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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
This is a completely different thing, though. An exploration of gender roles through the lens of two father/daughter relationships: That of Mary Talbot and her father, a Joycean scholar; and that of James Joyce himself and his daughter Lucia, a talented dancer whose ambitions were suppressed and thwarted by her family.
There are a lot of things here that will stick with me. Depictions of Mary's father's rages look all too familiar.
Dotter of Her Father's Eyes is a book of parallels. The writer, Mary Talbot is the only daughter of a (still) highly respected Joycean scholar. Upon finding his old railcard, she reminisces about her childhood and draws comparisons between it and that of Lucia Joyce, dancer daughter of James Joyce. There are small similarities (both have parents named Jim and Nora), but the main one, and indeed the focus of the book, is their troubled relationships with their fathers. Mary's is cold and emotionally abusive; Lucia's is old fashioned and refuses to let her live her life. Both women suffer as a result, and both reach out for love, with opposite effects.
The artwork was a turn off for me at first. To me, it looks like an old fashioned comic book. I did come to appreciate it shortly however, and now after finishing the book I find it actually beautiful in spots. Bryan Talbot, the artist and husband of the writer, changed the color scheme to differentiate between the different stories, but the transition was always smooth an natural, despite there being no warning of a change in neither text nor art.
As far as the story goes, it's good. Two strong women, one who gave up dancing, one who couldn't give up dancing, trying to cope with life with their fathers makes for a very interesting read, especially if the reader is interested in feminism in any form. The author does not try to force the similarities between Lucia's life and her own; she openly acknowledges differences, but clearly still feels connected to Joyce's daughter. The dialogue is sometimes unnatural, but this is hardly ever the case. As it's Mary Talbot's first graphic novel, I find the small lack of sincere sounding dialogue excusable.
The book isn't typical of its medium. I find it to be much more intelligent and subtle than many graphic novels I've read (and enjoyed), and I think that the genre of thoughtful graphic novels is rising. I very much enjoyed this book. The story seemed cut a little short, but I suppose wanting more is the biggest sign of a good one.
