Book-It 'o12! Book #25
The Fifty Books Challenge, year three! (Years one, two, and three just in case you're curious.) This was a library request.
Title: The Sigh by Marjane Satrapi
Details: Copyright 2011, Archaia Entertainment
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Rose is one of three daughters of a rich merchant who always brings gifts for his girls from the market. One day Rose asks for the seed of a blue bean, but he fails to find one for her. She lets out a sigh in resignation, and her sigh attracts the Sigh, a mysterious being that brings the seed she desired to the merchant. But every debt has to be paid, and every gift has a price, and the Sigh returns a year later to take the merchant’s daughter to a secret and distant palace."
Why I Wanted to Read It: I adored Persepolis and although few of Satrapi's other works have resonated with me similarly, she still has an impact on me.
How I Liked It: I'm generally not a fan of this style of graphic novel, which is to say it's not "comics" but rather a novel (generally short) with illustrations on the side. While I adored the premise of The Night Bookmobile, the juxtaposition of text with illustrations frustrated me. Part of what I think makes the graphic novel genre so distinct is elevating the "comic" format to a new level and art form. The illustrations with text format like The Night Bookmobile (and this one) seem to read to me like "books like books for children but for adults."
That said, Satrapi weaves a great deal of wonder and magic in her story and pulls off the admirable: she manages to tell a new story in a way that feels like it's an old treasured fable. The art is in color and the style is sketchy crayon/charcoal and so close to the early '60s style of maybe PD Eastman (Are You My Mother?), I keep expecting the smell of vintage books from the pages.
It may not be Persepolis nor Habibi, but those are the top of the genre. But as a sweet (and at times dark), sharply-written fable, The Sigh is a (mostly) charming read.
Notable: I couldn't help but draw comparisons between this and a much, much lesser title, The Three Incestuous Sisters. A graphic novel that's actually text and illustration by an author better known for a different genre thanks to her bestselling work, a story of three sisters of differently colored hair, a fairytale setting, a graphic novel... fortunately for The Sigh (and its potential readers), that's exactly where the similarities end.
Title: The Sigh by Marjane Satrapi
Details: Copyright 2011, Archaia Entertainment
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Rose is one of three daughters of a rich merchant who always brings gifts for his girls from the market. One day Rose asks for the seed of a blue bean, but he fails to find one for her. She lets out a sigh in resignation, and her sigh attracts the Sigh, a mysterious being that brings the seed she desired to the merchant. But every debt has to be paid, and every gift has a price, and the Sigh returns a year later to take the merchant’s daughter to a secret and distant palace."
Why I Wanted to Read It: I adored Persepolis and although few of Satrapi's other works have resonated with me similarly, she still has an impact on me.
How I Liked It: I'm generally not a fan of this style of graphic novel, which is to say it's not "comics" but rather a novel (generally short) with illustrations on the side. While I adored the premise of The Night Bookmobile, the juxtaposition of text with illustrations frustrated me. Part of what I think makes the graphic novel genre so distinct is elevating the "comic" format to a new level and art form. The illustrations with text format like The Night Bookmobile (and this one) seem to read to me like "books like books for children but for adults."
That said, Satrapi weaves a great deal of wonder and magic in her story and pulls off the admirable: she manages to tell a new story in a way that feels like it's an old treasured fable. The art is in color and the style is sketchy crayon/charcoal and so close to the early '60s style of maybe PD Eastman (Are You My Mother?), I keep expecting the smell of vintage books from the pages.
It may not be Persepolis nor Habibi, but those are the top of the genre. But as a sweet (and at times dark), sharply-written fable, The Sigh is a (mostly) charming read.
Notable: I couldn't help but draw comparisons between this and a much, much lesser title, The Three Incestuous Sisters. A graphic novel that's actually text and illustration by an author better known for a different genre thanks to her bestselling work, a story of three sisters of differently colored hair, a fairytale setting, a graphic novel... fortunately for The Sigh (and its potential readers), that's exactly where the similarities end.