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A review by panda_incognito
Sylvie by Sylvie Kantorovitz
3.0
I thought that this graphic novel memoir sounded interesting, but it took me a long time to get through it, because it is very slow-moving. Even though this book is 352 pages long, it does not have a plot or a character arc, and is just a series of anecdotes and reflections strung together in chronological order. Even though I love slice-of-life stories, this didn't work for me, because there wasn't enough going on, and there was never any sense of structure.
Despite its flaws as a story, this book does have several appealing elements. Sylvie's father is the principal of a French school, and when she is a child, she and her family live in the school. That was unique and interesting, and because the family is Jewish, the memoir also incorporates details related to their background. I liked this aspect, but even though the author explores her mother's mixed messages about their Jewish heritage and her own sense of social awkwardness about not sharing her peers' holidays and other traditions as a child, the story never delves into any of these topics in a deep or meaningful way.
This book also addresses different issues in Sylvie's home, such as her frustrations with her mother and her parents' martial conflict. Again, these are interesting topics, but the book only explores them in a very surface-level way. This book skims along the surface of years and years of Sylvie's life without any depth or deeply engaging content, and even though children with similar family dynamics may find it helpful to see their experiences reflected here, the book does not provide any particular insight about these problems or how to deal with them. These are just snapshots of life, with no particular meaning or message to derive from them.
Sylvie's interest in art plays a significant role in the story, but because this is a just a loose collection of anecdotes, her artistic aspirations are yet another slice-of-life detail, not a driving force in a plot. I never felt any sense of suspense or urgency for the character, even when she was dealing with her mother's dismissive comments about her interests, because the story was too shallow, random, and meandering to evoke any real pathos or interest in how things worked out for her.
I am not sure who this book is best suited for. As a child, I definitely would have found it boring, and I don't know if I would have even finished it. The primary things that I enjoyed about it, such as the cultural and historical elements, primarily appealed to me from an adult perspective, but because this book only engages with issues in a very shallow, surface-level way, it does not have the sophistication or depth to appeal to an adult audience overall.
Also, this book ends very abruptly, just when it appears that the story is about to take an interesting turn. It is possible that the author plans to produce a sequel and continue the story, but if not, this was a very unsatisfying ending. I know that it would be very difficult to end this book in another way, since there is no central plot or character arc to draw to a meaningful, satisfying conclusion, but I wish that there had been some kind of conclusion. I just went on to the next page in my ebook, and was shocked to see that there was no more.
Ultimately, this book could have been much better than it was, and even though I don't regret spending my time on it, since I learned interesting things and enjoyed the historic and cultural elements, I would not recommend it to children or adults unless they had a particularly strong interest in France, Jewish culture, or stories of aspiring artists.
I received a temporary digital copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Despite its flaws as a story, this book does have several appealing elements. Sylvie's father is the principal of a French school, and when she is a child, she and her family live in the school. That was unique and interesting, and because the family is Jewish, the memoir also incorporates details related to their background. I liked this aspect, but even though the author explores her mother's mixed messages about their Jewish heritage and her own sense of social awkwardness about not sharing her peers' holidays and other traditions as a child, the story never delves into any of these topics in a deep or meaningful way.
This book also addresses different issues in Sylvie's home, such as her frustrations with her mother and her parents' martial conflict. Again, these are interesting topics, but the book only explores them in a very surface-level way. This book skims along the surface of years and years of Sylvie's life without any depth or deeply engaging content, and even though children with similar family dynamics may find it helpful to see their experiences reflected here, the book does not provide any particular insight about these problems or how to deal with them. These are just snapshots of life, with no particular meaning or message to derive from them.
Sylvie's interest in art plays a significant role in the story, but because this is a just a loose collection of anecdotes, her artistic aspirations are yet another slice-of-life detail, not a driving force in a plot. I never felt any sense of suspense or urgency for the character, even when she was dealing with her mother's dismissive comments about her interests, because the story was too shallow, random, and meandering to evoke any real pathos or interest in how things worked out for her.
I am not sure who this book is best suited for. As a child, I definitely would have found it boring, and I don't know if I would have even finished it. The primary things that I enjoyed about it, such as the cultural and historical elements, primarily appealed to me from an adult perspective, but because this book only engages with issues in a very shallow, surface-level way, it does not have the sophistication or depth to appeal to an adult audience overall.
Also, this book ends very abruptly, just when it appears that the story is about to take an interesting turn. It is possible that the author plans to produce a sequel and continue the story, but if not, this was a very unsatisfying ending. I know that it would be very difficult to end this book in another way, since there is no central plot or character arc to draw to a meaningful, satisfying conclusion, but I wish that there had been some kind of conclusion. I just went on to the next page in my ebook, and was shocked to see that there was no more.
Ultimately, this book could have been much better than it was, and even though I don't regret spending my time on it, since I learned interesting things and enjoyed the historic and cultural elements, I would not recommend it to children or adults unless they had a particularly strong interest in France, Jewish culture, or stories of aspiring artists.
I received a temporary digital copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.