Sabrina

3,5

Decepcionante. Aponta pra coisas interessantes mas nunca decide se afundar nelas.

very nice

In an exciting development the Man Booker longlist includes, for the first time, a graphic novel.

But why this one?

I mean that rich middle section with tinfoil hat wearing talk show hosts calling out conspiracies and crisis actors in our thriving clickbait culture speaks to the current American dumpster fire beautifully. And the email from “Truth Warrior” is a perfectly realized little gem with its own subtle twists moving from soothing empathy to sputtering rage. But all of this is wrapped up in a bland burrito. The flat muted colours and the barely rendered characters centred on each rigid panel gives it a feel like an airplane emergency card, and just about as compelling. And yes I get it, it's supposed to feel banal and tedious. But is it better in this format? I liked the meaty, almost too text heavy section. Would this have been better as a short story?

If I'm being generous, Drnaso does use images to portray an underlying threat - the held knife behind the door, the gun revealed in act one, the end times bunker noted without comment. But overall the flat style draws too much attention to itself. Look! We are all living lives of quiet desperation, empty and flat! Look at these long uncomfortable silences, these placid faces! LOOK! Do you get it? I'll keep hammering it over your head with these repeating boxes following the flat rhythm of a comatose patient's heartbeat. MuCh mUnDanE! VeRY DiSapPoInT.

Meh. I semi-understand the hype around this book, but I definitely don't understand some of the breathlessly “best book of our times” blurbs from greats like Zadie Smith. I really disliked his drawing style and that you could barely tell characters apart. Having seen nothing else by Drnaso, I can't tell if that's viewed as a feature or a flaw. For me, if yellow hair is the only feature separating one character from another, I'm going with flaw. I liked some of the juxtapositions of the panels and the churning dread felt real, but the intentionally obscured text panels were tiresome and though I read the book in one night, I never felt compelled or moved by the characters or story. It's a final 3 star instead of a 2 because I will keep thinking about the dark side of conspiracy theories after tragedies, but I'm not looking to read more from him.

Wow. This unnerved me in many, many ways. I was thinking this might be an excellent book club pick. There's so much to examine here. Personally, I became obsessed with Ted. I mean, what is going on there? The knife scene? The hunt for the cat? The complete shut down over Sabrina's death, the return to stay with a friend he hasn't seen in years? And Calvin?

Left me with more questions than answers, and I'm not going to lie. I could not wait to leave this creepy, creepy world that mirrors our own.

Everyone who follows the Man Booker seems to have an opinion regarding the inclusion of Sabrina on the longlist. The rules of the Man Booker Prize state that a work must be “unified and substantial” and “written originally in English.” By this definition, Nick Drnaso's Sabrina, a graphic novel, qualifies. Traditionally, the Prize does not make exceptions, so when it does, these extensions throw readers into the path of confusion. In my personal opinion, it should not have been included. I also think 2016's All That Man Is should not have been a contender. Though it was billed as a novel, no one was tricked; it was a short story collection unified only by theme. Sabrina's inclusion is a bit more gray.

But I want to judge the work without the Man Booker in mind, though I will come back to the Prize in the end.

Sabrina starts with a slow build up. The groundwork is placed and a quietness is established. The problem in these opening pages is not with the story, but with the illustrations. They leave much to be desired. I had great difficulty in identifying the characters or their ages, as the artist portrays all people as stocky and plain faced. By appearance, this novel aligns more with the idea of “comics” than of what some of us have come to expect from “graphic novels.” (It irritates me a little that this will be the first graphic novel experience for many readers. For those interested in the form, I recommend Craig Thompson's Habibi for an amazing blend of story and art.)

The story picks up toward the middle as answers are unexpectedly provided. The following pages tell a riveting tale that very much asks questions of cultural relevance. That's where the story is. It's not in the mystery of a missing woman; it's in how American society handles tragedy. It's a story that could've been told in another form, possibly, but I'm not convinced it could've been done so well. And it doesn't matter, because it was Drnaso's story and this is his media. I wish the art had been better rendered, but the vision of how the story was meant to be lain out was perfect. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It will stick with me for year's to come.

I do want to return to the Man Booker briefly and say that I'm a little hurt by Drnaso's response to being longlisted. This is a huge honor, but Drnaso's never heard of the Prize and seems irritated that it has interfered with his art and his day-to-day life (http://www.vulture.com/2018/07/nick-drnaso-on-sabrina-his-booker-longlisted-comic.html). Forget the Pulitzer, the Nobel, and even Employee of the Month—I want a Man Booker nomination. I really liked this work and hope that it finds some fans amongst a tough crowd, but given his irritation at the nomination, let's help Drnaso is not further inconvenienced by being shortlisted.

Fantastic. As expected.
Though I think I liked Beverly a tiny bit more. Maybe it's the weight of this story.