GRAPHIC NOVEL REPORT: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

Title: Watchmen
Author: Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Copyright Date: 1995

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (Excellent)

Back Cover Description
The edition of Watchmen I read did not have a true back-cover description, so I am referencing the overview from Barnes and Noble (linked in the title section) 

It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero called Rorschach. But is Rorschach really insane or has he in fact uncovered a plot to murder superheroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians? On the run from the law, Rorschach reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives, but what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet! Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story -- the story of The Watchmen.

Who watches the Watchmen. Someone does. Someone who's trying to kill them all, one by one. Time's running out for the Watchmen... .

My Thoughts
This is the second graphic novel I've read and I have to say that the genre is really growing on me.  I am just dipping my toes into comics for now but I'm quickly learning that everything is not all superheros and bad guys in the land of the colorful page.

While Watchmen is a traditional comic in that the main characters are masked vigilantes working for justice where the law cannot, it provides a couple of interesting twists.  

First, there isn't an obvious super-villain.  There is an ever escalating cold war between the US and the Soviet Union. The Watchmen, being simply normal people with good intentions, can't help to alleviate the tension in anyway;  they are useless now.  Their services just aren't needed or wanted anymore and the glory days are long gone.  So when someone starts picking off Watchmen, it falls on deaf ears.  

Second, the only true superhero, "Dr Manhattan", is completely agnostic to the human race.  He ignores them for the most part so that he can focus his time and energy studying the secrets of the universe.  This is in contrast to most superhero comics which use their powers to right all of the wrongs in the world to make it a better place.  The government does say, "The superman exists, and he's American" , but they really don't have any control of him.  Even if this ownership is in name only the Soviets don't know that and it is the only reason the cold war hasn't boiled over.  

Watchmen was the only graphic novel on the Times Magazine top one hundred novels of the twentieth century and I can see why after reading it.  The story line is layered and deep.  It weaves the original Watchmen of the forties with the next generation of masked heroes brilliantly.  The non-hero characters are deep and complex, each one bringing an added dimension to the tense world around them.  The story really makes you think about what you've read and I found myself wondering what I would do in some of these situations. 

I would definitely recommend Watchmen to anyone who wants a dark, action-filled,  thought-provoking read with memorable characters and an unbelievable ending.  

One last thing before I go,  I watched the Watchmen movie after I read the graphic novel and I thought it was good.  It was very true to the comic, but it obviously had to leave out several of the subplots.  The ending was changed dramatically from novel, so if you've liked the movie, but haven't read the book yet, pick it up and give it a read. You won't be disappointed. 

BOOK REPORT: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Title: One Hundred Years of Solitude 
Author:  Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Copyright Date:  1967

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars ( epic )

Probably Garcia Marquez's finest and most famous work, One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family.  Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, alive with unforgettable men and women, and with a truth and understanding that strike the soul.  One Hundred Years of Solitude is a masterpiece of the art of fiction.

My Thoughts
I started to read One Hundred Years of Solitude on a whim. I picked it up while I was waiting for an evening meeting to start and I was engaged in the Buendia family immediately.  It wasn't until about a week later that I could start reading it however and during this hiatus, I found myself thinking about the book and where it might take me.

What I quickly found out was that Marquez was placing me in an epic tale that doesn't leave Macondo.  But it's the small details in this large story that make it so rich.  It is also the small details which make this an unexpectedly odd story. One Hundred Years of Solitude doesn't start out odd; the oddness evolves and grows throughout the book along with the town.  Just little things in the beginning really, a girl eating dirt here, a ghost there, maybe some blood flowing up hills on occasion. By the time I met the third generation of Beundias, nothing surprised me.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the title. I usually associate solitude with loneliness and depression, but Marquez portrays solitude as a driving force in life. It is woven it into every character's life, whether they were happy, sad, popular or a wall-flower. Many seek solitude as a way to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life, while others do anything they can to avoid it.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is a deep and complex story. I enjoyed it on my first read, but I rated it four and a half stars because I know there are elements that I missed. It is very possible that I will be able to up the rating to five-stars on my next read. 

BOOK REPORT: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Title:                            Jane Eyre
Author:                        Charlotte Bronte
Original Copyright :  1847

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars ( classic )


My Thoughts
A few years ago, I started reading Jane Eyre but didn't finish it. I got about twenty percent through before I had to put it down to focus on other things.  Up to that point, Jane Eyre didn't engage me; I found it verbose and dry.  Once I was finally able to make enough time to pick up the book again, I didn't have the motivation to re-familiarize myself with the characters and story line   As a result, the book sat on the shelf in my bedside table for a long time.

Now, fast-forward to last September when I started up the Olio Scholar project.  Jane Eyre was still sitting on the shelf haunting me. I knew that I wanted to finish it.  It was too high on most reading lists to be ignored.  Too many people I knew listed it as an all-time favorite.  I vowed that I would try to read it again as part of the project.  However, I saved Jane Eyre until I got close to my goal of 25 books in a year before I picked it up.  I figured it would take me a while to push through the approximate five-hundred pages my edition contained and I didn't want to have success hinging on it.

Jane Eyre definitely exceeded my expectations.  I was expecting a dry story about a strong woman in a man's world finding love similar to Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  I expected it to be written in a dry, grammatically correct manner, providing insight into the human psyche with stuffy Victorian wit amid an oppressive social structure.  The language was definitely formal  but this wasn't the typical uptight British love story.  It is about a pious woman who desires a full life, with love simply being one piece.  This is one of the reasons that, in 1847, the book was controversial.  It was not a woman's place to be unsatisfied with her lot in life.  Her role was to marry as well as possible and then do everything she could to ensure the husband was well tended to.  

One thing I didn't expect the was the dark, Edgar-Allen Poe like undertones foreshadowed by the rookery looming over Thornfield Hall. I didn't expect the mysterious noises in the attic and unexplained fires.   I didn't expect the secrecy of Mr Rochester's staff.  I welcomed this dark layer as it added a depth to the story that kept me engaged.

One other thing that I noticed reading Jane Eyre.  I now know where J.K. Rowling got her inspiration for Harry Potter's upbringing; the parallels are undeniable.  Does this sound familiar? Jane's parents die and as an infant she is left at the door step of her aunt who promises to raise the child as her own, but instead treats her like dirt.  The children already in the household are pompous, rude brats who get everything they want and forever torment the new addition to the family.  The protagonist orphan is rescued from this domestic hell by going off to boarding school where she make a few friends and excels in her studies.  I wonder if the Bronte estate gets any of the money from the Harry Potter series?

I am glad I finished Jane Eyre.  It was an excellent book and It is easy to see why it is such a lasting story.  It still had its dry parts, don't get me wrong;  I said, "Get on with it!" on several occasions but I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a layered, well-written story.

BOOK REPORT: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Title:                               The Graveyard Book

Author:                            Neil Gaiman

Original Copyright Date:          2008

My Rating:               4.5 out of 5 stars  ( loved it)


Back-cover Description
It takes a graveyard to raise a child. Nobody Owens , known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neitherthe world of the living or the dead. There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy -- an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack-- who has already killed Bod's family.

My Thoughts
The Graveyard Book is a fabulously entertaining, not-so-standard coming-of-age story about a boy (standard) being raised in an old, no longer used, graveyard by the ghosts buried there (not-standard).  This story is listed as "Young Adult" or "Children's" but I don't think Neil designed it that way, he just set out to write a great story that just happened to be accessible to most age groups.  

Most of Neil's writing have a dark edge to it, and The Graveyard Book is no different; it is set in a graveyard and death is a not-so-subtle theme throughout, starting off with the murder of Bod's family and continuing with the community of souls who help raise him.  However, the myriad souls which adopt Bod, who range from a roman statesman, a few aristocrats, some well respected craftsmen and  teachers, and others give Bod a diverse and somewhat normal upbringing.  

We've learned from Harry Potter and other young adult stories, death doesn't need to be omitted from young adult books if addressed properly,by not dancing around it and allowing the characters to deal with it. and Neil definitely balances this topic expertly.  The Graveyard Book is an expertly written, clever, and fun story that no one should miss.