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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
This was a good, solid work- just enough mystery to keep you reading, and not really what you expect to find as you go. Excellent character work.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent
A beautifully drawn graphic novel about an Israeli grandmother and granddaughter traveling to Warsaw together. The grandmother grew up in Warsaw and fled, pregnant in 1940. She is returning for the first time ostensibly to reclaim property her family had before the war that was stolen from them. She is a classic hardened exterior of a grumpy old lady (we meet here when she is arguing with the airline security people about bringing water onto the plane) with a mysterious softer and more nostalgic and emotional side that she tries her best to conceal. Her son (the one she was pregnant with when fleeing) has just died a few months before, precipitating the trip.
When they get to Warsaw the grandmother and granddaughter go separate ways, the first rediscovering things she left behind and the later having a fling with a Polish man while uncovering secrets about her grandmother.
At times The Property is touching, it shows the complexity of families, of Jewish-gentile relationships in Poland, and the aging of love. At other times, however, it is maddening as some of the behavior of its characters does not appear to make any sense (and one particularly annoying character who keeps popping in and out of the picture in mysterious ways is, well, annoying). And it all seems just a little bit more thin than I would like. But still overall very good.
When they get to Warsaw the grandmother and granddaughter go separate ways, the first rediscovering things she left behind and the later having a fling with a Polish man while uncovering secrets about her grandmother.
At times The Property is touching, it shows the complexity of families, of Jewish-gentile relationships in Poland, and the aging of love. At other times, however, it is maddening as some of the behavior of its characters does not appear to make any sense (and one particularly annoying character who keeps popping in and out of the picture in mysterious ways is, well, annoying). And it all seems just a little bit more thin than I would like. But still overall very good.
This was such a beautiful, understated book, and I thoroughly enjoyed every page.
Modan's artwork is clean and beautiful, and kind of reminded me of a cross between Tintin and infographics. It truly shines when depicting wide views of scenery or commotion like large public spaces, plane cabins or mountain views.
The story unfolds at a steady pace, weaving together personal relationships and history, and though the twists are not sudden or very surprising per se, they were earned and interesting. You don't end up feeling like you know the characters any more than at the beginning of the book, but more like you've just been dropped into their lives to observe a small window of their lives and then pop out again, which is a style of narrative that I really enjoy. Modan also is quite inventive in the way she communicates story elements, like the flashbacks and the speech bubbles full of scribbles when the pov character doesn't understand the language being spoken.
It's hard to describe the way that the book delivers its emotional punches. The same subject matter in another medium or a different author might have had my eyes watering and my chin quivering, but Modan handles things with restraint in a very understated, pragmatic way. While it may not have elicited as many outward reactions from me, it was no less affecting or satisfying as a more tear-jerking avenue might have. I was absorbed into the story and characters from beginning to end, and my reaction built up little by little, until it had me hugging the book tightly when I finished it.
If I had to muster up some criticisms, there were two characters in particular that felt a little tonally off from the rest of them, but they served a purpose, and weren't too distracting, and one or two of the subplot resolutions were a little pat, but while they could have been fleshed out more, they didn't feel like cheap wrap-ups.
I borrowed this from the library but I will definitely be buying a copy of my own to keep.
Modan's artwork is clean and beautiful, and kind of reminded me of a cross between Tintin and infographics. It truly shines when depicting wide views of scenery or commotion like large public spaces, plane cabins or mountain views.
The story unfolds at a steady pace, weaving together personal relationships and history, and though the twists are not sudden or very surprising per se, they were earned and interesting. You don't end up feeling like you know the characters any more than at the beginning of the book, but more like you've just been dropped into their lives to observe a small window of their lives and then pop out again, which is a style of narrative that I really enjoy. Modan also is quite inventive in the way she communicates story elements, like the flashbacks and the speech bubbles full of scribbles when the pov character doesn't understand the language being spoken.
It's hard to describe the way that the book delivers its emotional punches. The same subject matter in another medium or a different author might have had my eyes watering and my chin quivering, but Modan handles things with restraint in a very understated, pragmatic way. While it may not have elicited as many outward reactions from me, it was no less affecting or satisfying as a more tear-jerking avenue might have. I was absorbed into the story and characters from beginning to end, and my reaction built up little by little, until it had me hugging the book tightly when I finished it.
If I had to muster up some criticisms, there were two characters in particular that felt a little tonally off from the rest of them, but they served a purpose, and weren't too distracting, and one or two of the subplot resolutions were a little pat, but while they could have been fleshed out more, they didn't feel like cheap wrap-ups.
I borrowed this from the library but I will definitely be buying a copy of my own to keep.
Perhaps 4.5 stars if I’m being extra picky, but I just sat down to read a bit and got totally swept away. Felt a little emotional turning the last page too!
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(1.5 Stars) I wish I would’ve liked this for the sake of the story being meaningful, but the characters were unlikeable in my eyes. I don’t have much else to say. Graphics novels are so short that it can be hard to connect to characters, and especially in this one since there’s big miscommunication issues which is one of my least favorite things in books (and life lol).
J’ai essayé d’arrêter de le lire dans le milieu et de l’étendre sur deux jours, mais une heure plus tard j’étais en train de lire la suite. Inattendu, drôle et touchant à la fois, je l’ai serré sur mon coeur après l’avoir fini.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A