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jmshirtz's review
1.0
I...really didn't like this book. The artwork just doesn't appeal to me at all and almost made me nauseous in a "King of the Hill" way. I felt no connection to the story either. I think I was intended to sympathize with Ursa over her struggle with body image and her interaction with her brother, but I was simply horrified at her methods of overcoming them. As a firefighter's significant other, I was appalled; the bond between fellow firefighters is incredibly strong; they don't shut each other in burning barns. Perhaps others with less of a connection to the fire service will find it an interesting twist, but this book is not for me.
floodfish's review
2.0
Excellent colors. And excellent blackspotting. Not sure I gained anything by reading the words, though, or even by reading the pages in the right order.
eyelit's review
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
robk's review
1.0
I found this graphic novel at a thrift store and bought it on a whim. I thought there was a lot of potential in the premise, but it sort of fell short. There were no really likable characters and the conflict seemed completely under-developed and unresolved, but the artwork was pretty good.
xterminal's review
3.0
Danica Novgorodoff, Slow Storm (First Second, 2008)
There's a particular kind of graphic novel popping up more and more these days that's kind of like the on-the-page version of mumblecore (or, for those of you old enough to remember it, eighties fiction). It's intensively interested in character study, much to the detriment of plot. Not much goes on, if anything at all, and the characters do the particular-setting equivalent of the wannabe-socialites sitting around a coffee table full of coke in Annie Hall. I've never been quite sure how I feel about books like this. Slow Storm didn't really help me decide one way or the other, despite a real affinity for the setting.
Louisville, Kentucky, is a horse lover's paradise. Thanks mostly to tradition, like most horsey communities it's also a hotbed of illegal immigrants who work as grooms, exercise riders, hot-walkers, etc. Rafi is one of those illegal immigrants, working at a horse barn that catches on fire one night during a storm. Ursa is a firefighter, one of those who responds to the call. She's having a lot of problems with her brother, also a firefighter, and when the opportunity presents itself, Ursa locks her brother in the burning barn. He is rescued, however, and the act is blamed on Rafi—who ends up hiding from the cops with Ursa.
There's so much potential here, in any way Novgorodoff might have wanted to take this plot. Crime thriller? Romance? Disaster flick? Courtroom drama? Horror? None were outside the realm of possibility, and in the end none were realized. Novgorodoff focuses intently on a couple of days in the lives of these characters, and that is not a bad thing in itself (look at what happens during the twenty-four hours depicted in the movie Closetland, for example). The problem is that once Novgorodoff gets us there, and she is a good enough artist that we are willing to follow, she doesn't do anything with it. There's no payoff. What we're left with is a couple of intriguing characters and a lot of really, really good pictures. If that's enough for you, this will be right up your alley. And while I respect both aspects of this book, I did find myself wanting more from it. There's a point where you've taken ambiguity too far, and this book embodies it. ** ½
There's a particular kind of graphic novel popping up more and more these days that's kind of like the on-the-page version of mumblecore (or, for those of you old enough to remember it, eighties fiction). It's intensively interested in character study, much to the detriment of plot. Not much goes on, if anything at all, and the characters do the particular-setting equivalent of the wannabe-socialites sitting around a coffee table full of coke in Annie Hall. I've never been quite sure how I feel about books like this. Slow Storm didn't really help me decide one way or the other, despite a real affinity for the setting.
Louisville, Kentucky, is a horse lover's paradise. Thanks mostly to tradition, like most horsey communities it's also a hotbed of illegal immigrants who work as grooms, exercise riders, hot-walkers, etc. Rafi is one of those illegal immigrants, working at a horse barn that catches on fire one night during a storm. Ursa is a firefighter, one of those who responds to the call. She's having a lot of problems with her brother, also a firefighter, and when the opportunity presents itself, Ursa locks her brother in the burning barn. He is rescued, however, and the act is blamed on Rafi—who ends up hiding from the cops with Ursa.
There's so much potential here, in any way Novgorodoff might have wanted to take this plot. Crime thriller? Romance? Disaster flick? Courtroom drama? Horror? None were outside the realm of possibility, and in the end none were realized. Novgorodoff focuses intently on a couple of days in the lives of these characters, and that is not a bad thing in itself (look at what happens during the twenty-four hours depicted in the movie Closetland, for example). The problem is that once Novgorodoff gets us there, and she is a good enough artist that we are willing to follow, she doesn't do anything with it. There's no payoff. What we're left with is a couple of intriguing characters and a lot of really, really good pictures. If that's enough for you, this will be right up your alley. And while I respect both aspects of this book, I did find myself wanting more from it. There's a point where you've taken ambiguity too far, and this book embodies it. ** ½
richard's review
The narrative in Slow Storm is confusing and overwrought, but the watercolor (I think) artwork is often quite pretty.
dee2799d's review
2.0
Actually, this wasn't bad. It deserves more than two stars. There are moments I had to go back to and think, 'Oh man, this was beautiful symbolism'. The pacing isn't bad either. And the main character, Ursa, is relate-able.
I just really can't get behind the art. It's not my cup of tea at all, and sometimes it's bad enough (bad: I mean, in a sense that I don't enjoy the artwork at all, not that it's ugly. Like I said, it's not my cup of tea at all) makes it hard for me to focus on the story.
I'm sorry. /o\
I just really can't get behind the art. It's not my cup of tea at all, and sometimes it's bad enough (bad: I mean, in a sense that I don't enjoy the artwork at all, not that it's ugly. Like I said, it's not my cup of tea at all) makes it hard for me to focus on the story.
I'm sorry. /o\
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