The Adventures of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
by Chris Ware
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Book Summary Information
Author: Chris WareEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-05
ISBN: 0224063979
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Vintage/Ebury (a Division of Random
Book Reviews of The Adventures of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
Book Review: Get it get it get it--in hardcover
Summary: 5 Stars
First, the negative: As another customer reviewer has already said, the paperback edition is poorly bound. Tragic, but true. I ignored this warning and saved myself a few bucks...and after less than a week, my copy is falling apart. I've never seen such a great book put together with such useless glue. Get the hardcover edition.
The other thing about the paperback edition is that sometimes you'll need a magnifying glass to take it all in; things get tight! I was squinting and straining more than was comfortable. (I don't know if this is true for other editions or not.)
Now, the positive: Chris Ware has figured out a visual language that is all his own, as far as I know. It might take you a few dozen pages to get the hang of how to read this book (especially if, like me, you're not too experienced with reading graphic novels), but you will. I know that there are "rules" to the way his dense panels work, for example, and I have learned how to read them in the right order, pretty fluently. But I couldn't explain it--you'll just have to figure it out, which of course is part of the fun in itself. You'll also see that there are rules about color and text--these are also surprising and ingenious, but once grasped become intuitive.
The plot could hardly be simpler. (Repressed, lonely guy gets abrupt call from estranged father, meets father for Thanksgiving holiday. I'll say no more than that.) But there's lots and lots going on; Ware manages to delve into all kinds of issues. Race and ethnicity, Chicago history, Freudian sexual conundrums, the desolation of modern American architecture...You really get a sense of the author's interests and passions.
I'm not sure this is a book everyone on the planet needs to read. But if you've done enough digging to find out about it and are at all interested in graphic novels, do not miss this. It's a real mindjob I can't wait to read again and again.
Summary of The Adventures of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
A comic/graphic novel that won the Guardian First Book Award 2001. It is the first graphic novel to win a major British literary prize.Children's Books
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