Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Kingdom” as Want to Read:
Kingdom
by
A journey through the inbetween places of the British landscape to the bleak coast, Kingdom follows a family on their holiday to a small caravan park, where teenager Andrew explores the dunes, and half-remembered stories from the past are shared.
Once again, Jon McNaught creates a beautiful graphic novel that makes the ordinary, extraordinary.
Once again, Jon McNaught creates a beautiful graphic novel that makes the ordinary, extraordinary.
Hardcover, 128 pages
Published
August 6th 2019
by Nobrow
(first published October 1st 2018)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Kingdom,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Kingdom
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Kingdom
After just having read Kevin Huizenga's close look at insomnia in the mundane life of an unemployed man in Glenn Ganges in The River at Night, it only seems right to follow that read with the quiet, lovely tale of a holiday a mum and her two young children' take, visiting an older aunt's house at the sea. The kids are throughly bored visiting the old woman, forced to look at old photographs of when Mom was young, getting respite only from video games and sci fi movies on the telly.
The natural s ...more
The natural s ...more
The boredom of a holiday at the english seaside is beautifully translated in the sequence of the drawings.
The slogans on lorries that offer a slight distraction as you are driven along the motorway by a parent. The false promises of a shopping centre. The certainty that you'll love somewhere because the same parent once loved being there. The knowing that it won't be so. The weather. The boy who's tougher than you (or wants you to believe he is). The unnoticed birds calling and dining on fast food. The visit to a great-aunt. The ornaments in her home. The caravan park where others are, perhaps, havi
...more
There is something about the caravan holiday experience. You set off full of promise, with involuntary pipe-dreams of making new friends, romantic connections and wild adventures. Ultimately though there seems to be little disappointment in the real experience that finds you heading home after a subtle and introspective time. In his new Graphic novel Kingdom, Jon McNaught gives any people-watcher or pensive soul the opportunity of their dreams to zoom in on an ordinary family on the motorway dur
...more
"*KSK*
*FIZZ*
*PATTER*
'Should've tapped the top.'
'What?'
'Stops it fizzing over.'
'Oh yeah... I forgot.'
*CRASH*
*SIP*
*GURGLE*
'Reckon Carlsberg is my third favourite beer.'
*KSSSHHH*
'It goes... uh...
...Budweiser first...
...then Fosters...
...then Carlsberg.'
'Yeah, same probably.'
*SIP*
'You ever had Guinness?'
'Yeah, obviously!'
'...'
'Guinness is my fourth favourite.'"
*FIZZ*
*PATTER*
'Should've tapped the top.'
'What?'
'Stops it fizzing over.'
'Oh yeah... I forgot.'
*CRASH*
*SIP*
*GURGLE*
'Reckon Carlsberg is my third favourite beer.'
*KSSSHHH*
'It goes... uh...
...Budweiser first...
...then Fosters...
...then Carlsberg.'
'Yeah, same probably.'
*SIP*
'You ever had Guinness?'
'Yeah, obviously!'
'...'
'Guinness is my fourth favourite.'"
This style of artwork did very little for me and yet his talent is clearly apparent. There were plenty of moments where this looked like it could have developed into something creepy and special, but instead what we got is a lot of squawking, cawing birds, computer games, phone reception related dramas and a series of fragmented beach encounters.
I think the danger of trying to cram so many small panels onto the page is that it can become crowded, distracting and annoying. More is les ...more
I picked this up because I liked the art. It looks very printmaker-like with bold blocky colors that are clearly separated by negative space. Each page or pair of pages usually has the same color scheme, which gives even more of a printerly feel. The colors are a bit muted and on the cool side, which is very my aesthetic.
In terms of the structure of the comic, there's overall very little dialogue and it's very believable: it's a family on a vacation that only the parent wants to go on and one o ...more
In terms of the structure of the comic, there's overall very little dialogue and it's very believable: it's a family on a vacation that only the parent wants to go on and one o ...more
I can imagine (perhaps unfairly) that there are some readers who will finish this exquisite book and think, "But nothing happened," and I guess that's technically true.
But on the other hand, everything happens. As I read this, I found I often had a catch in my throat; even though my own family vacations took place in a wholly different time and country, Kingdom seems, somehow, universally evocative of a certain kind of nostalgia, helped by its allowance for silence -- the "nothing happened" aspect.
But on the other hand, everything happens. As I read this, I found I often had a catch in my throat; even though my own family vacations took place in a wholly different time and country, Kingdom seems, somehow, universally evocative of a certain kind of nostalgia, helped by its allowance for silence -- the "nothing happened" aspect.
The artwork in this book is absolutely stunning. I love the way McNaught focuses on the minutiae of everyday life, the things that others might not notice or might think uninteresting- because here they become beautiful and fascinating. His way he puts his stories together with minimal dialogue and far more art frames than most comic book/ graphic novelists gives his story a slowly unfolding, meditative kind of feel that has a rhythm unique to McNaught's work. Wonderful stuff.
This is a magical book about an experience that is anything but magical: a family vacation. I might be biased in that regard. My family spent a week each summer at either Hampton Beach, NH or camping outside Misquamicut beach in RI. I have almost no fond memories of these trips.
I am quite fond of Jon McNaught's artwork here. His choice of panel layouts is cinematic, juxtaposing the three main characters with snapshots (get it?) of random details in their surroundings. And by using variations of ...more
I am quite fond of Jon McNaught's artwork here. His choice of panel layouts is cinematic, juxtaposing the three main characters with snapshots (get it?) of random details in their surroundings. And by using variations of ...more
This graphic novel is tactually and visually stunning. The cover has a raw, cardboard feel with a matte design overlayed with a glossy titled, text box. It was the look and feel of the cover that drew me in. It was the muted colored, grid, tiled artwork with very little text that hooked me. The story itself is very plain and not very eventful but the mundaneness of it is what I related to. Kingdom is just the story of a single mom and her two kids taking a road trip to a seaside resort (of sorts
...more
I love the color, detail, and ability to push you into a place each of us can identify with. With the correct graphic novel, this is possible. There is no doubt the talent of Jon McNaught is present, and you certainly sense a rhythm of the environment, that often coincides with individuals.
The overall expectation was missing, and for me was a realization on behalf of one of the characters identified, however, maybe there does not have to be a lightbulb moment in very story. Maybe that is one of ...more
The overall expectation was missing, and for me was a realization on behalf of one of the characters identified, however, maybe there does not have to be a lightbulb moment in very story. Maybe that is one of ...more
What a wonderful journey to the seaside. When I first picked it up, I was intregued because it had very little text and I wanted to know what they story was about. That is the brilliance of McNaught's work. With few words, Jon McNaught was able to tell the story of a mother and her two children as they travel from the city to the seaside for a vacation. Visiting a place that the mother went as a child was a bit of a nostalgic trip for her, but her children had a hard to finding that same connect
...more
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars
A lovely little collection of meditations on growing up in the modern day and age. McNaught's illustration style is so careful and thoughtful, interested in tiny details and moments, sounds and feelings and images. I'd love to see him make a film. This book is both melancholic and content. It mourns what the present has done to the way we socialise, but it also sympathises with the breakdown of communication between generati ...more
Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars
A lovely little collection of meditations on growing up in the modern day and age. McNaught's illustration style is so careful and thoughtful, interested in tiny details and moments, sounds and feelings and images. I'd love to see him make a film. This book is both melancholic and content. It mourns what the present has done to the way we socialise, but it also sympathises with the breakdown of communication between generati ...more
There's something about the boredom of family vacations that McNaught captures beautifully here. Although set in the U.K., this is like every Myrtle Beach vacation I had as a kid. Complete with backseat fights with my sister, visits with elderly relatives I barely knew, and the junk food you're only allowed while road tripping. Also the strange friendships you strike up at the beach. Love the humor, the sound effects and the dream like illustrations.
Although I like McNaught's illustrations--as well as his depiction of a self-absorbed, oblivious teenagers--the book design doesn't do justice to his work: either the format should be larger (too many 1" x 1" panels) or the book should be longer, with the format redesigned. Devoting 3/4 of many pages to 25 1" x 1" images makes the book feel crowded and busy, which counters the feeling it's trying to establish of a family on a weekend holiday to the shore side.
Didn't understand the purpose of the book or why the company thought this was good for the selection of the month. After reading the book details on several websites, I understand why they liked it. I wasn't crazy into but could see what the author was going for. Very little wording which is nice. The reader must read the pictures for the story.
Had a hard time getting immersed at first. But by the end I was in awe of the beautiful sense of place the author had created. I also appreciated the accuracy of the child's limited perspective in the young girl, and the teens sense of confusion at his place in the world. All mostly done with gorgeous illustrations.
A quick graphic novel about a mom and her two kids taking a trip to a caravan park on the British coast. The monotony of the everyday, long car rides, and the boredom of a bleak seaside are perfectly rendered in this book. Not much happens, but really, how much really happens on run-of-the-mill family getaways.
Lovely.
This story goes nowhere, but it's a surprisingly familiar glimpse at a road trip mostly from the perspective of children. The art is beautiful, it looks like papercutting.
Beautiful illustrations and clever portrayal of holiday time minutiae, but the narrative isn’t clever or resolved. I just wanted ‘more’.
memories so vivid you can touch them
dull.
very nice illustrations and a cute story that didn't need much dialogue
A book that perfectly captures a moment in time. The artwork is striking and nostalgic, as other reviewers have said, you could frame any page. A beautiful translation of boredom, family dynamics, and the under whelming promise of a British caravan holiday.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
Jon McNaught was born in 1985. He lives in London where he draws comics, and works as an illustrator, printmaker and lecturer.
His Clients include; Penguin Books, Faber, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Walker Books, Picador, and the BBC.
He is also a regular cover artist for the London Review of Books.
He is the Author of Kingdom, Birch ...more
His Clients include; Penguin Books, Faber, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Walker Books, Picador, and the BBC.
He is also a regular cover artist for the London Review of Books.
He is the Author of Kingdom, Birch ...more
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
