Reviews

The Barefoot Serpent by Scott Morse

sisteray's review

4.0

A bittersweet story of a family coming to terms with loss, strangely bookended by a very minimal biography of Akira Kurosawa. I understand how Scott Morse sees the connections but really the Kurosawa part, while visually gorgeous, doesn't add much to the story for me. I'm sure that the family story was intended to reveal something about the Kurosawa, and I'm sure that he'd say I'm missing the point, but honestly the side story is far more noteworthy to me and easily stands on its own. That said, the bulk of the book is quite lovely. As usual, I adore his art throughout.

crabbygirl's review

3.0

too bad this book is out of print...
touted as a classic in the realm of the graphic novel, i was curious to see it.
i connected more with the story set on hawaii, but i'm guessing someone who is familliar with the films of akira kurosawa, or even just a film studies student, would get alot out of it.

delladahlia's review

4.0

It has all the core elements of good picture book, but doesn't seem to know what to do with them

heypretty52's review

3.0

Though the framed story is an interesting concept, in this circumstance, the two stories did not seem to work together well. I would have preferred to read an entire graphic based solely around the life of Kurosawa.

hopeevey's review

4.0

This is a lovely example of a story told more in images than words. It's both a biography of Akira Kurosawa, and an alegorical story about healing. I just wish I were more familiar with Kurosawa's work - I think I missed a lot, not being familiar with the context. Its very much well worth a read.

The story-telling has a fairy-tale quality to it. It's much more about feelings and ideas. I'm not sure I'd choose it as a children's book - the ideas are mature, although not 'adult' - but it helps to bring a childlike mind to it.