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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
It terms of concept, meaning, allegory, artwork, and adding up the puzzle pieces of the story as you go— this is a 5/5 story, no doubt about it. It terms of enjoyment while reading… that’s what brought it down to a 3.5 for me personally (still great mind you).
It reads like a twisted children’s book— which is always a cool concept. I just find I don’t have the mind for children’s fairytale-esque writing styles. Obviously there being a dark twist catches my attention immediately. So I seem to be beside myself here, because the story seems very much to me to be in the background, in the context clues, not in the dialogue or story itself a lot of the time. So I go back and forth from a 4, to a 3, even to a 5. My guess? Depending on the day my rating will most likely change— so how about we settle on a 3.5 for now?
This next bit is the spoiler section you have been warned.
I think it is very obvious the man in the woods is not only her killer, but most likely her sexual abuser. She talked about her prince throughout the book, who ends up being fickle. But in the very end of the book she seems obsessed with the “giant” man in the woods. Calling him “her prince” at the end. I think her child brain was trying to rectify this abuse and make it palatable in some way.
The other characters also do seem to be personalities of the child herself. One being mature and not as present due to the lack of maturity in a child. And then onwards to one’s who are mean. It’s apparent the personality named after the child itself is the dominant personality. Seemingly kind and gracious. But after being hurt one too many times, is angry, and violent. I’m not sure if they are facets of her personality, fantasy, just allegory for hardships in life, or actual DID systems in a sexual abuse victim. Perhaps all of the above.
This is not a graphic novel that aims to teach you anything necessarily, to bring in the light or show you the way home— this is simply a testament to the darkness of life. Not celebrating it, but stating it as a matter of fact.
It reads like a twisted children’s book— which is always a cool concept. I just find I don’t have the mind for children’s fairytale-esque writing styles. Obviously there being a dark twist catches my attention immediately. So I seem to be beside myself here, because the story seems very much to me to be in the background, in the context clues, not in the dialogue or story itself a lot of the time. So I go back and forth from a 4, to a 3, even to a 5. My guess? Depending on the day my rating will most likely change— so how about we settle on a 3.5 for now?
This next bit is the spoiler section you have been warned.
I think it is very obvious the man in the woods is not only her killer, but most likely her sexual abuser. She talked about her prince throughout the book, who ends up being fickle. But in the very end of the book she seems obsessed with the “giant” man in the woods. Calling him “her prince” at the end. I think her child brain was trying to rectify this abuse and make it palatable in some way.
The other characters also do seem to be personalities of the child herself. One being mature and not as present due to the lack of maturity in a child. And then onwards to one’s who are mean. It’s apparent the personality named after the child itself is the dominant personality. Seemingly kind and gracious. But after being hurt one too many times, is angry, and violent. I’m not sure if they are facets of her personality, fantasy, just allegory for hardships in life, or actual DID systems in a sexual abuse victim. Perhaps all of the above.
This is not a graphic novel that aims to teach you anything necessarily, to bring in the light or show you the way home— this is simply a testament to the darkness of life. Not celebrating it, but stating it as a matter of fact.
Wow, this is one of the weirdest books I remember reading. Deeply creepy and macabre (it's not for the squeamish), but beautiful with it. A little of The Gashlycrumb Tinies mixed with Lord of the Flies, depicted in a fairy-tale pallet. But that still doesn't give an adequate sense of what to expect. At heart, it's a slightly meandering story of how children behave in a group, with the kindnesses and loyalties and cruelties and jealousies that involved, with plenty of dark and deadly twists along the way. And the children are weird, tiny forest folk. I'm missing one of the most singular things of the book on purpose (and which you may well already know), because it actually has little to do with the plot, and also shapes expectations of the book so much that I feel like it is misleading to mention it. But you probably already know.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is one of the strangest stories I have read in a long time. I feel it was lost in translation for me. That is why I'm not going to give it a low rating. The art is five stars. It's the whole reason I did not DNF. It's very dark, so don't let the cover fool you. I would recommend it if you like anti-fairy tales that are open to interpretation because you are not given any answers as to what is happening and why.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
This was very dark and very beautiful. Reminiscent of the scariest fairy tale- a little Alice in Wonderland, The Borrowers, and Lord of the Flies.
High school and up, I think.
High school and up, I think.
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Can't say that I liked it, just like I can't say I liked Ari Aster's Hereditary, but it certainly achieves what it proposes to. It isn't quite horror, but plain evil. And the worst is that it is "casual" evil, the kind you could understand, you can make excuses for until you've become desensitized and then you are the monster. So I guess it's horror, after all.
4.5 stars
I maybe shouldn't have read this while eating. Kind of gristly.
It's especially notable because of the contrast between the beautiful watercolor images and the terrible things it depicts.
Based on the text on the back I think it's supposed to be a commentary on the evil of people's hearts but I'm not so sure of that. The author chooses to have children at the core of his tale and thus postulates that therefore we all are as selfish and cruel as children, especially these children, and I don't buy it. Sure, nature is red in tooth and claw but I'm not sure that I really buy into this version of Lord of the Flies. Compelling as hell, though.
I maybe shouldn't have read this while eating. Kind of gristly.
It's especially notable because of the contrast between the beautiful watercolor images and the terrible things it depicts.
Based on the text on the back I think it's supposed to be a commentary on the evil of people's hearts but I'm not so sure of that. The author chooses to have children at the core of his tale and thus postulates that therefore we all are as selfish and cruel as children, especially these children, and I don't buy it. Sure, nature is red in tooth and claw but I'm not sure that I really buy into this version of Lord of the Flies. Compelling as hell, though.
I was gifted Beautiful Darkness by Alex for my birthday, a recommendation she recieved by asking for something "cute but also involving a murder". This book couldn't have delivered more effectively on both of those fronts.
Beautiful Darkness is an absurd dark comedy that blends fairy tale and dystopian horror in a perfectly seamless way. Going into this book blind I was surprised by how quickly this story transitioned from cute to horrifying, and how evenly it towed that line throughout its entirety. I have never read a graphic novel that had me alternating between laughing and grimmacing panel to panel. This book takes some absolutely insane turns and I am here for it.
The art in this book is stunning. I have just finished up the series Descender by Jeff Lemire which is also watercoloured, however these two novels take on very different tones despite being illustrated with the same medium. Beautiful Darkness is illustrated like a fairy tale, and clearly draws a lot of inspiration from childrens books. I loved this art style juxtaposed with the edgy content. It made for a very fun experience and kept me on my toes as to what direction the plot would take next.
Beautiful Darkness is an absurd dark comedy that blends fairy tale and dystopian horror in a perfectly seamless way. Going into this book blind I was surprised by how quickly this story transitioned from cute to horrifying, and how evenly it towed that line throughout its entirety. I have never read a graphic novel that had me alternating between laughing and grimmacing panel to panel. This book takes some absolutely insane turns and I am here for it.
The art in this book is stunning. I have just finished up the series Descender by Jeff Lemire which is also watercoloured, however these two novels take on very different tones despite being illustrated with the same medium. Beautiful Darkness is illustrated like a fairy tale, and clearly draws a lot of inspiration from childrens books. I loved this art style juxtaposed with the edgy content. It made for a very fun experience and kept me on my toes as to what direction the plot would take next.
Giving this one 4-4.5 stars. I absolutely adored the watercolour illustrations, almost as if they were ripped straight from old postcards from the early 1900s. One issue I had with the book is it leaves far too many unanswered questions in its wake. I understand that it has less of a focus on structure and more on feeling, but some things are hard to understand, such as whether the girl at the start was killed or died due to unforeseen circumstances; did the man in the woods kill her; why were the imaginary creatures afraid of alerting the man if he has shown no notice of them before?
A great but terribly dark fantasy read. I'm not surprised that there is a recommendation from Kathe Koja on the back.
A great but terribly dark fantasy read. I'm not surprised that there is a recommendation from Kathe Koja on the back.