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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
I think this book does a really great job of exploring the motivations behind and consequences of people’s actions.
I think part of its purpose was also to explore the ideas of significance and insignificance: something someone does may be very significant to one person’s life, but very insignificant to another’s, and a lot of the characters seem to implicitly struggle with their insignificance to the universe.
The middle felt a bit depressing, but in an intentional and necessary way, and the end felt deeply hopeful. The structure of it is a tad avant-garde in how it’s not one completed story, but a collection of people’s stories, some complete others not. It mainly takes place in the middle chunk of the 20th century, and there are a variety of types of characters, which I think helped it encompass the American human experience better than if it had focused only on one character.
Some other main themes or motifs in this book are racism, homophobia, aging, religion, and general morality.
I’m glad I read this book!
I think part of its purpose was also to explore the ideas of significance and insignificance: something someone does may be very significant to one person’s life, but very insignificant to another’s, and a lot of the characters seem to implicitly struggle with their insignificance to the universe.
The middle felt a bit depressing, but in an intentional and necessary way, and the end felt deeply hopeful. The structure of it is a tad avant-garde in how it’s not one completed story, but a collection of people’s stories, some complete others not. It mainly takes place in the middle chunk of the 20th century, and there are a variety of types of characters, which I think helped it encompass the American human experience better than if it had focused only on one character.
Some other main themes or motifs in this book are racism, homophobia, aging, religion, and general morality.
I’m glad I read this book!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
A crushing blow to the heart - the consummation of Ware's craft, eighteen years in the making.
There are two sequences in here that are among the most impactful and brilliantly presented stories I've ever read.
Ware's empathy extends to all of his characters, villains included. He makes us love everyone, then has us sit back as they hurt eachother. What do you do? It's like watching your Mother and Father in a screaming match. Could there be a more ambivalent experience?
Cycles of abuse, art imitating life, past replicating present, turtles all the way down... in this moment Ware has me feeling like I'll never fully transcend the scars my parents inflicted on me, just like they'll never transcend theirs - Rusty Brown hurts 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 good.
There are two sequences in here that are among the most impactful and brilliantly presented stories I've ever read.
Ware's empathy extends to all of his characters, villains included. He makes us love everyone, then has us sit back as they hurt eachother. What do you do? It's like watching your Mother and Father in a screaming match. Could there be a more ambivalent experience?
Cycles of abuse, art imitating life, past replicating present, turtles all the way down... in this moment Ware has me feeling like I'll never fully transcend the scars my parents inflicted on me, just like they'll never transcend theirs - Rusty Brown hurts 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 good.
Stunning, beautiful, achingly heartbreaking. Looking forward to rereading.
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
funny
reflective
medium-paced
The type is for the most part nearly illegible due to its small size. I can’t read it.
It's an achievement almost too impressive to even describe, a graphic novel that pulls out a wide array of visual and literary styles to tell the stories of a large cast of characters. I feel like I got to know all of this people very well, and I loved how the kind of average-appearing people you may not even notice as they walked by you become the stars of this world.
But man, this is bleak stuff. Almost unrelentingly so. I would have loved a scene of people riffing happily, or even just hanging out with feeling as though everyone was a step away from some crushing disappointment.
Wonderfully drawn and written, impressive in detail and scope, well worth your time. Just go for a nice walk with some pretty music afterwards, to help reboot your system.
But man, this is bleak stuff. Almost unrelentingly so. I would have loved a scene of people riffing happily, or even just hanging out with feeling as though everyone was a step away from some crushing disappointment.
Wonderfully drawn and written, impressive in detail and scope, well worth your time. Just go for a nice walk with some pretty music afterwards, to help reboot your system.