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cypriaturge's review
3.0
Daytripper is a surprisingly abstract look at different times in a man's life, always ending in a surreal bit of narrative that continues on into another scene despite itself.
Without spoiling it... it's hard to talk about what exactly goes on here. Suffice to say that these surreal epilogues at the end of each chapter certainly serve to uplift the ultimate point of the novel, but they also unfortunately obscure a lot of potentially vital information for the rest of the plot.
I think your mileage may vary here. I've never been someone to shun a piece of art for being too surrealist or abstract, but I think I appreciate the more realistic moments of the book far more than the times it wanted to be weird and philosophical.
To talk about its realistic bits for a minute, they do such an excellent job of portraying family - particularly a father and his son. There were many quiet, powerful moments of reflection here that made me put the book down and sit back and just *think*.
Beyond that, the main character's relationship with his best friend is one complicated by the passing of time, and its payoff was almost too close to home in terms of its true-to-life portrayal.
Of course - I have bones to pick with the portrayal of women here. They are mostly skinny and buxom and serve to talk about or somehow affect the main character and little else. It is a tired, old cliche that we should be done with by now: a brooding writer's sordid history with various beautiful women who get mad at him for being a dreamer until he finds the ONE.
That said, huzzah for fiction that DOESN'T TAKE PLACE IN AMERICA. I love reading stories by authors from places foreign to me. Few things provide a greater change in perspective than a well-told story from a culture wildly different from yours. I'm glad this was popular enough to be translated into English for our benefit.
Finally, the art was absolutely perfect, and it is so obvious that brothers Moon and Bá are life long artistic partners. The panels were finely detailed and practically bubbling with life. You could almost smell the Brazilian markets and feel the spray of saltwater.
All in all, I wish that they had dialed down their ambitious surrealist ideas for this novel and let us instead appreciate a simple, well told, well set story about the meaning of presence and the inexorability of death.
Without spoiling it... it's hard to talk about what exactly goes on here. Suffice to say that these surreal epilogues at the end of each chapter certainly serve to uplift the ultimate point of the novel, but they also unfortunately obscure a lot of potentially vital information for the rest of the plot.
I think your mileage may vary here. I've never been someone to shun a piece of art for being too surrealist or abstract, but I think I appreciate the more realistic moments of the book far more than the times it wanted to be weird and philosophical.
To talk about its realistic bits for a minute, they do such an excellent job of portraying family - particularly a father and his son. There were many quiet, powerful moments of reflection here that made me put the book down and sit back and just *think*.
Beyond that, the main character's relationship with his best friend is one complicated by the passing of time, and its payoff was almost too close to home in terms of its true-to-life portrayal.
Of course - I have bones to pick with the portrayal of women here. They are mostly skinny and buxom and serve to talk about or somehow affect the main character and little else. It is a tired, old cliche that we should be done with by now: a brooding writer's sordid history with various beautiful women who get mad at him for being a dreamer until he finds the ONE.
That said, huzzah for fiction that DOESN'T TAKE PLACE IN AMERICA. I love reading stories by authors from places foreign to me. Few things provide a greater change in perspective than a well-told story from a culture wildly different from yours. I'm glad this was popular enough to be translated into English for our benefit.
Finally, the art was absolutely perfect, and it is so obvious that brothers Moon and Bá are life long artistic partners. The panels were finely detailed and practically bubbling with life. You could almost smell the Brazilian markets and feel the spray of saltwater.
All in all, I wish that they had dialed down their ambitious surrealist ideas for this novel and let us instead appreciate a simple, well told, well set story about the meaning of presence and the inexorability of death.
knod78's review
5.0
I stopped in a bookstore and saw this cool idea of buying a blind date book where you don’t know what the book it is, only the description and type of book. I bought this book (graphic novel) and a memoir of a local author. I’m so happy I got this graphic novel. It would not have been something I would have picked up on my own as I tend to lean to the dark and supernatural type graphic novels. Daytripper was a beautiful perspective on life told from someone who writes obituaries. It can be off putting at times...like really weird, because he puts himself in the deaths, but you get used to it. When you get to the end, you realize how beautiful the story is even though you may not understand some of it. The illustrations were beautiful and I love the ending.
talestoldtall's review
3.0
Daytripper is what would happen if you collected every poignant moment in your life and comic book-ified it.
It's a series of snapshots of various points in writer Bras de Oliva Domingos' life (and one issue from a related character's perspective). This was recommended to me as a slice of life book, which is definitely is, but the moments of violence and surrealist elements separated Daytripper from the usual comforting trance these kinds of stories impart.
The art is great, portraying characters at various stages and ages of life but it's always clear whose who.
Though the book is exploring an entire life of memories, it's a tight story at the same time focusing on a very small set of characters. Even though it didn't pull the heart strings as much as I thought it would, there's a lot to like here and worth a read without question.
It's a series of snapshots of various points in writer Bras de Oliva Domingos' life (and one issue from a related character's perspective). This was recommended to me as a slice of life book, which is definitely is, but the moments of violence and surrealist elements separated Daytripper from the usual comforting trance these kinds of stories impart.
The art is great, portraying characters at various stages and ages of life but it's always clear whose who.
Though the book is exploring an entire life of memories, it's a tight story at the same time focusing on a very small set of characters. Even though it didn't pull the heart strings as much as I thought it would, there's a lot to like here and worth a read without question.
cryptic_nerd's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
toby0422's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
theoisnotalive's review
emotional
inspiring
relaxing
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i feel like i'm gonna be thinking about this one for a while
tsmail's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
koreanlinda's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Among many unique values of this book, one of them is a new look at the meaning of life and death. By repeating life and death in many different ways, we get to reflect on why we live and how to live. It is also fun to trace the underlying commonality between chapters (AKA different universes). I love how Bras's dog stayed with him from the cover til the end, another beauty of the story. Although I felt saddened by some of the stories, I did not cry. However, it will be a great cleansing tearjerker for someone experiencing bulging grief and sorrow.
Review by Linda (Any Pronouns) in April 2024
Personal essays on DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Artwork on Instagram @KoreanLinda
Review by Linda (Any Pronouns) in April 2024
Personal essays on DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Artwork on Instagram @KoreanLinda
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
sucy524's review
5.0
What a great book that makes you really think about life. It felt so whimsical and yet so real!