I was trying to explain why Guantanamo Voices worked so potently for me to somebody and I think it centres on the inescapability of the image. If I weI was trying to explain why Guantanamo Voices worked so potently for me to somebody and I think it centres on the inescapability of the image. If I were to say to you, for example, the word "cat", it might mean a thousand things. A tabby, a grey, white, ginger; stood, walking, sleeping, whatever. Your idea of that word is yours and I can't ever quite know what that is. We'll have some commonality, sure (I'll say "cat" and you'll know I mean a "cat thing" as opposed to, say, a "hammer") but your image of the word is yours and yours alone.
But when it comes to graphic novels, we have to see what's there; the image becomes this dominant lens of interpretation; it is what we see and we both see the same thing and we can't escape that. And that's where Guantanamo Voices does something remarkable: it presents these awful, hideous, challenging, 'don't look away' stories, and it makes you see them. It makes you not look away.
And there's a lot here to not look away from. Guantanamo Voices is a collection of interviews with key players; the journalist, the prisoner, the social worker and more. Each interview is put together by a different artist, whilst Mirk's experience as a visiting journalist functions as something of a bookend. There's some savvy editing work at play here; the art throughout adopts a similar, cohesive palette, whilst the individual artist is still able to inject their own style and dynamism to the text.
An unflinching piece of work with some wise, transparent curation....more
I was intensely grateful when somebody mentioned this book to me because it covers a lot of areas I'm interested in. I collect a series of books set aI was intensely grateful when somebody mentioned this book to me because it covers a lot of areas I'm interested in. I collect a series of books set around Innsbruck and during many of the periods that The Lost Café Schindler covers, and I also write books with a lot of cake and food references in them. The story of an Austrian café and the lives that had wrapped about it was all very much up my street - and indeed it was. There's something rather moving and unusual here, and I'd recommend it in a heartbeat.
What also interested me here was the way in which this is written. Schindler hovers somewhere between family history and personal memoir, literary non-fiction and present day travel guide. It's an intriguing, intoxicating mix of form and style and sometimes it hits rather deeply. There is a lot here to read and reread in the hope that you read it wrong first time round and then, when you realise that you haven't, you read it again because you still can't quite believe it's true. Schindler's research is meticulous and rich, giving as much of herself to the story as she does with the information that she founds out, and you can almost feel her reactions in the archives or the reading rooms as she comes across something new. It's as much a journey into the present as it is into the past and that rather works for me.
My thanks to the publisher for access to the early copy via Netgalley. ...more
I've had a lot of time for Kirsty Applebaum's previous work, so when Nosy Crow sent me a proof of The Life And Time of Lonny Quicke, I was fascinated I've had a lot of time for Kirsty Applebaum's previous work, so when Nosy Crow sent me a proof of The Life And Time of Lonny Quicke, I was fascinated to see what she did with it. The premise is remarkable: what would happen if you could save a life with the touch of your hand -and what if it meant that you got older each time you did it?
I mean, what more of a hook do you need?
Lonny Quicke is a philosophical treatise on what it takes to love and lose and live. The people who can give life at the cost of their own are known as 'lifelings' and they can hear when something is about to die. The people of Farstoke hold a regular festival to celebrate these near-mythical individuals, praying that one will turn up for them when they most need it. And this year, for one family, one does...
Sometimes middle grade literature can pose the biggest questions with such grace, and this is one of those titles. Appelbaum writes with a almost avant-garde stylistic that I really loved. She lets the text do the work, embracing the potential of what the printed word can look like and how that can add to meaning. She lets it work and uses everything at her disposal to make it happen. It's a perfect book to share with young readers and talk about what a book can do. I loved it. I'm here for those books that test the limits of form and shape, always.
Get this one on your pre-orders. There's really nothing else out there like it.
My thanks to the publisher for a review copy....more
I loved this so, so much. The premise is straightforward: details from Rembrandt's artwork on the left, details from Dick Bruna's work on the right. II loved this so, so much. The premise is straightforward: details from Rembrandt's artwork on the left, details from Dick Bruna's work on the right. Icon to icon, genius to genius. A small caption on the right provides some explanatory information and the occasional reader prompt, but mostly you're left to just embrace the dialogue inbetween the two pages. The call, the response. The question, the answer.
It's really beautiful, brilliant stuff.
As a big old nerd I also appreciated the citation list at the back which tells you where everything is from. Mercis have taken a delicious and delightfully wide approach and curated work from Bruna's early days through to his later. We open with a 1966 illustration from 'Cinderella' paired with Rembrandt's 'Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit' (1634) and things just roll on so beautifully from that point. The central spread which sees 'The Night Watch' (1642) wordlessly paired with 'Miffy and Friends dancing' (2002) is stunning stuff. It took my breath away. It really did. ...more
Oh this is nice. Eland's carving herself something of a delightful and rather elegant niche here, discussing complex and often challenging emotions wiOh this is nice. Eland's carving herself something of a delightful and rather elegant niche here, discussing complex and often challenging emotions with a lightness of touch and a beautifully wistful style. Having previously looked at sadness in When Sadness Is at Your Door, she's now focusing on happiness and how it's been with you, all along.
There's a deeply philosophical edge here and I felt like this would pair well with something like The Yes, particularly in the hands of somebody skilled, for both books embrace the strangeness of knowing oneself. These are big and complicated emotions, even for adults, and here Eland delivers her message with an appealing, beautiful softness. Some of the sentences are complex, but there's a sense of reward throughout. This is a book that wants to be read languidly, so go softly, go slowly, go gently into it.
The artwork is a treat as well. Rich and subtle; her use of saturation really appealed to me as well. How does one draw happiness? Here she plumps for something round and rich and solid, coloured in a vibrant, unusual peachy orangey pink. (A precise description, I know, but I'll explain all in a second). It's a colour note that continues throughout the book, sometimes thinner and fainter or fatter and thicker and brighter until the colour almost neons off the page. Neon isn't a verb normally, but it is here. I loved the clarity of her vision, the way that she trusts the reader to piece the story together and figure out what's happening and trust in that.
A beautiful, wise look at emotions and one to treasure. My thanks to the publisher for a review copy....more
Some of the earliest stories I remember reading are myths and legends, and I rather love seeing them reinterpreted and remade for a new generation. AlSome of the earliest stories I remember reading are myths and legends, and I rather love seeing them reinterpreted and remade for a new generation. All stories are remade in the telling of them (and indeed they should) but myths and legends always seem particularly fitting for such a thing. We reinvent them, we remake them (a quick shout out here to the remarkable Wyrd Museum trilogy by Robin Jarvis: The Woven Path) and in reshaping the exterior, we reinforce the heart of them. Does that make sense? It's like the telling of it - the way we dress it up and present it to make it understood by our audience - makes that central point even clearer still. The story may be being told in 1820 or 2020, but Odin still hangs from the tree. Fire is still stolen from Olympus. Loki is still ... Loki. And so these stories endure, survive.
And in How To Be A Hero these stories thrive. I realised it when we got to the door of Asgard which has the message "Frost Giants Keep Out" and, underneath it, "Loki smells of PoOo".
I mean, perfect.
Weldon's well into her stride at this point and things only get better from there. We get a rich and boldly told story which sees a Viking thief team up with a trainee Valkyrie and a very talkative cup. Their adventure takes in the nine worlds and more besides; Vikings who dislike travelling minstrels, a familiar trickster God, and a 'not terribly happy at being disturbed' dragon. It is the first of a trilogy so while there's an ending, it's not as definitive as it might be. Having said that, I found every inch of this a treat and loved it. It is such a distinctive, fun effort.
I always struggle with age recommendations but if you have a confident young reader who still likes the break of illustrations every now and then (Katie Kear's work is lovely here!) then this will be perfect. I'd also recommend pairing it with some non-fiction if you can because Weldon picks up a lot of stories and ideas that a voracious reader would enjoy exploring further. There's a lot here to enjoy.
My thanks to the publisher for a review copy. ...more
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