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therealcubcake's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
2.75
booksspiceandeverythingnice's review
3.0
I've been fascinated by Dali's art and cinematography for years, so I jumped at the chance to read this graphic novel.
Dali - Before Gala is the first volume in the series and tells about Dali's early life and art before the widespread fame. I enjoyed the context of his friendships and other relationships with other artists of the age, as well as his family dynamics and motivation behind becoming an artist. One of my favorite scenes was the imagining of his famous movie, Un Chien Andalou, together with his friend Luis Bunuel.
There's some confusion however and the story is rather disjointed, mostly due to the fact that Dali rarely says anything 100% intelligible. He is portrayed as perpetually doing and saying odd things that have nothing to do with the context, but everyone around him somehow enjoys and celebrates him for it. For this reason it's not really a biography, but rather an abstract interpretation of his life. Fitting that it leaves a lot to the interpretation, but some scenes just left me wondering what it was that I just read.
What I did love was the artwork. It has nothing to do with Dali's art style, and I didn't expect anything of the sort either. It's light and sketchy and portrays the general weirdness really well. There's also a Dali-as-a-cat narrator that's delightful throughout the book.
Overall, an interesting book - I'm just not sure where it's going! Maybe Vol 2 sheds some light.
✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.
Dali - Before Gala is the first volume in the series and tells about Dali's early life and art before the widespread fame. I enjoyed the context of his friendships and other relationships with other artists of the age, as well as his family dynamics and motivation behind becoming an artist. One of my favorite scenes was the imagining of his famous movie, Un Chien Andalou, together with his friend Luis Bunuel.
There's some confusion however and the story is rather disjointed, mostly due to the fact that Dali rarely says anything 100% intelligible. He is portrayed as perpetually doing and saying odd things that have nothing to do with the context, but everyone around him somehow enjoys and celebrates him for it. For this reason it's not really a biography, but rather an abstract interpretation of his life. Fitting that it leaves a lot to the interpretation, but some scenes just left me wondering what it was that I just read.
What I did love was the artwork. It has nothing to do with Dali's art style, and I didn't expect anything of the sort either. It's light and sketchy and portrays the general weirdness really well. There's also a Dali-as-a-cat narrator that's delightful throughout the book.
Overall, an interesting book - I'm just not sure where it's going! Maybe Vol 2 sheds some light.
✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.
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