2011 Reading #90: Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
Books 61-70.
Books 71-80.
81. Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter.
82. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams.
83. Acacia: Book One: The War With the Mein by David Anthony Durham.
84. Buffalo Gals and Other Animal Presences by Ursula K. Le Guin.
85. Burning Your Boats: The Collected Short Stories of Angela Carter.
86. Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams.
87. Kisscut by Karin Slaughter.
88. Arab In America by Toufic El Rassi.
89. Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie.
90. Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli. When this graphic novel came out in 2009, a lot of people were talking about it; I see why, now. It's a very smart book--almost excessively clever, in fact--with interesting art (I had no idea that Mazzucchelli could draw) that echoes the narrative themes expressed in the prose. Asterios himself (yes, the title is the name of the main character) is an unlikeable but relatable sort to anyone who has ever caught themselves being a blowhard at a cocktail party or lecturing a partner on trivial household matters. The story starts at his lowest point, and then alternately shows how he got there and puts him on the road to a sort of redemption, all the while illustrating and picking apart his dualistic worldview, his inability to see the world in anything other than oppositions. It's smart, as I say, but a little distant; I liked it a lot, but I didn't love it.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
Books 61-70.
Books 71-80.
81. Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter.
82. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams.
83. Acacia: Book One: The War With the Mein by David Anthony Durham.
84. Buffalo Gals and Other Animal Presences by Ursula K. Le Guin.
85. Burning Your Boats: The Collected Short Stories of Angela Carter.
86. Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams.
87. Kisscut by Karin Slaughter.
88. Arab In America by Toufic El Rassi.
89. Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie.
90. Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli. When this graphic novel came out in 2009, a lot of people were talking about it; I see why, now. It's a very smart book--almost excessively clever, in fact--with interesting art (I had no idea that Mazzucchelli could draw) that echoes the narrative themes expressed in the prose. Asterios himself (yes, the title is the name of the main character) is an unlikeable but relatable sort to anyone who has ever caught themselves being a blowhard at a cocktail party or lecturing a partner on trivial household matters. The story starts at his lowest point, and then alternately shows how he got there and puts him on the road to a sort of redemption, all the while illustrating and picking apart his dualistic worldview, his inability to see the world in anything other than oppositions. It's smart, as I say, but a little distant; I liked it a lot, but I didn't love it.