Sunday Salon: Travelling from the Sofa

Africa - Sudan
Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih

A young man returns to his village after many years and finds that a stranger has moved into town and managed to work his way into the tightly knit community who are normally wary of strangers. In this place where each persons heritage is known the stranger is a rarity, it isn't even known from which village he comes from.
When he finally meets the stranger he becomes obsessed, the stranger suddenly talks to him in well-spoken English,revealing at first a small part of his past.
The past is revealed in more detail when we discover that the stranger had been taken to court and held on the charge of murdering his own wife, and being the named cause of the suicide of many of English women. When the stranger suddenly disappears into the floods one night, feared dead, the obsession doesn't end it only becomes stronger.
Challenges:
999 (tbr + Arfican reads)
Orbis


Japan
Crossing Midnight by Mike Carey, Jim Fern and Mark Pennington
This fantastic graphic novel tells the story of twins Kai and Toshi. During the mothers pregnancy the father promised a sacrifice in payment for the birth of a healthy child. Unknown to him (and the doctors) his wife was expecting twins.
Boisterous children they quickly learn that Toshi is incapable of coming to harm through knifes and sharp objects. This knowledge leads her to be brave, disobedient and confident unlike her brother Kai.
One night Toshi wakes up to find a large man, surrounded by hovering knives leaning over her, he demands that she is his, the payment for the sacrifice her father made. When she refuses to go with him her dog is dismembered into tons of pieces. The creatures keep returning and the payments for refusal get higher, Kai ends up fighting to save the whole family from the instrusion of these mythical creatures.
This is my first violent graphic novel, I tend to stick to memoirs, and I really enjoyed it. At the back of the book the author writes about Japanese mythology and folklore which has made me want to discover more.
Challenges:
Graphic Novel
Japanese Literature Challenge
Orbis Terrarum


America (and the spiritual world)
A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

I picked up this book because the cover resembled the fantastic Siobhan Dowd novel
A Pure Swift Cry, I had no idea what the book was going to be about as the synopsis is written in a pale blue against a moss green background making it hard to read.
The ovel starts with Helen, a Light, a ghost trapped on earth. She is doomed to walk the earth following a host - a person she has chosen as a life line, if she moves away from this person she feels herself being pulled into hell.
Helen follows after Mr Brown, an English teacher and is always present in his life, unbeknown to him, until she realises that a pupil can see her. The pupil James, was also a light until he learnt how to inhabit the body of a dead soul.
The pair join up and quickly become tied to each other, they struggle with their own lives plus the lives of the host body they have come to inhabit.
I haven't done this justice at all, this is a great read - its intense, gripping and your pulled right into their world. (YA for older teens).
Challenges:
YA 2009
A-Z (Name)

A Graphic Novel Trio

y

Orbiter by Warren Ellis and Collen Doran
This really wasn't my cup of tea, way too sci-fi.
Venture, a space mission which went missing 10 years ago suddenly lands back on earth, one astronaut has survived the other 7 are missing. And the space ship is covered in a layer of skin!
Very random and full of science stuff that went straight over my head, I must have been suduced by the pretty colours on the cover when I picked this up because it was never going to be my thing.



Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie
Set on the Ivory Coast in the 1970's when the country was experiencing an economical boom: the city florished, education was of a high standard and life was a lot easier than it had ever been.
Aya is hardworking, she concentrates on school while her friends spend their evenings out partying trying to attract the next man. Despite Aya's warnings her friends meet their boyfriends in the 'night city' - the empty benches of the market. Parents are concerned with finding the best (richest) husband for their child.
Gorgeous illustations.

Read for Graphic Novel Challenge, YA, Olympic Challenege, Orbis Terrarum



The Wasteland by Martin Rowson
I was really concerned when I picked this up that this fella may do a disparity to my favorite poem. Luckily he stayed fairly well away from the poem.
The graphic novel is apparently based losely on TS Eliot's The Wasteland and Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep (which I haven't read). The story is about a cops hunt for his partner's murderer in the murky underground of the city.
It was okay, nothing to scream home about, odd character references and titles from the poem came into play but not in a big way.

My Thought: Mendel's Daughter by Martin Lemelman

Well I haven't posted in a while, I'm in the middle of reading 3 books and listening to 2 audiobooks and not getting anywhere, this is mainly due to revision. I sat my exam yesterday (blah!) so now I can try and catch up with everything I need to read - I have a stack of library books and bookcrossing bookrings that have to be read asap, plus lots of challenges that need tackling.
Today I thought I'd tick a library book off the list, so I started with this Graphic Novel Memoir, which is a subgenre I've discovered in the last year and really enjoyed.

Mendel's Daughter is written and illustrated by Martin Lemelman. When his mother was nearing the end of her life he asked her to talk about her experiences of life as a Jewish person during the war, he recorded her thoughts. He created this graphic novel using those thoughts, his illustrations and family photographs.
The mother's tale is intimate and allows the reader to get a glimse at life at this time. The illustrations are lovingly produced and the use of family photographs is a touching addition. I tried to find some images from the book to share but no luck, you'll just have to go borrow a copy from the library ;)
Challenges:
A-Z (Title)
In Their Shoes 4/4
Orbis Terrarum (Poland) 10/12
999 (Non-Fiction) 33/81
Non-Fiction Five 1/5
Graphic Novel Challenge 7/12

My Thoughts: Y the Last Man: Unmanned (Vol 1) by Brian K. Vaugn and Pia Guerra

This fantastic graphic novel is the first in the series, I'm hoping that the rest are just as good.

This volume introduces us to a fairly recognisable world, in some jobs and careers women and men are equal in other inequality still exists. Then a series pf events occur and the men instataneously drop dead. All except one: Yorrick (and his pet monkey).

As the women try to come to terms with the recent events and keep their lives moving they have a series of problems to contend with: A need to clear away the dead bodies, a lack of food and services, a lack of a stable experienced government and the Amazons. The Amazons are a bunch of hard headed feminists, set out to control through fear and violence, they celebrate the destruction of the male society and seek ways to exploit their position. Their trademark: One burnt off breast.

The next volume is on hold at the library, can't wait to pick it up.

Challenges:
A-Z (Titles)
Graphic Novel Challenge 5/12

Sunday Salon: Today and a quick review

Today should be busy and I really should be getting on with lots of work at the moment, but its Sunday and I seem to be in a go-slow mood today.
I woke up and read my first Manga - Priests. I wasn't overly impressed but I'm going to try Manga Shakespeare next, hopefully I'll enjoy that more. Oh and I built a table - well a flat pack table!
I'm just about to pop off to the library to pick up my reservations then I should be filling out coursework forms for 50 pupils - this should be really stimulating, for each one I have to hand write in the title of their 4 or 5 essays that they are entering - I'm sure I could be doing something more worthwhile!


A Quick Review: Castle Waiting, Linda Medley
This is a big-ole graphic novel of 450 pages but a fairly quick and easy read. The fairy tale story is set is an old secluded castle where people retreat to in times of need. Through the novel we are told the stories of several of the lovable characters who come to live in the castle - like the bearded nuns, and a single mother.
The book has its funny moments and was an enjoyable way to pass a few hours. I thought it was an okay graphic novel, check out Eva's review she loved it.
Challenges:
The Graphic Novel Challenge


In case you missed anything I posted this week:
Orbis Terrarum - my picks for this years challenge
My thoughts on the excellent Fugitive Pieces
Library Loot
A Short Story Review: The Camel's Back
Two books others loved but I didn't, have you read them? What did you think?

Two so-so books that others have rated highly...

Ever pick up a book that others have said is 'great' a 'must-read' and just gone 'err?' I read two books like that so far this week.
The first is the graphic novel Pyongyang by Guy Delise. The French animator is placed in North Korea for a 2 month stint in which he has to check editions of cartoons for French TV. The graphic novel is sold as 'a journey through North Korea' but is actually a single-minded mans view of a small part of North Korea. Now, I'm not saying that North Korea is amazing or politically correct, in fact I know so little about the place that I couldn't make an educated comment on the country, but I can say that Delise is negative about the place from the opening to the end of the book. He never says a single positive thing about the country or the people that he meets, instead he mocks their views, behaviour and culture. Surely if you visit a country you must find something nice to say. Anyone else read this? Have a different opinion?

Challenges:
Graphic Novel Challenge 3/12
A-Z (Title)
In Their Shoes 2/4
Lost in Translation 2/6
The Well Seasoned Reader
My Year of Reading Dangerously 1/12 (Banned

The second disappointing book is sold as 'an American Classic'. The Wonderful O is an extremely short book, which is considered to be one of the 1001 books to read before you die. The simple story is about a pirate who hates the letter O, he travels to a small island where he decides to ban the letter O and all things with that letter in its name. I liked the concept of this but never understood why the people so willingly let this stranger change their world, smash up and ruin their belongings. I liked the rhyming sentences and the amazing amount of things he could ban, and also he ludicrous ways of getting around things ie, you don't have to destroy Cows if they are part of a herd, but it was never gripping and I was happy when it was over.
Challenges
A-Z (Title)
1001 BTRBYD
999 (1001)
Decades Challenge (1950s)
Genre Challenge (Adventure)

A Neil Gaiman Double Whammy!

So much for an afternoon marking, I devoured 2 Neil Gaiman books, both for the RIP III Challenge and both were great.

I've read Coraline before, but last time it just kind of passed me by, this time I was in the right mood and I loved it.

Coraline is a modern fairytale. She is a young girl living in a house, with two overly busy and unattentive parents. The holidays are dragging and Coraline's life as an explorer is starting to get a bit boring. In the back of their flat is a locked door which leads to a brick wall. Well, being a fairytale we know that doorways such as these only lead to danger, and that our heroine will have to go and explore.

Behind the locked door, is Coraline's other family, all scarily with buttons for eyes (despite being grown up, one of the pictures I had to cover as I read the page, her eyes were just too freaky!). This alternative world is created by the mother, who appears to steal children's souls. And that's the intention she has for our main character, but as this is a fairytale we watch Coraline in her war against this adult.

I want to get the graphic novel version of this in the near future.

Other Reviews:

Booknut

An Adventure in Reading

The second Gaiman book was a gorgeous graphic novel which I spotted in the library and had never even heard of. Creatures of the Night includes 2 stories, The Price and The Daughter of Owls.

In The Price the narrators home is basically a home for stray cats, all manner of cats turn up to stay in the house, and all settle in fine. Until the Black Cat arrives, he sleeps on the porch but every night he is covered in cuts and welts. Once brought into the house to protect him from whatever is harming him, everything goes wrong for the family, from losing work, to accidents and srguments. When he is returned back outside, his owner sets out to discover just what it is that is attacking him.

The Daughter of Owls is a strange little tale, about an abandoned child believed to be the daughter of an owl. She is feared by the villagers and banished to live in the old convent. As with all feared female children she grows up to be a beauty and her actions cause havoc for the village which rejected her.

The pictures in this book are stunning, not at all like cartoons. The picture I really want to show you I can't find on the net, and I have no digital camera or scanner to capture it with.

RIP III: Two in One

Two books read for the RIP challenge, one a graphic novel and one a kids book, I will get to a novel soon.

Three Shadows (Graphic Novel) ****

Back then, life was simple and sweet. The taste of cherries, the cool shade, the fresh smell of the river...That was how we lived, in a vale among the hills - sheltered from storms, ignorant of the world, as though on a island, peaceful and untroubled.
And then...
Then everything changed.

Three Shadows starts of with an idyllic family life, out marching in woods, picking fruit and warm nights by the fire. And, as we all know, idyllic family life never lasts. Upon the hill appears three shadows. Everyday the loom over the little family, some times a little closer some times a little further away, but still each day they are there, a threatening presence.
As it becomes clear that is is Jochaim's life they have come to take, the massive father decides to steal his son away, to escape the threat of death. But death is inescapable and will always follow.
The graphics are stunning, full of bright whites and deep blacks to reveal the ever present shadows in the distance. This is the first graphic novel I have read, where the text is fairly sparse, and at first I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but the pictures quickly grabbed my imagination.
Challenge: YA Challenge, RIP III, Olympic Challenge (France), Unread Authors Challenge

Other Reviews: Bart Shuffleboil

Varjak Paw (Kids book) ***

I was really looking forward to reading this novel, but it never quite grabbed me. I read a lot of YA fiction, and this book was aimed at children of 8-10 (I'd guess), which may have been the problem, it was just a little too young for my tastes. Having said that, I think it would be a great book to read to a child who relished scary tales.

The story is about Varjak Paw, a pedigree cat who has spent his whole life inside one house, as his family is believed too precious to risk letting outside. When their owner disappears (a trip to heaven) a man in black enters the house, with his two vicious black cats, Varjak warns the family of the trouble to come. Being the odd one out in the family, Varjak is ignored, so he goes on a hunt to find a dog to help him rescue his family.

Life outside has many lessons for Vajak to learn, some new things he is taught by his new friends and some as part of a dream sequence. The question really is, is outside more dangerous than the threat in the house. Outside you have to face gangs of cats and deal with the Vanishings. And Varjak also has to find and talk to a dog - with one big problem, he has no idea what a dog is.

The illustrations in the novel capture the story perfectly, and add to the scary tone.

Challenges: RIP III, YA Challenge, Olympic Challenge: Lebanon, Unread Authors Challenge

My Thoughts: Blankets by Craig Thompson

I picked this up from the library the other day, the cover was too beautiful to leave it behind despite having to carry the big 500 odd pages home (a good 40min walk). I was a bit daunted by the size of it, but I read it in a couple of hours.

The graphic novel deals with two different parts of his life, his childhood and his relationship with his first love. As a child he feels he doesn't belong anywhere, at school he is bullied because of his appearance and his family life. At home he feels secluded, living so far away from town, his parents strive for an unmaterialistic life, leaving the shildren to share a bed in a room which is either freezing or roasting hot. The children, desperate for their own space fight over the bed and the blankets, but also forge a connection in this small space. His devoutly religious parents send him to a Sunday School which seems to work by scaring the beejezzers out of kids.

As he grows older we see him slip into the second stem of the novel, his friendship and later relationship with Raina. Raina is cool, knows her own mind and popular, but behind the facade she is trying to hold together her crumbling family, she has become the person who everyone relies on, and she is looking for someone to cling to.

These two come together in that intense first relationship that I'm sure the majority of people can identify with, romantic and draining. Again the image of the blanket and the shared bed come into play. Of a night their relationship, even before it is sexual is one of security and need, but also one which brings feeling of worry and frustration as he is struggling against the teachings of the church.

The images are stunning, I loved the use of the patterns and dreamlike scenes as well as the scenes with his brother and Raina's family. This would make a great read for older teens and adults alike.

Challenges:

YA Challenge

Around the World

Other Bloggers thoughts:
Athena
Jabberwock

My Thoughts: Yossel: April 19 1943 by Joe Kubert

For some reason I seem in a bit of a concentration slump at the moment, I can't concentrate on reading, preparing lessons, studyi ng or even watching a film, which as I'm sure you can imagine is very frustrating, especially as I have so much stuff I have to get done this week. So I decided to pick up a few Graphic Novels from the library, as they are generally short they don't look as scary as the 300 pages I have left of Eldest. Hopefully my concentration will snap back into place sometime soon, but till then it'll be Graphic Novels for me.

Yossel is a graphic novel about a Jewish teenage boy, a keen illustrator who likes to escape from the world by drawing comic book heroes. And, his is a world in which he'd definately like to escape. Yossel and his family are moved to the Jewish Ghettos in Warsaw, the story and pictures illustrate how life was in these camps for Jewish people.

Yossel continues drawing throughout his time in the camp, it helps him as the German soldiers favour him, and give him extra food and supplies. It also helps him as he draws the terrble scenes which he imagines after being told about the atrocities in the Concentration Camps. The novel is about the lead up to the uprising in the Ghetto, in which the Jewish members fought back against their oppressors.

The illustrations are in pencil, and give the effect of Yossel drawing them through his time in the camp, a period when he didn't have the time to ink them in. The illustrations depicting what is happening with Yossel contrast sharply with the illustrations he make of comic book heroes to amuse the solidiers, pictures which in a normal life he would be sketching out to amuse his friends.

As with Persepolis, I think the pictures and the simplistic language used to tell the story give the reader a really powerful rendition of the horrors which were created at this time. This book deserves to be read alongside other works about this time in history.

Challenge:
Reading Around the World: Poland

Other Reviews

The Gypsy Librarian

If you have reviwed this book please leave a link here and I'll add it to this post.

My Thoughts: Persepolis: The Return by Marjane Satrapi

I read the first Persepolis book a week ago and was blown away by the way a graphic novel could depict so well the life of a young Iranian girl. In the second instalment we see Marji in Austria at first struggling to fit in with the lives of those around her, and then fitting in a little too well. She experiments with drugs and politics, and numerous other strange things (like trying to pee like a man!), eventually her life spins out of control and she returns to Iran where she again struggles to fit in, having lived with freedom for years the rules she has to follow seem even more constricting.


In my first review of Persepolis I gave it a rave review, see here, this follow up is good but I didn't feel that it held the power of the first. This was principally because it was dealing much more with Marji's life rather than the events in the country, but also because I found her teenage self so extreme.

This weeks Weekly Geeks asks other bloggers to ask us questions about the books we are reviewing this week. Here are the questions, and there answers in regard to this book:

Bookzombie: I have not read "Persepolis" but I have seen good reviews of it everywhere. My question for you is how would you convince someone to read this (using 25 words or less)?
Amazing. A must read for anyone who needs to be enlightened about life in Iran. The form makes it all the more powerful.
book chronicle: Perseoplis: I'm assuming you also read the first one and if so how does it compare? I have not read either though always mean to pick up the collection. Are you a long time fan of graphic novels or is this your first time with one? Either way, how do you feel Persepolis acts as an introduction to the graphic novel world?
As I have said above, I feel that the first one is far more powerful, perhaps because it is seen through the eyes of such a young girl. However I am glad I read the second so I was able to have a look a the way that her life turned out. I have read a few graphic novels now, the first Persepolis has so far been the best. I am enjoying this format despite thinking I wouldn't, I'll definately be searching out more in the library. I feel these books would be a great introduction to graphic novels as they didn't seem too comic book like and they dealt with the type of topic which I would read a novel about.

Challenges:
Graphic Novel Challenge: Book 3 of 3! Depite completing this challenge that I took on halfway through the year I plan on continuing to read graphic novels, I'm glad I participated in this challenge as it encouraged me to read a format I may never have picked up.
July Book Blowout: Book 8

Other Reviews:
Bethany's Review: The review which made me go out and buy the book!
Marg's Thoughts

If anyone has reviewed this or the first book please leave a link in the comments and I'll add a link to your review.

My Thoughts: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi & a book blowout meme

Last month I had my first introduction to graphic novels with Dream Country by Neil Gaiman, Persepolis showed me what a Graphic Novel can do with a serious topic. Persepolis is about a little girl growing up in Iran during political change. Life goes from being free to having strict rules forced upon the people. Marji's parents generally tell her the truth, she is allowed to hear vivid details about the torture of prisoners, they take her to demonstrations and she reads political and marxist texts for her bedtime stories. Coming from a very political family she finds it extremely difficult to be the obedient little girl which is required under the new regime.

I found this book extremely easy to read and a very powerful look at life in Iran, I have read books about Iran before but this one is very powerful in it's message. I thought that the torture scene was particuarly hard hitting. I'm not sure if this is because the image is below to reiterate what is happening or because it is seen from the eyes of a child.

I shall be reading Persepolis: The Return in the next week.

Other Reviews:

Rebecca's Reads

Corinne

Raidergirl3

Marg

If you have reviewed this book please leave a link to your review and I'll add it on.

Challenges:

The Graphic Novel Challenge Book 2 of 3

Young Adult Challenge Book 3 of 12

July Book Blowout Book 5

Mrs S has set this mini-meme for the July Book Blowout

The Where’s your book set? meme
Here’s how it works - just answer some or all of the following questions about the book you are currently reading (or just finished if you are between books). You can either post your answers on your blog and link us up using Mr Linky below - or post your answers here in the comments.
Here’s the questions:
1. Title and author of the book

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
2. What year is the book set in?

1980-1984
3. What happened on this day in that year? Go to google and type in the date ie 13 July 1952 and see if you can find a news item for that day

July 13, 1980 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk U.S.S.R.
4. Where is your book set?

Iran
5. Have you visited that place before? If yes tell us something about your trip. If no, look the location up on google and tell us an interesting fact about the city/country.

Cyrus the Great's "Cylinder", found during excavations in Babylon, was inscribed with the first known declaration of human rights.

Elam, the oldest known civilisation in Iran, was founded in 1250 BC.

Cuneiform writing, a form of picture writing, was used in Iran over three thousand years ago.

My Thoughts: The Sandman: Dream Country, Neil Gaiman

My first Graphic Novel ever! And my first read for the Graphic Novel Challenge. I picked a Neil Gaiman as I am interested in reading more of his work since reading some of his short stories that he has posted on his blog, see here for my mini review, I also have my first Neil Gaiman novel arriving in the next week so I'll be able to compare his style in that.

Now, not having a clue about Graphic novels I ordered The Sandman: Dream Country from the library, recognising the title Sandman and not realising at all that this was in the middle of a series, having enjoyed it I will now look for the first volume and maybe work my way through all of them.

This book was composed of 4 stories: Calliope, A Dream of a Thousand Cats, A Midsummer Nights Dream and Facade. I loved reading the first 3 in particular A Midsummer Nights Dream, in which the theatre troop is taken by Will Shakespeare to perform his famous play on the Downs in Sussex, to a rather unusual audience. The illustations where fantastic and I really loved the scene when the 'Longman' of the Sussex Downs opens up to reveal the audience.

I also really loved the idea of the cats in A Dream of a Thousand Cats attempting to change the universe with their dreams, something people aim to do all the time.

The fourth story was the only one that reall didn't hold my attention, it was a bit too sci-fi for my tastes.

I'll certainly be reading more graphic novels in the future.

Part of my 20th Century Challenge

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

Graphic Novel Challenge

I'm going to give this a go, I have never read a graphic novel in my life and not sure if it'll be my thing but I like to try new stuff. Dewey is offering the chance for people to join this challenge half way through and only read half the books (just 3) which makes it less daunting.

I have ordered from my library:

Persepolis 1 and 2

Sandman by Neil Gaiman

As I had read a great review about the first 2 the other day (I can't remember who by) and I'm interested in reading more Gaiman.