Eh. Like any collection of personal essays, this one was uneven. Some of the essays were pleasantly insightful and/or humorous. Others left me cold.
IEh. Like any collection of personal essays, this one was uneven. Some of the essays were pleasantly insightful and/or humorous. Others left me cold.
It might be Passover-induced ADD, but I'm just not feeling motivated to finish this. Maybe I'm just not in the mood for this type of thing right now. There were some essays that I briefly considered sharing with clients, so that's a good thing I guess.
Once again, I'm clearly in the minority here so pay me no mind. The overwhelming odds are that you'll like this more than I did....more
I'm so glad I overcame my aversion to graphic books and picked this up. I've read several Iranian coming-of-age memoirs but this is definitely one of I'm so glad I overcame my aversion to graphic books and picked this up. I've read several Iranian coming-of-age memoirs but this is definitely one of the better ones, maybe even the best.
Satrapi uses expressive cartoons to show the progression of her life, from early childhood listening to her parents anxiously discuss the Shah, to the Iranian revolution, to being sent to Vienna for school at 14 without family or friends and her often ill-fated attempts to find herself in a directionless existence. As Satrapi notes, she becomes a conflicted adult who feels neither Iranian nor European. I found Satrapi quite sympathetic as a narrator and hope she has managed to work out some of the issues that plagued her in this book. In the meantime, I felt her struggle and marveled anew at my great fortune to be born in a democratic country. ...more
Two genres I thought I was completely finished with -- holocaust books, and graphic novels (although technically this was probably more of a memoir).
TTwo genres I thought I was completely finished with -- holocaust books, and graphic novels (although technically this was probably more of a memoir).
This is up there with Night and several other powerful Holocaust books I read that actually impacted me, back when I wasn't yet too jaded for the genre. I think it helped that it wasn't just another Holocaust narrative -- it was equally the story of Art Spiegelman's quirky, cantankerous father and Art's complicated relationship with him. And the pictures, which I usually find distracting, helped too -- they were clever and interesting rather than simply there. Finally, there isn't usually a lot of comic relief in a Holocaust book and it's challenging to try to offer some without seeming like you're making light of the heavy subject. Here, though, Art pulled it off.
A goodreads friend told me that this book is required reading for highschoolers, and I can tell you that my teenage son swiped it from me and loved it too. Highly recommended, even if, like me, you've sworn off reading about the Holocaust....more
This was my first graphic novel (well, not really a novel -- graphic work of non-fiction? too long), and I think the medium may just not be for me. IfThis was my first graphic novel (well, not really a novel -- graphic work of non-fiction? too long), and I think the medium may just not be for me. If I had to describe this book in one word, that word would be "distracting."
I was distracted by everything, particularly the pictures and the artistic but annoying-to-read font. The narrative itself was distracting, jumping around in time and space even though it all connected back to radioactivity. A more tolerant reader might have appreciated the collage-like effect, which clearly involved a lot of effort and creativity. I acknowledge all that, but it just wasn't for me.
Sometimes it felt like Redniss just didn't have that much to say, and was using art and gimmicks (like putting only a few words on a page) to stretch the story to book length. It really felt more like I was reading an article than a book. Sometimes I felt like the story was dumbed down, although that may have simply been a visceral reaction to having pictures in my books which I thought I outgrew a long time ago. Other times I felt like it was over my head with all the chemistry stuff. Science is not usually my preferred reading area, and although I ended up enjoying books like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, I think that attests to the quality of those books rather than to my aptitude for or interest in science reading. Unfortunately, Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie is not one of the books that managed to bridge the gap between me and science.
So three stars because I recognize the creativity here and a lot of interesting bits about the Curies and radioactivity, but only three because it just didn't work that well for me....more
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