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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
First of all, I have to admit that I somehow missed the fact that Sailor Twain was a graphic novel when I requested a copy. I was interested in the story blurb, but a little...surprised by the format.
That being said, I think the art was the strongest part of the book. It was gloomy and moody and very atmospheric. I loved the views of the ocean, the steamships, and the cityscapes. I thought it was kind of a weird choice, though, to put such cartoon-y and animated looking characters on such sophisticated background shots. The maps and faux articles on the chapter breaks were a really nice tough. The story was interesting enough (mermaids! mythology! disappearing steamship captains! mysterious authors!) but I didn't feel like it developed as well as it could have, and the characters did not have enough depth.
The hyper-sexualized mermaid was annoying, as was the lusty Lafayette and his sexcapades with every remaining female character. The strongest female shows up a little too late, and with a cool backstory that goes sadly nowhere. I found myself not really caring about what happened to Twain. Also, there is a character that looks exactly like Amy Winehouse. I mean, seriously, what's up with that?
Overall, it was a fun read with an appealing premise and some great art, but I would have preferred a little more story out of its 400 pages.
First of all, I have to admit that I somehow missed the fact that Sailor Twain was a graphic novel when I requested a copy. I was interested in the story blurb, but a little...surprised by the format.
That being said, I think the art was the strongest part of the book. It was gloomy and moody and very atmospheric. I loved the views of the ocean, the steamships, and the cityscapes. I thought it was kind of a weird choice, though, to put such cartoon-y and animated looking characters on such sophisticated background shots. The maps and faux articles on the chapter breaks were a really nice tough. The story was interesting enough (mermaids! mythology! disappearing steamship captains! mysterious authors!) but I didn't feel like it developed as well as it could have, and the characters did not have enough depth.
The hyper-sexualized mermaid was annoying, as was the lusty Lafayette and his sexcapades with every remaining female character. The strongest female shows up a little too late, and with a cool backstory that goes sadly nowhere. I found myself not really caring about what happened to Twain. Also, there is a character that looks exactly like Amy Winehouse. I mean, seriously, what's up with that?
Overall, it was a fun read with an appealing premise and some great art, but I would have preferred a little more story out of its 400 pages.
A beautifully drawn book, both in character depth and the actual illustrations. Definitely a bit open ended, so avoid it if you are not Ito that sort of thing. I don't read a lot of graphic novels but I thoroughly enjoyed this. I'm not actually sure how effective this book would have been without the drawings. An excellent, quick read.
This is a strange book. It's visually stunning and the story was really interesting, but I found myself struggling to follow the story in patches. It started out really disjointed and then throughout the book would skip and jump around a little, or simply not give enough information to explain the plot - and sadly never resolved some of the plot even at the end, which made it kind of frustrating. It's also a bit of a dude sex fantasy, which is tediously common.
Arc from netgalley
Intriguing illustrations, and story. I liked the premise, but did find it a bit hard to follow.
Intriguing illustrations, and story. I liked the premise, but did find it a bit hard to follow.
4.5 stars
This was a really fun graphic novel I picked up in the library without knowing anything about it (which is odd for me as I normally only read graphic novels that are quite popular or from publishers that I’ve requested as I’m not a huge GN reader).
This is about a Captain called Captain Twain who sails on a boat on the Hudson River in the 1800s. There’s a mystery about the disappearance of the original owner of the boar, and his brother is now running it but seems more interested in bedding women. Than Twain comes across an injured mermaid, whom he helps but ends up becoming obsessed with.
The drawings in this were beautiful. I particularly liked many of the drawings of the different women as they were just stunning. I really liked the story around the mystery of the mermaid and how she captured people’s souls with her song. I was a bit confused around the ending of the story and wasn’t 100% sure what actually happened, or what was the end result so I left off a .5 star.
I would really recommend this graphic novel though for an evening’s entertainment.
This was a really fun graphic novel I picked up in the library without knowing anything about it (which is odd for me as I normally only read graphic novels that are quite popular or from publishers that I’ve requested as I’m not a huge GN reader).
This is about a Captain called Captain Twain who sails on a boat on the Hudson River in the 1800s. There’s a mystery about the disappearance of the original owner of the boar, and his brother is now running it but seems more interested in bedding women. Than Twain comes across an injured mermaid, whom he helps but ends up becoming obsessed with.
The drawings in this were beautiful. I particularly liked many of the drawings of the different women as they were just stunning. I really liked the story around the mystery of the mermaid and how she captured people’s souls with her song. I was a bit confused around the ending of the story and wasn’t 100% sure what actually happened, or what was the end result so I left off a .5 star.
I would really recommend this graphic novel though for an evening’s entertainment.
I don't read a ton of graphic novels, but I'm glad I picked this one up. The story and world building was fantastic, and it was a quick, engaging read.
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It's either ok, or quite good. The characters felt real, not idealized, some downright nasty. But there was a lot of jumping around in the way the book was laid out, so it felt a little jarring to go from one chapter to the next, sometimes.
The art is awesome, and I love the feeling of the old NY portrayed here.
The art is awesome, and I love the feeling of the old NY portrayed here.
I was walking through the library one day, and this book was propped up on the shelf in the graphic novels section, its gorgeous cover in shades of blue and green and mystery beckoning to me. I had to check it out and read it immediately. Maybe this book has a siren's song of its own?
Gritty, a little bit gloomy, it reminded me of the depths of the sea, if there was a word to describe how that ocean bottom would feel. Deep and dark, murky and mysterious. Where mermaids dwell. We all know mermaids are said to be heartless and soulless and dangerous, seducing people to their deaths. But if they were real, wouldn't we want to meet one? Like fairies and unicorns, they are magical and curious and otherworldly. The illustrations themselves are beautiful, and reminiscent of the industrial era that this story is set in, all smoky and black and dusty.
Riverboat Captain Elijah Twain is an upright, moral, stand up man. No nonsense and serious, he is the last person you would imagine to fall in thrall to a creature such as a mermaid. He is happily married to his lady love, who is bound to a wheelchair, and to land. He is even drawn angular and sharp, no soft edges to him, that would invite such fancifulness, although I feel riverboat captains are by nature romantic figures. In contrast, French nobleman Lafayette falls in love with almost every woman he meets, speaks of the river and the world around him as a poet would, and seems the least responsible human being on earth. The very opposite of Twain. Of the two, Lafayette is a romantic dreamer, while Twain is a pragmatic realist. They go about their lives upon the river, one engaged in many trysts, one bent on business. Until one night Captain Twain finds an injured mermaid on his deck.
What is the deal? Who is this mermaid? Where did she come from? What happens next? You will have to read it to find out!
One note: This book really isn't for kids. There is the obvious nudity of the mermaid, and other more sexy times illustrations. I was surprised at first, because my library had a sticker over the John Irving blurb that states the book contains erotically charged drawings. So, just in case you didn't see that, there are a few sexual drawings.
I have fallen in love with this genre of books that all began with the book Blankets. Sailor Twain was completely different, but just as entertaining and thought provoking. It is a story that draws you in and holds you under until you reach the end.
Gritty, a little bit gloomy, it reminded me of the depths of the sea, if there was a word to describe how that ocean bottom would feel. Deep and dark, murky and mysterious. Where mermaids dwell. We all know mermaids are said to be heartless and soulless and dangerous, seducing people to their deaths. But if they were real, wouldn't we want to meet one? Like fairies and unicorns, they are magical and curious and otherworldly. The illustrations themselves are beautiful, and reminiscent of the industrial era that this story is set in, all smoky and black and dusty.
Riverboat Captain Elijah Twain is an upright, moral, stand up man. No nonsense and serious, he is the last person you would imagine to fall in thrall to a creature such as a mermaid. He is happily married to his lady love, who is bound to a wheelchair, and to land. He is even drawn angular and sharp, no soft edges to him, that would invite such fancifulness, although I feel riverboat captains are by nature romantic figures. In contrast, French nobleman Lafayette falls in love with almost every woman he meets, speaks of the river and the world around him as a poet would, and seems the least responsible human being on earth. The very opposite of Twain. Of the two, Lafayette is a romantic dreamer, while Twain is a pragmatic realist. They go about their lives upon the river, one engaged in many trysts, one bent on business. Until one night Captain Twain finds an injured mermaid on his deck.
What is the deal? Who is this mermaid? Where did she come from? What happens next? You will have to read it to find out!
One note: This book really isn't for kids. There is the obvious nudity of the mermaid, and other more sexy times illustrations. I was surprised at first, because my library had a sticker over the John Irving blurb that states the book contains erotically charged drawings. So, just in case you didn't see that, there are a few sexual drawings.
I have fallen in love with this genre of books that all began with the book Blankets. Sailor Twain was completely different, but just as entertaining and thought provoking. It is a story that draws you in and holds you under until you reach the end.
I'm a sucker for a tragedy and hauntingly beautiful art. This one is both.
I am somewhat mixed on this book, I waffled back and forth with being engaged in the story and being bored and having to force myself to read on, at least in the first half.
I found I really didn't care for the two main characters, they were too clichéd, unlikable and uninteresting and in the beginning when the book focused on them everything dragged. Once the mermaid and her influence became the focus the story picked up immediately and became engaging, I especially loved the explanation for her being there. I did find the ending a bit lacking, I really wanted a bit more resolution than we got.
For me the true strength of the book is its art. The use of charcoal was a fascinating choice and was especially effective in making the shading subtle and layered and the blacks especially deep. I especially enjoyed the backgrounds, exteriors, images of the steam ship at night, which were haunting and the underwater scenes were just beautiful and otherworldly. I found myself ignoring the story and just studying the drawings over and over. The drawings of the people though were a mixed bag, the women were usually well done and felt like real people but I had trouble with the male characters, especially the main character Twain, his look was so simplistic and cartoony, especially his eyes it was hard to take him serious as a character.
I’m am rating this as high as I am for the art, he did such an amazing job of creating a real feeling world with depth and a feel of history and being lived in and I did enjoy much of the story I just wish the author had spent more time on the myth and magic of the mermaid and less on the uninteresting lead characters, or had made them more interesting.
I found I really didn't care for the two main characters, they were too clichéd, unlikable and uninteresting and in the beginning when the book focused on them everything dragged. Once the mermaid and her influence became the focus the story picked up immediately and became engaging, I especially loved the explanation for her being there. I did find the ending a bit lacking, I really wanted a bit more resolution than we got.
For me the true strength of the book is its art. The use of charcoal was a fascinating choice and was especially effective in making the shading subtle and layered and the blacks especially deep. I especially enjoyed the backgrounds, exteriors, images of the steam ship at night, which were haunting and the underwater scenes were just beautiful and otherworldly. I found myself ignoring the story and just studying the drawings over and over. The drawings of the people though were a mixed bag, the women were usually well done and felt like real people but I had trouble with the male characters, especially the main character Twain, his look was so simplistic and cartoony, especially his eyes it was hard to take him serious as a character.
I’m am rating this as high as I am for the art, he did such an amazing job of creating a real feeling world with depth and a feel of history and being lived in and I did enjoy much of the story I just wish the author had spent more time on the myth and magic of the mermaid and less on the uninteresting lead characters, or had made them more interesting.