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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
I liked it! Very different than the movie but still a compelling read/listen. Thanks, Audible!
Really good mystery for a topic that could be silly but kept me constantly guessing. It was definitely different than Disney's version, but in a very vivid way. I would definitely recommend.
The delightful Disney movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit was very loosely based on this book, but as far as plot, story, and style go, they have zero in common.
This book is a satire of the noir genre, with comic-strip 'toons thrown in as second-class citizens. The hard-boiled detective Eddie Valiant is a delightful narrator, though his constant stream of over-the-top descriptions takes some getting used to: "He made a sound halfway between a sigh and a gulp, the sound you'd hear from somebody who'd just discovered that the light at the end of their tunnel comes from a onrushing train." This style actually grew on me as the novel progressed.
Wolf actually does a solid job of painting well-rounded characters, and weaving together a solid mystery plot that keeps you guessing until the final pages while actually hanging together quite well. All in all it was a very enjoyable book.
This book is a satire of the noir genre, with comic-strip 'toons thrown in as second-class citizens. The hard-boiled detective Eddie Valiant is a delightful narrator, though his constant stream of over-the-top descriptions takes some getting used to: "He made a sound halfway between a sigh and a gulp, the sound you'd hear from somebody who'd just discovered that the light at the end of their tunnel comes from a onrushing train." This style actually grew on me as the novel progressed.
Wolf actually does a solid job of painting well-rounded characters, and weaving together a solid mystery plot that keeps you guessing until the final pages while actually hanging together quite well. All in all it was a very enjoyable book.
I've been intrigued by Who Censored Roger Rabbit? for years, ever since I heard that it was the basis for Who Framed Roger Rabbit a movie I love. For a while, I couldn't find it anywhere, then, one day, it showed up at my local library. I checked it out, read it...and was so, So, SO disappointed. Man, what a weird, uninteresting book.
The plot-Eddie Valiant is hired by Roger Rabbit to find out what is going on with his contract. Roger wants to be in a solo comic strip, and the DeGreasy Brothers, his bosses, won't let him, no matter how illogical it is to keep him. His wife, Jessica Rabbit, is cheating on Roger with Rocco DeGreasy. The day after Eddie is hired, both Rocco and Roger are dead. Eddie is then drawn into the investigation of the double murders, while also getting caught up in a comic strip scandal, some affairs, and some odd adventure.
OK, some of the issues with this book are prevalent in the plot description. First of all, Roger is a comic strip character. In fact, Roger (and all the characters) actually talks in speech bubbles. OK... The characters who are animated are in...comic book strips. Weird...
But, sadly, these aren't the only problems with the book. The book is set in the 1980's, so cartoon characters are wearing jeans. Roger and Jessica are not only not in love, but are also incredibly unlikable. I did not care at all if these characters would get back togetherThey don't, because of horrible magical shenanigans . Eddie is not that interesting. He has no girlfriend (who is an awesome character in the movie. Yay Delores!). And Eddie has no reason to hate 'toons. The movie gave a good reason why Eddie hates toons, but here, he just hates 'toons, but all humans in this book hate 'toons. I think it's supposed to be a racial allegory, (all humans hate 'toons, 'toons are treated as second class citizens) but it just feels so weird and so out of place in this book.
And my biggest problem with this book, something that made me bring this book down to one star is...cartoon characters can die from gunshot wounds. No, really, Roger Rabbit dies from being shotby a genie. REALLY!?!?! A FUCKING GENIE?!?!? And this genie gets introduced about 3/4 through the book. His magic lamp (which looks like a tea kettle) is introduced earlier, but still...THAT'S YOUR TWIST? . Like, seriously? Has the author seen any of the Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck "Rabbit Season/Duck Season" cartoons?
Seriously, go watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It's a fantastic interpretation of this very mediocre, confusing, and above all else, boring book. But...I still can't watch that scene with the cartoon shoe.
NOPE
The plot-Eddie Valiant is hired by Roger Rabbit to find out what is going on with his contract. Roger wants to be in a solo comic strip, and the DeGreasy Brothers, his bosses, won't let him, no matter how illogical it is to keep him. His wife, Jessica Rabbit, is cheating on Roger with Rocco DeGreasy. The day after Eddie is hired, both Rocco and Roger are dead. Eddie is then drawn into the investigation of the double murders, while also getting caught up in a comic strip scandal, some affairs, and some odd adventure.
OK, some of the issues with this book are prevalent in the plot description. First of all, Roger is a comic strip character. In fact, Roger (and all the characters) actually talks in speech bubbles. OK... The characters who are animated are in...comic book strips. Weird...
But, sadly, these aren't the only problems with the book. The book is set in the 1980's, so cartoon characters are wearing jeans. Roger and Jessica are not only not in love, but are also incredibly unlikable. I did not care at all if these characters would get back together
And my biggest problem with this book, something that made me bring this book down to one star is...cartoon characters can die from gunshot wounds. No, really, Roger Rabbit dies from being shot
Seriously, go watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It's a fantastic interpretation of this very mediocre, confusing, and above all else, boring book. But...I still can't watch that scene with the cartoon shoe.
NOPE
adventurous
dark
funny
"She picked her wreath flower off the console between us. One by one she plucked out its petals. When she got to the last one, it turned out she loved somebody not."
First off, yes, though the film is very loosely based off this book, all it really carries over is some of the characters and the concept of cartoons and humans living together not quite harmoniously in Hollywood. Otherwise, though, it's a completely different animal. But once you get past that, there's a genuinely entertaining, certainly unique, fantastically hardboiled pulp detective novel to be found here. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
First off, yes, though the film is very loosely based off this book, all it really carries over is some of the characters and the concept of cartoons and humans living together not quite harmoniously in Hollywood. Otherwise, though, it's a completely different animal. But once you get past that, there's a genuinely entertaining, certainly unique, fantastically hardboiled pulp detective novel to be found here. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K Wolf has the honor of being on my to be read list the longest, 28 years (or 3/4 of my life). I bought the book when it was first released at the corner book store when I was nine years old. I was one of only a handful of kids allowed in unsupervised because I had proven myself a bibliophile (although by today's standard's I was only a fledgling).
Other books and obsessions got in my way and the book sat unread at the bottom of my yellow built-in bookshelves. Then in 1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit came out and by then I had forgotten I even had the book. Instead, I read the sequel, Who P-P-P-lugged Roger Rabbit? which while set in the comic book world was more in line with the film.
After that, college, marriage, grad school, a move to the other end of the state, children, work, and grad school again. Somehow the book stayed with me and when I was cleaning off my shelves, I decided to give it a read.
The basic plot is the same even if the set up is different. Roger Rabbit, star of a comic strip has been accused of a crime. Eddie Valiant, the toughest PI in Los Angeles, wants to find out who's behind it.
The book just didn't take off like the film or the sequel did. Eddie seemed to have trouble finding his voice and the pacing seemed sluggish in parts.
What the book needs is to be reissued as a graphic novel. Or even an illustrated novel. The interplay between humans and comic strip characters needs more play.
In the end I didn't manage to finish the book. I tried on and off for about six months.
Other books and obsessions got in my way and the book sat unread at the bottom of my yellow built-in bookshelves. Then in 1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit came out and by then I had forgotten I even had the book. Instead, I read the sequel, Who P-P-P-lugged Roger Rabbit? which while set in the comic book world was more in line with the film.
After that, college, marriage, grad school, a move to the other end of the state, children, work, and grad school again. Somehow the book stayed with me and when I was cleaning off my shelves, I decided to give it a read.
The basic plot is the same even if the set up is different. Roger Rabbit, star of a comic strip has been accused of a crime. Eddie Valiant, the toughest PI in Los Angeles, wants to find out who's behind it.
The book just didn't take off like the film or the sequel did. Eddie seemed to have trouble finding his voice and the pacing seemed sluggish in parts.
What the book needs is to be reissued as a graphic novel. Or even an illustrated novel. The interplay between humans and comic strip characters needs more play.
In the end I didn't manage to finish the book. I tried on and off for about six months.
funny
sad
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is an incredibly well-done mystery with interesting twists, but that’s only part of the appeal: there are really creative fantasy elements (with phenomenal worldbuilding) that are used to comment on societal issues. It plays with the typical tropes of detective stories and is also really funny.
The idea of a world inhabited by cartoon characters and humans is interesting and Gary Wolf really utilizes all of the possibilities: there are comments on racism throughout the book, however the description of how life would work in that situation doesn’t stop there. Wolf had a lot of fun ideas besides the more serious aspects discussed (which never felt ham-fisted).
The reader gets a fascinating look at the entertainment industry, filled with memorable characters. Sure, our protagonist is the stereotypical private detective, for good reason, but most people and toons in this are very much their own. Also, the dynamic of Roger and Valiant really grew on me.
I also loved the writing style: it was a humorous take on a noir-style detective novel from a flawed character’s perspective, which gave me a good feel for the world immediately.
This was so much better than I thought it would be: it mastered all it attempted, and I just thoroughly enjoyed my time listening to the audio book.
The idea of a world inhabited by cartoon characters and humans is interesting and Gary Wolf really utilizes all of the possibilities: there are comments on racism throughout the book, however the description of how life would work in that situation doesn’t stop there. Wolf had a lot of fun ideas besides the more serious aspects discussed (which never felt ham-fisted).
The reader gets a fascinating look at the entertainment industry, filled with memorable characters. Sure, our protagonist is the stereotypical private detective, for good reason, but most people and toons in this are very much their own. Also, the dynamic of Roger and Valiant really grew on me.
I also loved the writing style: it was a humorous take on a noir-style detective novel from a flawed character’s perspective, which gave me a good feel for the world immediately.
This was so much better than I thought it would be: it mastered all it attempted, and I just thoroughly enjoyed my time listening to the audio book.
If you're able to separate this book from the Disney movie, you'll find it's an enjoyable read. The only problem I had was getting a sense of time - where the movie was set in the 30s-40s, this book seemed to have a contemporary feel to it, but I couldn't always be sure. It's definitely much darker in tone, and not for kids.