April 2009 - Posts
If you have never read a Graphic novel, you’re not alone, but I have discovered there is something in the Graphix collection for almost everyone. One that I could not put down is Persepolis : [the story of a childhood] by Satrapi, Marjane, 1969-.
Released as a movie in 2007, Persepolis tells Satrapi’s story of growing up in Iran, and how her life and world changed completely during the Islamic Revolution of 1979. It is easy to relate to the young Satrapi, and both the text and images are simple, direct and powerful.
A couple others I highly recommend are The rabbi's cat by Sfar, Joann., a whimsical and delightful story featuring a talking cat; Maus : a survivor's tale by Spiegelman, Art. ; and Unshelved, vol. 01 by Barnes, Bill, 1967-—the hilarious adventures of Dewey the young adult librarian.
Whether you are interested in memoirs or adaptations of classic literature, you can find it in a Graphic novel.
The Eyre affair : a novel [featuring Thursday Next] by Fforde, Jasper.
Come, thou tortoise : [a novel] by Grant, Jessica, 1972-
Buy-ology : truth and lies about why we buy by Lindstrom, Martin, 1970-
The lemon tree : an Arab, a Jew, and the heart of the Middle East by Tolan, Sandy.
The glass castle : a memoir by Walls, Jeannette.
How is a family formed? What paths did they take to get from there, to here? And what secrets are hidden in the family history? These are the questions that Jeffrey Eugenides seeks to answer in Middlesex : [a novel] by Eugenides, Jeffrey.. The novel follows a family of Greek Americans from their beginnings in Greece to their new home in Detroit, Michigan. Through the eyes of the narrator, we, as readers, trace the journey through three generations: Lefty and Desdemona, Milton and Tessie and, finally, the narrator, Cal/Callie Stephanides, themselves. What is revealed as the story progresses is a web of family history, journeys, genetics and tales that spin out as effortlessly as the silkworms Desdemona carried from her Grecian homeland to America. However, as with all stories, there are questions that need to be answered. Eugenides answers them with a style and grace that will leave you, at the end of the novel, wanting to revisit this family again.
