Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Ghost World
by Daniel Clowes
Once again I'm bending my rules and reviewing a graphic novel. I had read a review of the movie they made out of this book and so felt inclined to check this out of the library and give it a read. Ghost World isn't one of the usual superhero funny books. It's a tale of two girls, Enid and Becky, making the transition from high school to adulthood. Well, at least that's as close as I could come to figuring out a plotline. On first read, the book comes across as more of a collection of vignettes from Enid and Becky's collective life. It is very well done. I immediately could see a reflection of my own attitudes at that age--struggling to look cool and find a persona with which to cover my own insecurities, gleefully pointing out the shortcomings of others while refusing to notice or acknowledge my own. Unfortunately, I couldn't see much hope in the book. I mean, I eventually grew up (at least I like to think I grew up) and learned to accept and even respect people for who they were. It was a change in the way I thought--rather than expecting people to match my own standard of beauty or wisdom, I learned to try and find the beauty, wisdom and other qualities that reside in each person. There's only the barest hint of that in Ghost World. The girls might eventually get a clue, but you don't know that for sure. Perhaps I'm subconsciously expecting a Hollywood ending. I don't know. Anyway, it is a good book and I can truly recommend that you check it out. Now I'll have to go and rent the movie.
LibraryThing link
Once again I'm bending my rules and reviewing a graphic novel. I had read a review of the movie they made out of this book and so felt inclined to check this out of the library and give it a read. Ghost World isn't one of the usual superhero funny books. It's a tale of two girls, Enid and Becky, making the transition from high school to adulthood. Well, at least that's as close as I could come to figuring out a plotline. On first read, the book comes across as more of a collection of vignettes from Enid and Becky's collective life. It is very well done. I immediately could see a reflection of my own attitudes at that age--struggling to look cool and find a persona with which to cover my own insecurities, gleefully pointing out the shortcomings of others while refusing to notice or acknowledge my own. Unfortunately, I couldn't see much hope in the book. I mean, I eventually grew up (at least I like to think I grew up) and learned to accept and even respect people for who they were. It was a change in the way I thought--rather than expecting people to match my own standard of beauty or wisdom, I learned to try and find the beauty, wisdom and other qualities that reside in each person. There's only the barest hint of that in Ghost World. The girls might eventually get a clue, but you don't know that for sure. Perhaps I'm subconsciously expecting a Hollywood ending. I don't know. Anyway, it is a good book and I can truly recommend that you check it out. Now I'll have to go and rent the movie.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut
// posted by John @ 10:53 PM 
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