Thursday, April 3, 2014

Trying Something New: Outlander & Persepolis Graphic Novels

The Exile, written by Diana Gabaldon & illustrated by Hoang Nguyen
Series? yes; a companion/adaptation of Outlander
Publisher: Del Ray
Date: 2010
How did I get this book? borrowed from library
My Rating: 3 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Author | Publisher

Nothing will ever replace the original Outlander for me, but this was a fun introduction to a whole new genre and format of storytelling. I thought it would be a good idea for my first graphic novel to be one that was adapted from a book I've already read and I'm glad I made that decision. I really enjoyed the artwork, even if the characters weren't exactly how I'd pictured them -- but honestly, how could they be? I didn't picture them illustrated in my mind, after all. I thought the introduction where Gabaldon shared her history with reading and writing Disney comics was fascinating. It also made me realize exactly why she would be so interested in adapting her novel in this way. I do think if I had not read Outlander first, I might have been a little lost, but for a fan of the series, I think this was very well done. It only covers up until Jamie's decision to return to Lallybroch, which I think was the perfect stopping point. If you've toyed with trying graphic novels and have read Outlander, I would definitely recommend giving this one a go.

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Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, written & illustrated by Marjane Satrapi
Series? yes; Persepolis #1 & #2
Publisher: Pantheon
Date: 2004
How did I get this book? borrowed from library
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Publisher

This was my first original graphic novel, meaning that it was not based on another story like The Exile was. I had heard this one is highly acclaimed and respected in the genre, so I thought it would be a good one to start with (and it was also turned into an Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated movie, so bonus points for the Book-to-Movie challenge!) I had read about halfway when I realized I was very confused about the Iranian history behind the story. This is not the author's fault, she actually did a very good job of providing background information, but it was my own ignorance about the implications of what was happening that led to my confusion. So I stopped, read up a bit on the Islamic Revolution, and then re-started from the beginning. This really helped my understanding, and I read the second half with no trouble. I do think this historical event was covered in of my global history class, but not very thoroughly and whatever I may have learned had gone completely out of my memory. This was also a great book for the Diversity on the Shelf challenge because it really educated me about a part of the world and a culture I was not familiar with. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to give graphic novels a try.

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Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, written & illustrated by Marjane Satrapi
Series? yes; Persepolis #3 & #4
Publisher: Pantheon
Date: 2005
How did I get this book? borrowed from library
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Publisher

This one is more focused on Marjane's coming of age and her struggles to establish her identity as she tries to find a balance between Western freedoms and the traditions of her homeland. She lives in Europe for several years and then later returns to Iran where she faces new challenges after being away for so long. Especially as a Western reader, the extent of the repression of women seemed absolutely incredible, and I'm not surprised that some of my favorite scenes were the ones where Marjane rebels and speaks her mind -- quite a dangerous thing to do!

Both Persepolis books have really convinced me that graphic novels are well worth reading when I take the time to seek out topics and stories that interest me. And while I would never choose a book solely based on its length, they definitely are fast reads for those days or weeks I'm feeling time-crunched.

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Reading Challenges:
New Author
Diversity on the Shelf
In Translation
Book to Movie
Prequel & Sequel
Lucky No. 14: Not My Cup of Tea + Books vs. Movies

17 comments:

  1. I'm glad you tried something new, graphic novels, and enjoyed it! I personally don't read them and never plan to. For some reason they just aren't my cup of tea. I'm not sure why. *shrugs*

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    1. Everything can't be for everyone! Though I will admit, I used to feel the same way until I read some reviews by bloggers I never expected would like graphic novels based on the other things they read and it turned out they did, so I figured, why not give it a try?

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  2. Great reviews! I've started hearing good things about Persepolis all over the place and since this is a part of history I'm woefully ignorant about, I'm sure I could benefit from reading it too.

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    1. They are really excellent, I hope you get a chance to try them!

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  3. Persepolis sounds really good, I will have to try it out!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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    1. It really is quite good -- definitely a good introduction to graphic novels if you are new to them.

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  4. Persepolis is such a good gateway drug for comics. It was one of the first comics I read, too, and it made me want to read more.

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    1. It really is! I've since read all of Satrapi's other graphic novels (will review soon) and added some others to my TBR after some research. I really love my library for these kinds of books because I don't really want to own them, but I still get to experience new things :)

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  5. I have been thinking more this year about reading graphic novels. I have nothing in mind to start with. Until now. I love that you took time to read on up on some of the countries history to get a better feel of the back story. This graphic novel series sounds interesting and I think it will be added to my TBR list for sure. Thanks for the recommendation.

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    1. You should definitely try Persepolis for your Diversity on the Shelf challenge! If you're like me and don't remember much about the Islamic Revolution, I definitely recommend looking it up before starting -- it helped me so much :)

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    2. I might have to do some refresh reading first. Thanks for the recommendations.

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  6. I really want to consistently add graphic novels into my reading rotation- I've read maybe four or five in the past and am always so impressed with what I've encountered in terms of the art and stories.

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    1. I really was so pleasantly surprised by them. I would love to know which ones you read and enjoyed!

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  7. Oo Christine, you've also stepped into the trap of graphic novels :)

    I've never read one and I don't doubt I would probably like them, but the reason I don't intend to try them any time soon is that since they are probably quite pricy (and I don't use library) it would be awful for the bank account to get addicted.

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    1. Oh yes, that could be very dangerous! If I wind up with a couple favorites I really want to re-read and have copies of, I might consider purchasing, but otherwise I am definitely going the library route for these.

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  8. Ah I loved Outlander and agree nothing can compare. Wonderful mini reviews Christine!

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I'd love to hear what you think :)