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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
When I picked up this book I had no idea it was a graphic novel, it was also my first graphic novel. I did not love it as much as I expected because I was expecting a deep book about a high school friend from a serial killer. ( which was of course my own fault, I had to do more research about it ) I have seen plenty of documentaries about Jeffrey Dahmer and interviews. I read a lot of reviews about people emphasizing with Jeffrey during this book. Just because of his sad story which probably ( helped )made him the psychopath he turned into. I did not have this feeling during reading this novel compared to when I watched interviews of him. During this novel I felt a lot more creeped out by him then in his interviews. Of course this is written by a high school friend and with the help of other class mates, so this is how they saw him and experienced him as a person. Which probably described the real Jeffrey. In his interviews I found him way more calm. So I know this is all out of their perspective and I keep that in mind. I wasn’t a big fan of the illustrations too. But other then that it wasn’t a bad book and it was a quick and easy read explaining the earlier life of Jeffrey Dahmer and I am still happy I have read it :)
I've never been a fan of this art style - so very 90s grunge-gross with unrealistic faces that seem to groan despite the facial expression. But this is an ugly tale, so an ugly kind of art is good for it. There is nothing good about this story - one with no happy endings for anyone involved. However, a lot of the trouble I have with this take is that Derk Backderf seems to largely blame most of what happened on the lack of responsibility found in the adults who surrounded Dahmer...while completely taking any of it off himself and his group of friends. No one who surrounded Dahmer was truly blameless...but neither could they really be blamed, either. You see the humanity - and inhumanity - of those in the serial killer's life before, during, and slightly after his first murder...but so much of this story is wrapped up in 'Where were the adults?' that you have to wonder if Backderf really does still reel with some weight of responsibility.
Either way, it's an okay read...but I've never been one who gets into the backstories of serial killers and murderers. This wasn't any exception, as it focused so directly on Dahmer's mannerisms and possible state of mind in the time that Backderf knew him. If you're looking for a thriller, you won't find it here...but you will find a portrayal of a character so entirely sickening that it makes one wonder why anyone finds interest in his thought processes at all.
Either way, it's an okay read...but I've never been one who gets into the backstories of serial killers and murderers. This wasn't any exception, as it focused so directly on Dahmer's mannerisms and possible state of mind in the time that Backderf knew him. If you're looking for a thriller, you won't find it here...but you will find a portrayal of a character so entirely sickening that it makes one wonder why anyone finds interest in his thought processes at all.
Jcrois que les reviews goodreads sont plus intéressantes que le livre
Non en vrai j’avais un peu peur de lire cette BD mais finalement j’ai pas trouvé les écueils que j’attendais donc c’est déjà ça
Maintenant on se demande effectivement pourquoi le titre alors qu’ils étaient pas du tout amis : ils le bullied en fait
Qu’est-ce que la BD apporte ? Je sais pas et du coup se pose aussi la question : est-ce que c’est capitaliser sur un truc horrible (et c’est une genuine question j’ai pas la réponse)
Dans les reviews goodreads y’a qq qui disait en gros « okay mais beckderf aurait du se questionner sur ses ressentis et ses émotions au lieu d’essayer de comprendre ce qui se passait chez Dhamer, genre avec du recul comment tu te sens d’avoir fréquenté cette personne ? D’avoir interagi avec lui de la façon dont tu l’as fait ? Etc etc » et j’ai trouvé cette réflexion grave pertinente
Non en vrai j’avais un peu peur de lire cette BD mais finalement j’ai pas trouvé les écueils que j’attendais donc c’est déjà ça
Maintenant on se demande effectivement pourquoi le titre alors qu’ils étaient pas du tout amis : ils le bullied en fait
Qu’est-ce que la BD apporte ? Je sais pas et du coup se pose aussi la question : est-ce que c’est capitaliser sur un truc horrible (et c’est une genuine question j’ai pas la réponse)
Dans les reviews goodreads y’a qq qui disait en gros « okay mais beckderf aurait du se questionner sur ses ressentis et ses émotions au lieu d’essayer de comprendre ce qui se passait chez Dhamer, genre avec du recul comment tu te sens d’avoir fréquenté cette personne ? D’avoir interagi avec lui de la façon dont tu l’as fait ? Etc etc » et j’ai trouvé cette réflexion grave pertinente
derf backderf as usual is an incredible cartoonist--the story is disturbing and eerie, as well as well researched and informative.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
More than anything this story was chilling simply because it made me realize you never how close you can be to someone like Dahmer. What would be worse is knowing that deep down this person didn't really want to become what they did. It makes me wonder what life would have been like if Dahmer had some kind of psychological professional he could reach out to long before he became a murderer?
I have mixed feelings when it comes to the author. I feel like using the word friend in the title is a bit of a stretch because it definitely seemed to me that Backderf didn't treat Dahmer much better than the rest of their peers. The only time Dahmer was included in Backderf's crowd of friends was when he served as a punchline otherwise it was outright exclusion. I'm not discounting that there was some kind of platonic emotional connection that was struck when Backderf found out about the murders but I don't believe it is as deep as the author tries to convey in his narrative. His story adds in a few personal and interesting details of what's available on Dahmer but as some people's reviews have mentioned at the same time it feels somewhat exploitative in a way.
The graphic novel reminded me of how human nature baffles me sometimes particularly in terms of murderers. We don't consider it normal but these people are out there, more of them than we know. I guess it just surprises me that there are ones like Dahmer who crave some kind of normalcy but this compulsion - whatever it is and however it comes about - drives them to a path a majority would never consider let alone take. Needless to say, I liked the narrative for a new perspective on Dahmer rather than the author's story of how he was sort of friends with a would be killer.
I have mixed feelings when it comes to the author. I feel like using the word friend in the title is a bit of a stretch because it definitely seemed to me that Backderf didn't treat Dahmer much better than the rest of their peers. The only time Dahmer was included in Backderf's crowd of friends was when he served as a punchline otherwise it was outright exclusion. I'm not discounting that there was some kind of platonic emotional connection that was struck when Backderf found out about the murders but I don't believe it is as deep as the author tries to convey in his narrative. His story adds in a few personal and interesting details of what's available on Dahmer but as some people's reviews have mentioned at the same time it feels somewhat exploitative in a way.
The graphic novel reminded me of how human nature baffles me sometimes particularly in terms of murderers. We don't consider it normal but these people are out there, more of them than we know. I guess it just surprises me that there are ones like Dahmer who crave some kind of normalcy but this compulsion - whatever it is and however it comes about - drives them to a path a majority would never consider let alone take. Needless to say, I liked the narrative for a new perspective on Dahmer rather than the author's story of how he was sort of friends with a would be killer.
Great backstory that almost makes you feel for Jeffrey Dahmer. I love that he included all of the facts and the research for individual pages. The artwork is great and fitting (the black frames when Dahmer goes beyond return). Chilling.
aan de ene kant vond ik dit oprecht een indrukwekkend boek, en kan ik me bijna niet voorstellen hoe ingewikkeld het moet zijn geweest om dit onder woorden (of beelden) te brengen ook voor jezelf als persoon want het is duidelijk dat deze schrijver er erg mee heeft geworsteld. en dat snap ik, want ondanks het feit dat hij zegt dat het allemaal de schuld van de volwassenen is geweest (en daar heeft hij uiteraard deels een punt, want volwassenen zouden moeten letten op kinderen en zeker ouders) heeft hij duidelijk ook schuldgevoelens erover. het deel dat me dus lichtelijk irriteert is dat hij dit zo wegschuift en zichzelf probeert wijs te maken dat hij er niets aan had kunnen doen, want dat klopt niet. LIKE ik ga niet nu zitten beweren dat het zijn schuld is of dat hij iets had kunnen veranderen of some bullshit want dat is misplaatst maar het irriteert me dat het boek er niet op ingaat dat het wel had GEKUND want wat als hij en z'n groep vrienden wel naar volwassenen waren gestapt of weet ik veel wat? ik vind het een beetje voelen als een manier waarop de schrijver probeert zijn handen te wassen van het hele gebeuren, en idk natuurlijk heb ik eigenlijk geen enkel recht van spreken maar dat maakte het wel intens lastig om sympathie te voelen voor zijn rol in het verhaal. anyway dit is veel te lang en ik heb niets gezegd het spijt me maar goed ik vind het sowieso nog steeds ongemakkelijk om dit soort boeken te lezen het voelt moreel onverantwoord.
The combination of the content and the drawing style made me super uncomfy very quickly. Either I hadn’t known or didn’t remember that Dahmer played with dead animals and that was a hard nope from me.