Scan barcode
trevoryan's review against another edition
2.0
I was excited to read this. A biography on Schlitzie The Pinhead sounds pretty fascinating. But this book is mostly just a recitation of facts, with pictures. Griffith definitely could have used some help from a writer, to give the book a narrative story.
shinypurplepants's review against another edition
informative
I picked this up after watching Freaks for the first time, curious to learn more about one of the film's sideshow actors. From the comic you get the vague impression that Schlitzie Surtees lived an interesting life surrounded by so many different types of people. It was worth picking up but I don't feel like there was much story to tell beyond the types of acts he did under different management.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Mental illness
tx2its's review against another edition
2.0
Reading 2020
Book 42: Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Schlitzie the Pinhead by Bill Griffith
Another graphic novel, this time an adult selection. Not sure how I can across this book, I think this was when the library put a bunch of graphic novels where the holds were and I could not resist.
This is a graphic novel biography about a man who had a long career. Schlitzie (pronounced like Schlitz beer), was sold by his parents to a show as a child. He was from a large family and it was hard to feed everyone. His parents felt like they had no choice. Schlitzie performed in many different acts over his career, mostly being dressed up as a girl or woman.
The reviews for this book were pretty good when I picked it up. Not sure that I followed along very well, or understood what was happening at all times. I was hoping to like the book more than I did, 2⭐️.
Book 42: Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Schlitzie the Pinhead by Bill Griffith
Another graphic novel, this time an adult selection. Not sure how I can across this book, I think this was when the library put a bunch of graphic novels where the holds were and I could not resist.
This is a graphic novel biography about a man who had a long career. Schlitzie (pronounced like Schlitz beer), was sold by his parents to a show as a child. He was from a large family and it was hard to feed everyone. His parents felt like they had no choice. Schlitzie performed in many different acts over his career, mostly being dressed up as a girl or woman.
The reviews for this book were pretty good when I picked it up. Not sure that I followed along very well, or understood what was happening at all times. I was hoping to like the book more than I did, 2⭐️.
finnsnowbevi's review
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Alcohol and Death of parent
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
3.0
Some biographies give me the feeling that the creator is too close to his subject matter to know what parts of the story are interesting, and what can be edited out.
That's how this felt to me.
The story of Schlitzie is interesting, but the transitions from sideshow to sideshow were all fairly similar, and they seemed unnecessarily repetitive from a narrative standpoint.
Overall, I felt that this was an enjoyable 100 page graphic novel that expanded into a 250 page passion project that will probably delight both Bill Griffith fans, and those more interested in the biography of a 20th century sideshow performer, but kept losing my attention.
I recommend it for fans of Zippy the Pinhead, sideshow enthusiasts, and anyone whose graphic novel interest leans more towards biography than fiction.
That's how this felt to me.
The story of Schlitzie is interesting, but the transitions from sideshow to sideshow were all fairly similar, and they seemed unnecessarily repetitive from a narrative standpoint.
Overall, I felt that this was an enjoyable 100 page graphic novel that expanded into a 250 page passion project that will probably delight both Bill Griffith fans, and those more interested in the biography of a 20th century sideshow performer, but kept losing my attention.
I recommend it for fans of Zippy the Pinhead, sideshow enthusiasts, and anyone whose graphic novel interest leans more towards biography than fiction.
aeternizare's review against another edition
5.0
Bloody engaging book, beautifully drawn and a delight to read.
alex_kies's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0