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spinningjenny's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I can't say I understood it, but I read it. Maybe the meaning will reveal itself to me in time.
catcherinthepi's review
Difficult to tell the characters apart; obviously allegorical in a somewhat heavy-handed way; art style wasn't quite my thing
holly_b_29's review
3.0
i liked the idea of this book, but the execution just wasn’t completely there for me. the style is fun, but all the characters look so similar. the ending was confusing for me (in a sad way, too). it IS impressive to have built up a world/ lore the way this story does, though!!! because this book was about civil war, i think the most profound quote was: “Wars don’t always end in victory or defeat. Sometimes they end when the soldiers decide to go home” (Kelso 198).
stacyschuttler's review
4.0
Defiantly an adult book. It had adult concepts and pictures. Not a fun and light book. It was political and you have to be really paying attention to follow the storyline and characters. (They all look similar. it was quite good for anyone who wants to read something a bit different.
saidtheraina's review
1.0
I love odd things. Strange books. A little bit of the twist in my fiction.
But this was just too crazy of a concept for me. Kelso creates a fairly primitive society, where all the humanoid creatures have artichokes on their heads instead of hair. Her illustration is really very cute and accessible, and it looks like a kids book. But the chapters/short stories didn't make a lot of sense to me, and there is some fairly graphic sex, which becomes almost fetishistic because of the kid-friendly illustration style. I lost interest in the plot, and flipped through the pages to see how far she'd go with the sexuality. But yeah, she lost me. I wasn't enjoying it for myself, and there's no way I'll ever booktalk this to kids of any age. Too bad though - it's a nice looking package on the outside.
But this was just too crazy of a concept for me. Kelso creates a fairly primitive society, where all the humanoid creatures have artichokes on their heads instead of hair. Her illustration is really very cute and accessible, and it looks like a kids book. But the chapters/short stories didn't make a lot of sense to me, and there is some fairly graphic sex, which becomes almost fetishistic because of the kid-friendly illustration style. I lost interest in the plot, and flipped through the pages to see how far she'd go with the sexuality. But yeah, she lost me. I wasn't enjoying it for myself, and there's no way I'll ever booktalk this to kids of any age. Too bad though - it's a nice looking package on the outside.
alisonburnis's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Artichoke Tales is a multigenerational story about land, war, and grappling with histories and love stories. The North and South have been at war for decades, and this is the tale of how a family’s interaction with the war has torn them apart, brought them together, and given them complicated relationships across the lines. This is a sweetly drawn book, and a very poignant look at war and belief, in a fairy tale world.
livrosqueimados's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I picked this book because of the topics of inter-generational family history and war, the same topics in one of my favorite books (100 years of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez). Even though it was sometimes hard to follow, it didn't dismotivate me at all from finishing and even loving the book - specially in the part where we learn about what provoked the war between the north and the south, i feel like the whole paint is for the story to feel arbitrary.
Anyways, if you are going into this book for the same reason as me, it's definitely worth the read.
"Winter comes dark and early up here. I am far from the people i love. It's Simpler to love them from far away. And always, the stories remain."
Anyways, if you are going into this book for the same reason as me, it's definitely worth the read.
"Winter comes dark and early up here. I am far from the people i love. It's Simpler to love them from far away. And always, the stories remain."
bluenicorn's review
4.0
I liked this. The art was cute but not overly so; the story was interesting and I am always a sucker for tales that span generations; and I didn't feel like the author tried too hard to make this into some kind of a far-reaching allegory. Simple and sweet. Well-done, even if the story didn't end how I wanted it to.
fernandie's review
Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.
crystabrittany's review
2.0
Artichoke Tales spans many generations and tells many stories of this world and these people. I had trouble figuring out who was who and where they all fit in, though. It took me longer than I wanted to get a sense of how the characters were related, what their stories were, and how it all fit together in the larger story.