Glass Town

I was never really into any of the Brontë sisters' novels. I read Wuthering Heights back in high school and didn't like it. In fact, I don't think much of the class liked it. One day we had a substitute teacher in for our English class and when we figured out she hadn't read Wuthering Heights, we filled her in on the plot and added our own characters and plot points. But I digress. Not being a huge Brontë fan in no way detracts from my enjoyment of this short graphic novel that delves into the Brontë sisters (with brother Branwell) creation of two imaginary cities. The siblings would tell stories about these cities and their inhabitants. This book shows that off well and its fun to learn of all the creativity behind it as well as learning more about the Brontës themselves. Pretty cool.

I've long been intrigued by the life of the Brontës and know so little about their imaginative “Glass Town” years, so I was really excited about the concept of this graphic novel. While Glass Town displays considerably creativity, the illustrations–crude and geometric–didn't impress me. The story was confusing and didn't give me much insight into the Brontës' real Glass Town. There were metafictional elements present, a device that generally thrills me, but I was a bit indifferent with how they were orchestrated here. Glass Town is a book for graphic novel buffs and the most devoted Brontë junkies.