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A review by vigil
Dandelion by Sabir Pirzada
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley.
I had a relatively okay time with this graphic novel, i though that the differing art styles in each story was a fun switch up every so often. My favorite narrative in this collection of essentially short stories was coming from jen nakamuto's interviews / conversation about the dandelion project, especially on how it became so government regulated in the end. I only wish that the dandelions themselves had more presence in narrative, so that it didn't feel so much like our only grounding piece.
Which is the biggest problem with this graphic novel. I feel like there was a lot the author wanted to say about migration, poverty, refugees, etc but didn't have much of a story to tell. There are multiple entries in here which lack both heart and plot, largely consisting of characters simply monologuing at each other like a college class that just read Marx for the first time. I'm certainly interested in the political parts of the book, and I wasn't disagreeing with what they were saying, but the purpose of fiction is to tell a story. It's very telling that I think unarguably the best story in here contains absolutely no words, and has to rely fully on the art to get its themes across.
Because of this lack of plot, many of the stories felt disjointed and unnecessary. There wasn't a central theme or focus to ground the book in, which made it fly in sixteen different directions. I thought we would get more on the worldbuilding of the dandelions (in what universe would the government allow poor people and migrants to live in floating houses for free. the themes of exploitation simply do not work because people aren't actually being exploited in the way the book says they are. they don't have jobs, they have free housing, and the government delivers their food directly to their doors. if that's exploitation of the poor, can i get in on it? the argument of loneliness cannot actually be made, because again, the dandelions have little to no focus in the book) but instead we focus on pretty much everything else.
Also, I'm not overly familiar with the author's experience with disability, and my own is not particularly deep. However, I'm not totally sure how I feel about the disabled woman's story focusing so heavily on her walking again in VR. Is that the only story we have for disabled people? I'm not against showing the struggle people may have after becoming disabled, but why is this the kind of story that keeps appearing over and over again? Like I said, I'm not overly familiar with disability rights, so grain of salt and all that, but I think there were more interesting stories here for her.
I had a relatively okay time with this graphic novel, i though that the differing art styles in each story was a fun switch up every so often. My favorite narrative in this collection of essentially short stories was coming from jen nakamuto's interviews / conversation about the dandelion project, especially on how it became so government regulated in the end. I only wish that the dandelions themselves had more presence in narrative, so that it didn't feel so much like our only grounding piece.
Which is the biggest problem with this graphic novel. I feel like there was a lot the author wanted to say about migration, poverty, refugees, etc but didn't have much of a story to tell. There are multiple entries in here which lack both heart and plot, largely consisting of characters simply monologuing at each other like a college class that just read Marx for the first time. I'm certainly interested in the political parts of the book, and I wasn't disagreeing with what they were saying, but the purpose of fiction is to tell a story. It's very telling that I think unarguably the best story in here contains absolutely no words, and has to rely fully on the art to get its themes across.
Because of this lack of plot, many of the stories felt disjointed and unnecessary. There wasn't a central theme or focus to ground the book in, which made it fly in sixteen different directions. I thought we would get more on the worldbuilding of the dandelions (in what universe would the government allow poor people and migrants to live in floating houses for free. the themes of exploitation simply do not work because people aren't actually being exploited in the way the book says they are. they don't have jobs, they have free housing, and the government delivers their food directly to their doors. if that's exploitation of the poor, can i get in on it? the argument of loneliness cannot actually be made, because again, the dandelions have little to no focus in the book) but instead we focus on pretty much everything else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Car accident