Lazy. Reminded me of the show "Lost", the endless questions keep you going until you realize they have given you no answers. Perfect bookshelf filler for the pseudo-intellectual.
December 17, 2023
Ik las ooit, lang geleden, Paul Austers The New York Trilogy en dat was toen een nieuwe, fascinerende ontdekking. Vervolgens bleef ik een tijdje rondzwerven in zijn oeuvre tot ik gaandeweg zijn schrijverstics en thema's wel kende. Uiteindelijk vond ik de oudere, autobiografische Auster van o.a. Winter Journal nog de beste. Nu stond deze graphic-novel-bewerking van 'City of glass', het eerste deel van de New York Trilogy, op de leeslijst van mijn dochter en dus ging ik nog eens overstag.
Het voorwoord van Art Spiegelman, auteur/tekenaar van het onvolprezen The Complete Maus, geeft een boeiende inkijk in de complexe totstandkoming van deze bewerking door Paul Karasik en David Mazzucchelli, waarbij ook Paul Auster zelf betrokken werd. En dan duik je in het al even complexe, spiegelende dubbelgangerslabyrint dat Auster ooit bedacht. Eerlijk gezegd raakte ik als lezer ook af en toe de draad kwijt, wegens de verschillende bewuste zowel als onbewuste persoonsverwisselingen.
Gelukkig zijn daar de tekenaars die met hun vindingrijke grafische werk blijven intrigeren en verrassen, al mindert ook dat naar het einde toe. Maar de manier waarop ze de moeilijker te verbeelden passages toch zo origineel en raak weten te verbeelden, dwingt zonder meer bewondering af. Een mooi voorbeeld daarvan is hoe ze het vreemde gesprek visualiseren dat schrijver David Quinn, de hoofdpersoon, onder valse naam (als Paul Auster!) voert met Peter Stillman.
Toch liep ik net als het verhaal een beetje vast naar het einde toe. Ik moest daarbij aan Murakami denken, die je ook al eens achter durft laten met een onbestemd of onvervuld gevoel. Maar Murakami slaagt er door zijn stijl en opbouw in je daar als lezer op voor te bereiden, terwijl Auster mijns inziens te hoge verwachtingen schept die dan niet (helemaal) ingelost worden. 3,5*
Het voorwoord van Art Spiegelman, auteur/tekenaar van het onvolprezen The Complete Maus, geeft een boeiende inkijk in de complexe totstandkoming van deze bewerking door Paul Karasik en David Mazzucchelli, waarbij ook Paul Auster zelf betrokken werd. En dan duik je in het al even complexe, spiegelende dubbelgangerslabyrint dat Auster ooit bedacht. Eerlijk gezegd raakte ik als lezer ook af en toe de draad kwijt, wegens de verschillende bewuste zowel als onbewuste persoonsverwisselingen.
Gelukkig zijn daar de tekenaars die met hun vindingrijke grafische werk blijven intrigeren en verrassen, al mindert ook dat naar het einde toe. Maar de manier waarop ze de moeilijker te verbeelden passages toch zo origineel en raak weten te verbeelden, dwingt zonder meer bewondering af. Een mooi voorbeeld daarvan is hoe ze het vreemde gesprek visualiseren dat schrijver David Quinn, de hoofdpersoon, onder valse naam (als Paul Auster!) voert met Peter Stillman.
Toch liep ik net als het verhaal een beetje vast naar het einde toe. Ik moest daarbij aan Murakami denken, die je ook al eens achter durft laten met een onbestemd of onvervuld gevoel. Maar Murakami slaagt er door zijn stijl en opbouw in je daar als lezer op voor te bereiden, terwijl Auster mijns inziens te hoge verwachtingen schept die dan niet (helemaal) ingelost worden. 3,5*
August 11, 2025
по-хорошому просто зроблено. не відходячи від тексту «трилогії», маццуккеллі вдається і себе трошки втулити, скажімо, кращого візуального втілення монологу стіллмана-молодшого я не уявляю. ну і, як на мене, то конхвета суто для читачів «трилогії» — окремо не робе.
April 30, 2018
Video review
How do you move into a different medium a story that's written to remain stubbornly anchored to its native one?
How do you move into a different medium a story that's written to remain stubbornly anchored to its native one?
April 24, 2021
This was mind-boggling and depressing.
October 9, 2018
Considero a adaptação do conto Cidade de Vidro, de Paul Auster, para os quadrinhos por Paul Karasik e David Mazzucchelli, o melhor trabalho de transcrição de uma outra mídia para os quadrinhos. Digo isso porque seus artífices conhecem profundamente o potencial da linguagem dos quadrinhos e isso pode ser verificado em outros quadrinhos seus, como o Asterios Polyp de David Mazzuchelli. De longe essa adaptação é que mais usa e abusa dos recursos gráficos e narrativos de uma história em quadrinhos para ampliar o sentido da leitura de uma escrita literária. De longe também, toda a Trilogia de Nova York, obra-prima de Paul Auster, não são narrativas de fácil transcrição para a linguagem gráfica, então essa é outra razão para reverenciar o trabalho de Karasik e Mazzucchelli com Cidade de Vidro, principalmente a iconicidade e a metalinguagem da história. Uma pena essa HQ estar fora de catálogo há muito tempo, desde que foi lançada pela primeira e única vez em maio de 1998 pela Via Lettera. Uma pena também que a edição que eu compre no sebo, para minha segunda leitura, continha várias duplas de páginas em branco, já que o valor investido nela não foi pouco. Fica um apelo às boas editoras para trazerem novamente esse incrível material para o Brasil.
October 8, 2017
Pocas veces me he encontrado con una adaptación tan bien llevada pese a la dificultad de la obra original. Es casi más un complemento añadido que una adaptación
http://entremontonesdelibros.blogspot...
http://entremontonesdelibros.blogspot...
September 7, 2020
Cam Kent muazzam bir anti-dedektif anlatısı örneği. Paul Karasik çizimleriyle öyle güzel yorumlamış ki romanı, zaten müthiş bir anlatı bir kat daha kusursuzlaşmış, kendisini takipteyim.
Bu şaşırtıcı çizgiromanı bastıkları için Show Kitap'a ne kadar teşekkür etsek az.
Bu şaşırtıcı çizgiromanı bastıkları için Show Kitap'a ne kadar teşekkür etsek az.
February 24, 2025
started and finished quickly. many thoughts about language and art and authorship. excited to come back to this and see through the graphics for a second time. i almost want to use the word brilliant
October 12, 2023
La Ciudad de Cristal es parte de la Trilogía de Nueva York (quizás la novela más conocida o "clásica" de Auster?), pero esta es una adaptación al formato novela gráfica.
Debo decir como SUPER FAN de Paul Auster, que esta adaptación me pareció EXCELENTE. Es más, ayuda a entender mejor toda la complejidad que ofrece la versión original. Se disfruta más, y el arte es muuuy bueno.
Recomiendo mucho si te gustan las novelas gráficas, y también el género policial.
Debo decir como SUPER FAN de Paul Auster, que esta adaptación me pareció EXCELENTE. Es más, ayuda a entender mejor toda la complejidad que ofrece la versión original. Se disfruta más, y el arte es muuuy bueno.
Recomiendo mucho si te gustan las novelas gráficas, y también el género policial.
December 1, 2021
I generally have very little interest in comics that adapt prose novels, but I made an exception for this one because David Mazzucchelli’s Asterios Polyp is one of my favourite comics, and a lot people seem to think his work on City of Glass is in the same league (and in any case, it’s one of the few other things he’s published outside of superheroes).
To be perfectly honest, my misgivings about adaptations haven’t been fully assuaged. I’ve never read the original novel (or any Auster), but I can’t shake the feeling that this comic is something of an abridged version – a taster to whet my appetite for the real thing. I can’t really say whether that’s just a product of my own prejudice, if it’s due to a failure on the part of the adapters, or if it’s inevitable because of the nature of the comic medium. What I can say is that, despite a creeping sense that the original is probably superior, I still really like the comic.
It’s a very postmodernist work, in a way that reminds me of Thomas Pynchon. Events flow from realistic to surreal in a disorientating manner, characters deliver stream-of-consciousness soliloquies, everyone’s sanity is questionable, and the plot is full of inexplicable, bizarre twists and turns. Moreover, there are direct philosophical discussions of decidedly postmodernist topics, such as the relationship between words and the true essence of the things they describe, and the existence of a true self independent of the roles one fulfills (the same themes that are explored indirectly through the story). This is an unashamedly intellectual and literary work, sometimes dense and often confusing, and I can’t say I fully grasp everything it’s trying to say, but nonetheless I certainly enjoy it overall. It’s compelling both as a weird and wonderful series of strange happenings, and as a thought-provoking exploration of heady topics.
The art does a perfect job of matching and enhancing the narrative’s particular brand of weirdness. Although the story’s low on action and full of long conversations, there are no pages filled with talking heads. Instead, focus shifts mesmerizingly from characters to backgrounds to thoughts to memories to inexplicably evocative abstraction. This is exactly the kind of masterful and innovative use of the comic medium that Mazzucchelli demonstrates in Asterios Polyp, so on this count, it doesn’t disappoint at all. Interestingly, though, it’s not clear how much actually comes from Mazzucchelli himself, and how much is from his collaborator, Paul Karasik. Karasik is actually credited above Mazzucchelli on the cover, and both are just credited for “adaptation”, with no indication of how their duties were divided. My edition has a foreword by Art Spiegelman that suggests Karasik is actually responsible for the more innovative and abstract elements. In any case, the style is consistent throughout, with no sign that the two artists drew different pages.
In sum, this hasn’t quite dispelled my reservations about adaptations – I feel compelled to read the novel to compare – but, if I put that consideration aside and treat this as a work in its own right, I can say unreservedly that it’s an excellent one. It’s cerebral, surreal and enigmatic in ways that may sometimes be a little frustrating, but are totally enthralling.
To be perfectly honest, my misgivings about adaptations haven’t been fully assuaged. I’ve never read the original novel (or any Auster), but I can’t shake the feeling that this comic is something of an abridged version – a taster to whet my appetite for the real thing. I can’t really say whether that’s just a product of my own prejudice, if it’s due to a failure on the part of the adapters, or if it’s inevitable because of the nature of the comic medium. What I can say is that, despite a creeping sense that the original is probably superior, I still really like the comic.
It’s a very postmodernist work, in a way that reminds me of Thomas Pynchon. Events flow from realistic to surreal in a disorientating manner, characters deliver stream-of-consciousness soliloquies, everyone’s sanity is questionable, and the plot is full of inexplicable, bizarre twists and turns. Moreover, there are direct philosophical discussions of decidedly postmodernist topics, such as the relationship between words and the true essence of the things they describe, and the existence of a true self independent of the roles one fulfills (the same themes that are explored indirectly through the story). This is an unashamedly intellectual and literary work, sometimes dense and often confusing, and I can’t say I fully grasp everything it’s trying to say, but nonetheless I certainly enjoy it overall. It’s compelling both as a weird and wonderful series of strange happenings, and as a thought-provoking exploration of heady topics.
The art does a perfect job of matching and enhancing the narrative’s particular brand of weirdness. Although the story’s low on action and full of long conversations, there are no pages filled with talking heads. Instead, focus shifts mesmerizingly from characters to backgrounds to thoughts to memories to inexplicably evocative abstraction. This is exactly the kind of masterful and innovative use of the comic medium that Mazzucchelli demonstrates in Asterios Polyp, so on this count, it doesn’t disappoint at all. Interestingly, though, it’s not clear how much actually comes from Mazzucchelli himself, and how much is from his collaborator, Paul Karasik. Karasik is actually credited above Mazzucchelli on the cover, and both are just credited for “adaptation”, with no indication of how their duties were divided. My edition has a foreword by Art Spiegelman that suggests Karasik is actually responsible for the more innovative and abstract elements. In any case, the style is consistent throughout, with no sign that the two artists drew different pages.
In sum, this hasn’t quite dispelled my reservations about adaptations – I feel compelled to read the novel to compare – but, if I put that consideration aside and treat this as a work in its own right, I can say unreservedly that it’s an excellent one. It’s cerebral, surreal and enigmatic in ways that may sometimes be a little frustrating, but are totally enthralling.
August 3, 2011
I thought this was a pretty amazing graphic novel, and I definitely plan on reading the original City of Glass next. Concepts of identity, the role of the author in creating meaning, and the blurred line between fiction and reality are all present here, and explored in quite an intriguing way. I don't know how I felt about the ending, though. Maybe I just haven't thought about it enough, but it seemed too open-ended to me. In a way it makes sense, since this story is not a traditional narrative. It attempts to extend itself beyond the confines of the page by involving the author himself as a "fictional" character (but he's still the author...further complicated by the fact that Quinn himself is a writer also--but goes by a different pen name). Still, I would have liked an ending that was more...final...even if that finality was contrived (as all literary endings are, I guess).
I think what left me wanting a "final" ending was the fact that the story starts off in a somewhat "normal" narrative vein. The issues of identity and the inclusion of the author are introduced pretty early on, but about 3/4 of the way in, the narrative quickly descends into abstraction. A part of me loves it, a part of me doesn't. I'm undecided I guess.
I think what left me wanting a "final" ending was the fact that the story starts off in a somewhat "normal" narrative vein. The issues of identity and the inclusion of the author are introduced pretty early on, but about 3/4 of the way in, the narrative quickly descends into abstraction. A part of me loves it, a part of me doesn't. I'm undecided I guess.
August 20, 2008
'La ciudad de cristal' es mi favorita de todas las cosas que ha escrito Paul Auster. Es también lo primero que leí de este escritor. Es la primera parte de la 'Trilogía de Nueva York' que a día de hoy me sigue pareciendo la única obra de Auster realmente conseguida. Es por esto que me animé a leer esta adaptación en forma de cómic (o novela gráfica, lo que ustedes prefieran). Una parte de mí no era muy optimista. Una parte de mí sólo quería leerlo para ver como este noble intento fracasaba. Sin embargo, no ha sido así. A pesar de que es una historia muy poco visual y bastante abstracta, el cómic se sale airoso, encuentra una serie de soluciones visuales realmente originales y que plasman perfectamente el tono de la obra original de Auster sin dejar de dar un punto de vista personal, algo que no era nada pero nada fácil. La recomendaría para curiosos que disfrutaron de la 'Trilogía de Nueva York'.
December 24, 2017
Interesting comics adaptation of Auster's novel is very strong on graphic design. Karasik and Mazzucchelli do some remarkable work with layout and panel design, with mixing representational and symbolic art. It's a pleasure to look at. Narratively, though, this is a highly self-conscious and post-modern take on noir. It includes the expected elements--first-person narrative, femme fatale, long-hidden secrets, etc.--but it's not really interested in telling a story so much as exploring subjectivity and indeterminacy. as a result, what's actually going on is never made clear--if, indeed, Auster even had a clear idea. Mystery is always about finally explaining the inexplicable, so it perhaps lends itself especially well to postmodern subversion of objectivity and determinability. But if you like your mysteries to have resolutions, and your plot points to have payoffs, you would do well to look elsewhere.
May 4, 2015
This is one of the most moving, weird, horrifying, heart-stopping graphic novels I've ever read, and there aren't many friends I'll be recommending it to- but I loved it.
I kept singing the Fionn Regan song that says, "For the loneliness you foster/ I suggest Paul Auster," as the book deals with the themes of language, names, identity, and how we use all those things to both reveal and conceal.
"Things have broken apart, and our words have not adapted. If we can't name a common object, how can we speak of things that truly concern us? My work is simple. In New York, brokenness is everywhere. I collect shattered objects to examine, and I give them names."
I kept singing the Fionn Regan song that says, "For the loneliness you foster/ I suggest Paul Auster," as the book deals with the themes of language, names, identity, and how we use all those things to both reveal and conceal.
"Things have broken apart, and our words have not adapted. If we can't name a common object, how can we speak of things that truly concern us? My work is simple. In New York, brokenness is everywhere. I collect shattered objects to examine, and I give them names."
December 15, 2017
This book surprised me!! The story wasn't my favorite thing - if I had read the novel that inspired this graphic novel, the rating probably wouldn't be this high... but the story was done so well in graphic novel format
The way art was used to tell a story, to (I suspect) show the rhythm of the writing, the visual and metaphors that probably existed in the novel... I just can't express how well art was used in this - it was done in a way I had never seen before, it was more than just telling you what happened, it explored the mind and writing as a process
Really, if you like art, check out this book, because it was used in such an amazing way :)
The way art was used to tell a story, to (I suspect) show the rhythm of the writing, the visual and metaphors that probably existed in the novel... I just can't express how well art was used in this - it was done in a way I had never seen before, it was more than just telling you what happened, it explored the mind and writing as a process
Really, if you like art, check out this book, because it was used in such an amazing way :)
February 13, 2015
Se trata de una novela gráfica que relata el primer volumen de la Trilogía de Nueva York de Paul Auster, y editado por Anagrama.
Con un trazo sencillo y un tanto tosco, recorre la historia desde el punto de vista de su protagonista. Aparte de seguir la trama de forma bastante fidedigna, usa recursos muy imaginativos desde el punto de vista visual para hacer hablar a sus personajes y para describir ideas abstractas y confusas que aparecen en la narración original. Es además una oportunidad idónea para acercar a los que no conocen la historia al libro original.
Con un trazo sencillo y un tanto tosco, recorre la historia desde el punto de vista de su protagonista. Aparte de seguir la trama de forma bastante fidedigna, usa recursos muy imaginativos desde el punto de vista visual para hacer hablar a sus personajes y para describir ideas abstractas y confusas que aparecen en la narración original. Es además una oportunidad idónea para acercar a los que no conocen la historia al libro original.
July 8, 2020
Цей комікс має приголомшливу літературну основу яку, втім, не адаптує, а лише ілюструє. Зводити арт-комікс до простого ілюстрування є гріхом, так і запишіть.
Цікавості у нарації тут немає, глибини, як у оригіналі Остера - теж, бо нам одразу подають історію як сюрреалістичну, а не потроху зводять той сюр до його піку. Тим, хто читав "Нью-Йоркську трилогію", зайде ще й як. Тим, хто не читав, то краще спочатку таки оригінал, аби собі ж не спойлерити та провідчувати все якнайліпше, а потім вже цей альбом маццуккелівських ілюстрацій.
Цікавості у нарації тут немає, глибини, як у оригіналі Остера - теж, бо нам одразу подають історію як сюрреалістичну, а не потроху зводять той сюр до його піку. Тим, хто читав "Нью-Йоркську трилогію", зайде ще й як. Тим, хто не читав, то краще спочатку таки оригінал, аби собі ж не спойлерити та провідчувати все якнайліпше, а потім вже цей альбом маццуккелівських ілюстрацій.
February 4, 2014
Fucking stupid.
It's nothing short of a cute and novel expiriment that doesn't really go anywhere. My disapointment with this graphic novel was sorely exacerbated once I found out Spiegelman was the creative overseer and he did nothing to focus the narrative which is presented way too piecemeal and cut up for a normal reader to understand littleone enjoy.
It's nothing short of a cute and novel expiriment that doesn't really go anywhere. My disapointment with this graphic novel was sorely exacerbated once I found out Spiegelman was the creative overseer and he did nothing to focus the narrative which is presented way too piecemeal and cut up for a normal reader to understand littleone enjoy.
January 5, 2019
Adaptación de la famosa primer parte de la trilogía de New York.
El escritor no se caracteriza por escribir cómics y el artista es un afamado dibujante de superhéroes.
Esta adaptación expande la complejidad del libro al punto que veo difícil entenderlo sin haber leído la novela.
Interesante experimento narrativo que juega con los planos y la metafísica de forma muy original.
El escritor no se caracteriza por escribir cómics y el artista es un afamado dibujante de superhéroes.
Esta adaptación expande la complejidad del libro al punto que veo difícil entenderlo sin haber leído la novela.
Interesante experimento narrativo que juega con los planos y la metafísica de forma muy original.
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