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richbarrett's review
4.0
It took me over 100 pages to get into this book but once I did I was kind of blown away. It's a challenging read with lots of vignettes, asides, and many characters some of which only appear for a page or two. At times it seems over-indulgent with the way it will break from a scene with a seemingly disconnected full page mix-media image or a handwritten fable. But other times it is sublime like an extended diary sequence that shows you the fully-envisioned life of a character we never even meet in the main story. It's a heartbreaking sequence that totally won me over. Animal lovers especially will find a lot to love and get angry over in this book as it portrays a world in which animals can talk but are still considered a lesser class of species to human beings.
This is Adam Hines' first book and is inconceivably meant as the first of 9 books which will take him about 25 years to complete. This book completely stands on its own though and will probably reward multiple re-reads. I've already started going back through those first 100 pages that didn't initially grab me.
This is Adam Hines' first book and is inconceivably meant as the first of 9 books which will take him about 25 years to complete. This book completely stands on its own though and will probably reward multiple re-reads. I've already started going back through those first 100 pages that didn't initially grab me.
saidtheraina's review
2.0
I tried.
But I need graphic novels to have a little more story and not quite this much tripping. I needed a framework, and I wasn't getting it when I gave up after about fifty pages. It's beautiful, but I just didn't want to keep reading. And it was due back at the library, so I'll let those looking for things this deep and structure-less enjoy it.
The visuals are beautiful and the figures are accessible - I just could not connect.
But I need graphic novels to have a little more story and not quite this much tripping. I needed a framework, and I wasn't getting it when I gave up after about fifty pages. It's beautiful, but I just didn't want to keep reading. And it was due back at the library, so I'll let those looking for things this deep and structure-less enjoy it.
The visuals are beautiful and the figures are accessible - I just could not connect.
mistypane's review
4.0
Perhaps not the most joyful thing to read on xmas day, but I got this as a present and couldn't wait to start and then I could not stop until I'd finished. Absolutely beautiful. I can see from the first reading this is one I will get more out of from reading it again, so many intertwined details and complex artwork. The range of styles and voices.
Possibly my favourite short piece in the review exercises towards the end 'Was any of this taken notice of by Ed? 'No' Why not? 'He was thinking of other things.' List them. 'A lobster dinner, his wife's hands, his son's feet, his debits, his credits, and a pain in his left foot that drew out the sole.'
Possibly my favourite short piece in the review exercises towards the end 'Was any of this taken notice of by Ed? 'No' Why not? 'He was thinking of other things.' List them. 'A lobster dinner, his wife's hands, his son's feet, his debits, his credits, and a pain in his left foot that drew out the sole.'
docpacey's review
3.0
Interesting. Max points for the subject matter, the nonlinearity and the heft, but lots of points taken away for the awful small fonts in such a giant doorstop of a book, it was difficult to read and not a pleasure for this alone.
mschlat's review
3.0
Graphic novel based on an alternate Earth where animals are sentient and can speak, but still mostly occupy the same niches in life (e.g., pets, livestock). There is a plot line (not fully resolved) on an animal terrorism organization, but even with all the genre trappings, this is literary fiction, not a thriller or science fiction work. The reader is much more concerned with emotional states and perspectives than with the nuts and bolts of an unfolding story. Moreover, Hines interweaves the narrative (mostly scenes of dialogue very well written) with interludes of sketchs that sometimes clearly connect to the story but often do not.
I really liked the narrative pieces, even some of the text pieces that I typically hate in comics form. I think Hines has some fascinating things to say about human/animal relationships, and there's a piece near the end where a woman journals the relationships she has with her family pets that's heartbreaking. But I would have preferred this as straight narrative. It's like I want to read the book behind this book --- with fewer flourishes and much more connection to all the characters.
I really liked the narrative pieces, even some of the text pieces that I typically hate in comics form. I think Hines has some fascinating things to say about human/animal relationships, and there's a piece near the end where a woman journals the relationships she has with her family pets that's heartbreaking. But I would have preferred this as straight narrative. It's like I want to read the book behind this book --- with fewer flourishes and much more connection to all the characters.
lordenglishssbm's review
3.0
I struggle a bit with this one. There are some interesting themes here and the art is solid, but it feels too much like a small part of a larger story that we haven't got (and considering that this was released back in 2010 and the follow-up has yet to be published, that we might never get). It's an intriguing if occasionally overwrought what-if, but I hesitate to say that it's anything more.
deepfreezebatman's review
2.0
This comic is worth reading for the artwork alone. I've never seen any other comic like it, and of course I love the Chris Ware-ish style of some of the stories.
While I like the concept of the plot, Hines' storytelling style was not for me. I felt too disconnected from the characters and storyline through the short snippets, and by the end, I just didn't feel emotionally invested.
While I like the concept of the plot, Hines' storytelling style was not for me. I felt too disconnected from the characters and storyline through the short snippets, and by the end, I just didn't feel emotionally invested.
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