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A review by theresidentbookworm
The Incredible Nellie Bly: Journalist, Investigator, Feminist, and Philanthropist by Luciana Cimino
3.0
As someone with a deep interest in both journalism and feminism, I've always admired Nellie Bly. If you asked most people to name a famous female journalist in history, Bly's name might be the first (and only) name off their lips. And with good reason! She was amazing! I knew the broad strokes of Bly's story: her beginnings in journalism, the stories she broke, and how she made history by traveling around the world in under 80 days. Therefore, I was excited to dive into this graphic novel biography of Bly by Luciana Cimino (originally published in Italian and now translated into English).
I am a little skeptical of calling this a biography considering it has a framing device of a fictional, younger female journalist who seeks Bly out to hear about how she investigated and exposed the mismanagement/cruelty of the woman's asylum on Blackwell's Island. Instead, Miriam gets Bly's life story from the now retired Bly as the two women bond. I didn't really need this framing device. Bly is a fascinating enough figure whose investigative reporting still feels ballsy and relevant even in 2020. There is no need to have a fictional character to hook us into Bly's life story.
The word biography is also misleading because it also implies depth. I'm not sure I came away with a deeper or richer understanding of Bly as a women or reporter. Instead, I got a summary of her greatest hits. And while they were not all known to me, I still felt like Cimino never got to the center of Bly. What was her relationship with her mother like? With other writers of her time? With her husband? Cimino does make a point to highlight how Bly's social class shaped her work and worldview. Unlike other female reporters of the time, Bly came from a working class background and actually worked for a living. As a result, she strove to write about workers and particularly working women with compassion and humanity that they didn't receive from the press in general. I loved this insight from Cimino, but I wish there had been more of it. Also, the biography pretty much ends with Bly getting married, but that's not where her live ended. She lead a company, she was a columnist, she filed patents... I'm not sure why Cimino decided nothing after Bly's marriage was interesting, but she is certainly wrong.
Side note: I read this on my Kindle, and the text was almost illegible. The excerpts of Bly's writing (which I like and wanted to read) were completely illegible. Whoever is charge of fonts for this book better rethink this or fix it fast because it will not work for any e-readers in its current form.
Still, I did enjoy reading The Incredible Nellie Bly. Cimino has clear love and affectation for her subject, and Sergio Algozzino's artwork is fantastic. I'm sure it will be even more impressive in color (my version was in black & white). I'd still recommend The Incredible Nellie Bly for anyone looking to learn about her. I just wouldn't recommend it as a biography.
*Thank you to NetGalley, who sent me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
I am a little skeptical of calling this a biography considering it has a framing device of a fictional, younger female journalist who seeks Bly out to hear about how she investigated and exposed the mismanagement/cruelty of the woman's asylum on Blackwell's Island. Instead, Miriam gets Bly's life story from the now retired Bly as the two women bond. I didn't really need this framing device. Bly is a fascinating enough figure whose investigative reporting still feels ballsy and relevant even in 2020. There is no need to have a fictional character to hook us into Bly's life story.
The word biography is also misleading because it also implies depth. I'm not sure I came away with a deeper or richer understanding of Bly as a women or reporter. Instead, I got a summary of her greatest hits. And while they were not all known to me, I still felt like Cimino never got to the center of Bly. What was her relationship with her mother like? With other writers of her time? With her husband? Cimino does make a point to highlight how Bly's social class shaped her work and worldview. Unlike other female reporters of the time, Bly came from a working class background and actually worked for a living. As a result, she strove to write about workers and particularly working women with compassion and humanity that they didn't receive from the press in general. I loved this insight from Cimino, but I wish there had been more of it. Also, the biography pretty much ends with Bly getting married, but that's not where her live ended. She lead a company, she was a columnist, she filed patents... I'm not sure why Cimino decided nothing after Bly's marriage was interesting, but she is certainly wrong.
Side note: I read this on my Kindle, and the text was almost illegible. The excerpts of Bly's writing (which I like and wanted to read) were completely illegible. Whoever is charge of fonts for this book better rethink this or fix it fast because it will not work for any e-readers in its current form.
Still, I did enjoy reading The Incredible Nellie Bly. Cimino has clear love and affectation for her subject, and Sergio Algozzino's artwork is fantastic. I'm sure it will be even more impressive in color (my version was in black & white). I'd still recommend The Incredible Nellie Bly for anyone looking to learn about her. I just wouldn't recommend it as a biography.
*Thank you to NetGalley, who sent me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*