But there are two regular topics of conversation at home that I yawn at quite often: football and comics. At least I suppose that with comics I take a general interest. I want to know the story behind the creation of 'Watchmen' or why 'The Killing Joke' has such an incredible reputation. I love how Asterix needs a drink to give him super strength - sorry Popeye spinach doesn't quite cut it - and I have a lot of time for the occasionally acerbic humour of Peanuts! Bless Charlie Brown has qualities I find in myself all the time!
And while I'm here let me not forget the brilliant books by Brian Selznick (The Adventures of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck) that blur the lines between comic, novel and graphic novel with such style and grace that the illustrations stay in your mind for ages!
By and large however, I can't stand graphic novels. I struggle to follow the boxed off, random word bubble format that most graphic novels follow. I find them bitty, hard to digest and confusing at best.
This week I needed something that would tick the graphic novel box whilst also being easy on the eye and not too difficult to follow. Hello book adaptation!
I was recently discussing the Twilight book series with a colleague at work. I expressed my extreme disdain for a wimpy looking vampire who gets blingy in the sunlight (really Miss Meyer?).
Inspite of my blatant dislike of Edward's obvious physical flaw I couldn't argue against how much those books (and their subsequent movies) had made an impact on my life. New Moon was far and away my favourite of the series, it being a mixture of both Wuthering Heights and Romeo and Juliet (sigh).
I devoured the books, totally lost in their magic. I watched the films over and over. I was even one of those twi hards who saw all of the films back to back in a cinema movie marathon. Oh yeah, I lapped it up.
Upon spotting this adaptation in my library I was instantly struck by how painfully beautiful Bella looked. I read it through VERY quickly, reaching the book's end and realising to my abject horror that they'd broken the book into two graphic novels ( I should've checked the cover properly first haha). I've never loathed the words 'to be continued' so much! And that's with me knowing how the story ends!
Suffice it to say that the book was a very easy read. Pure pulp, much like the original books themselves. Nothing to really stretch the vocabulary or the intellect. But then pulp isn't something to be vilified. As readers it shouldn't be our secret guilty pleasure. It's something that allows us every now and then to just drift into another world without taxing our brains too much. I personally think that is something to be celebrated, especially as it gets people doing what other books might not do, which is read.
As a mother and an educator I want children to know about the beautiful variety of books out there. But if they keep returning to a particular author or series then I will certainly not stop them from reading something that they love. That would be like denying them food just so they can try the many different fruit flavours of water!
The illustrations in the book are stunning! All black and white with splashes for colour to ram home specific events in the story. The colour of vampire Victoria's hair is so vividly red that I'm almost tempted to see if I can go out and replicate it!
For those who've done well enough to avoid the series completely I will try to break the plot of this book down. Bella (very young human) is in love with Edward (young but not young veggie vampire). Edward and his vampire family hunt animals instead of humans to quench their thirst and appease their moral consciences. Bella is desperate to join their ranks. Edward is having none of it. They simply love each other too much to do what needs to be done which is respect each other's wishes.
When Edward one day tells her that he never really loved her and he and his family up sticks and leave without a trace, he sets in motion a chain of events that sees Bella's increasing desperation lead to tragic consequences. Throw in a ridiculously handsome (my good gravy he was fit) werewolf Jacob who also has feelings for Bella and you've got a recipe for pure disaster!
It's a great book, but if you're not too keen on spending the time reading the full novel, this version enables you to take in the plot quickly and easily. At around 250 pages (not exact as it wasn't numbered) it was exactly what I was looking for this week. Hmmm, think my boxsets might be hanging around somewhere!
This is book is book 37 of my 52 book list and my graphic novel.
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