Ah, Ladybug! When I saw this title on the Read Now list on NetGalley, I snagged it up because...curiosity got to the cat! Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir - Akumatized presented by ZAG Entertainment, and published by Diamond Book Distributors is available in e-book format, as well as in print. This book is a tie-in to the French television series which also goes by the name of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. It contains stories of three televised episodes from Season 1: Dark Cupid, Horrificator, and Le Mime.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng is an ordinary girl with an ordinary life, but by night, she patrols the city of Paris as the super-heroine, Ladybug, along with her crime fighting partner, Cat Noir. Most of the time, they are busy fighting against people who have been "akumatized" or "evil-ized" into being villains by the Supervillain, Hawk Moth. The process of akumatization typically begins when the victim experiences negative emotions as a result of being emotionally hurt by the actions of other people or by life's circumstances. These leave them susceptible to the influence of Hawk Moth's akumas (moths that have been "evil-ized," and who give Hawk Moth control over his victims to do his will). In each story, there is at least one person who becomes akumatized and given special powers by Hawk Moth to take revenge against the person who hurt them, or against the world. These powers are offered in exchange for a special favour; Hawk Moth wants the akumatized person to take the miraculouses (contact objects which give Ladybug and Cat Noir their special powers) and give them to him for his own nefarious purposes.
In Dark Cupid, the Horrificator, and Le Mime, the stories follow the formula mentioned above; hurt/broken hearts and anger leave a gateway open for Hawk Moth to seduce two classmates and a classmate's father into working for him so that they can pursue revenge. I have seen Dark Cupid and Le Mime on television, but haven't seen the Horrificator yet. Generally, the art work looks fairly true to the televised series that I wonder if they are actually screen shots. There are a couple of frames that have been altered to fit into the comic book format (I noticed a frame in which the Mime appears to be a reverse image of what appears in the televised episode). A few frames showed blurry motion, which created an interesting effect for activity, but again, I wonder if this could be due to a screen shot effect. I didn't gain any extra information about the stories from the comic version compared to the televised version, except that I could read the text of hand written notes more easily than from what appeared on television, because it was stationary and didn't disappear into the next scene. Although the dialogue in the galley that I looked at was written in English, I was curious if the artists would translate the text of the handwritten notes into English in the comic, but as with any text that appears in the television series, these were also written in French.
In my opinion, the Dark Cupid and Horrificator stories were easy enough to follow; they are similar enough to their televised counterparts in getting the stories told. However, Le Mime had some frames in which it was difficult to understand what the Mime was doing. Because I had previously viewed the televised episode, I knew what he was doing, but it is understandably difficult to show what the mime was doing without filling the frame with textual explanations, or risk losing the story's momentum by showing more frames of all of his motions, which could slow down the urgency of the action scenes. For the Le Mime story, I would say that the televised episode was superior in getting the story across.
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir - Akumatized from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
Addendum:
From a Christian perspective, there may be some parents who are concerned about any spiritual content that may be present in this book. In the Ladybug universe, the miraculous that Ladybug possesses are her earrings, which allow her to transform from Marinette into Ladybug. In order to become Ladybug, a kwami, Tikki, (a tiny magical being that is several thousand years old) enters the earrings and transforms Marinette into Ladybug. Her powers include an ability to create a lucky charm that allows her to defeat the akumatized person, and to "de-evil-ize" and strip the akuma butterfly of its ability to make its victims evil. Cat Noir's miraculous is a ring into which Plagg, another kwami, enters. This gives Cat Noir the power to destroy whatever he touches once he activates that power. An akumatized person is somewhat possessed, where they are overcome by the influence of an evil akuma butterfly.
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
Tuesday, 31 January 2017
Review: Homestands by Sally Bradley
Homestands, by Sally Bradley, is the first in the Chicago Wind series, which feature stories about second chances. The novel covers what I would call messy relationships, because it touches the topic of adultery, and its consequences in the lives of Mike and Meg Conner. Mike is a professional major league baseball player who unexpectedly runs into his ex-wife at a ball game...along with their five year old son, Terrell, whose existence has been unknown to Mike until this point. In fact, even at this accidental meeting, Mike is still not aware that Terrell is his son, but finds out the truth shortly after when he visits Meg to talk to her about rekindling their relationship.
Meg does not want to have anything to do with Mike, especially not after his betrayal and abandonment, and although she has been a believer for a year, she is not ready to forgive her ex-husband. She agrees to let Mike into the life that she built for herself and Terrell only because Mike threatens to go through the law courts to take Terrell away from her. Mike is angry that Meg had kept Terrell's existence a secret, but hopes that if he shows her forgiveness over keeping Terrell's birth a secret, that she would forgive him of his betrayal of their marriage. However, Mike and Meg need to work through anger, guilt, forgiveness, differences in faith, and more secrets before a reconciliation is possible between the two of them.
This novel covers a lot of ground: adultery, secret babies, a coming to faith story, struggles with forgiveness, spousal abuse, abortion, and a mentally unhinged stalker. Did I mention anything about messy relationships before? In spite of all these things, there was also hope in this story.
The author shows us that neither Meg nor Mike were blameless in the collapse of their marriage, but that both made choices with far reaching consequences. The tension ramps up when faith was tossed into the picture; we know that Meg must choose whether to forgive Mike or not, sooner or later, because there will be no healing without it.
I found Homestands to be a fascinating story about forgiveness, and will be looking out for more books by Sally Bradley.
Meg does not want to have anything to do with Mike, especially not after his betrayal and abandonment, and although she has been a believer for a year, she is not ready to forgive her ex-husband. She agrees to let Mike into the life that she built for herself and Terrell only because Mike threatens to go through the law courts to take Terrell away from her. Mike is angry that Meg had kept Terrell's existence a secret, but hopes that if he shows her forgiveness over keeping Terrell's birth a secret, that she would forgive him of his betrayal of their marriage. However, Mike and Meg need to work through anger, guilt, forgiveness, differences in faith, and more secrets before a reconciliation is possible between the two of them.
This novel covers a lot of ground: adultery, secret babies, a coming to faith story, struggles with forgiveness, spousal abuse, abortion, and a mentally unhinged stalker. Did I mention anything about messy relationships before? In spite of all these things, there was also hope in this story.
The author shows us that neither Meg nor Mike were blameless in the collapse of their marriage, but that both made choices with far reaching consequences. The tension ramps up when faith was tossed into the picture; we know that Meg must choose whether to forgive Mike or not, sooner or later, because there will be no healing without it.
I found Homestands to be a fascinating story about forgiveness, and will be looking out for more books by Sally Bradley.
Monday, 2 January 2017
Review: Sub-Human by David Simpson
Sub-Human was an Amazon freebie that I picked up just before Christmas. It is book 1 of the Post Human series by David Simpson. Normally, I read historical romance, but the pickings were probably slim on the freebie list for that on that day, because I think that I found about three to four e-books on dystopian science fiction. Now, having read several stories in this genre, I think that I can say that generally, these books are secular and humanistic in nature. Often, they include the topics of cyborgs, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, nuclear war, ecological destruction, alternative universes, transference of human consciousness into computers, and the collapse of society as we currently know it.
In Sub-Human, almost all of the topics listed above are included, but instead of broaching the topic of transferring human consciousness into a computer, an artificial intelligence (AI) is dumped into Dr. Craig Emilson, a soldier who had died, but had been revived by his former wife, Samantha, and her new husband, Dr. Aldous Gibson. Craig had been dead for 14 years after the end of World War III, which came about because the current leader, President Morgan, wanted to wipe all forms of post-human development in order to preserve humanity in its pure, unadulterated state (i.e. having no physical technological modifications or being threatened by the presence of AI).
However, Morgan and his Purist troops have come to destroy and annihilate the Post-Humans in their hidden base, hours within Craig's revival. The new world is confusing for Craig, who now must adapt to being a Post-Human without any help except from the AI that he is charged with protecting from the Purists who are in pursuit.
This novel troubled me at first because I felt empathy for Craig's character; he has been broadsided by the fact that Samantha, his wife, has moved on. For her, 14 years had passed since his death, but for Craig, it seemed as if only a few hours has passed since he last saw her. The ethics and morality of reviving a person who has clearly died and has been dead for 14 years is questionable, especially since it appears that Samantha and Aldous revived Craig for scientific reasons and because they could do it. I didn't get the sense that they spent much time considering how it would feel for Craig to realize that his wife is no longer his, but to another man whom Craig was suspicious of before he died. Perhaps Aldous did, but Samantha was not intuitive enough to figure out that this would pose a big problem if Craig did return to life.
Also thought provoking: Aldous is chronologically 74 years old, but he now appears to be around 30 years old. His post-human research has enabled him to turn back the biological clock and give him the body of a younger man. He has achieved a form of immortality through the nanotechnology in his body, which can repair aging and diseased tissue. Post-Humans can still die, but it may take longer and be more difficult than killing the average human.
Besides touching the issues of immortality achieved through technological advances, Sub-Human tries to explore what the term itself actually means. In the novel, different groups, factions, and people define it differently, but I want to point out two from the novel. To a Purist like Morgan, the Post-Humans are sub-human because they are no longer "pure" physiologically or cognitively (this coming from a conversation that Aldous has with a doctor from which he is asking help from). For Aldous, a Post-Human, the sub-humans are the Purist forces that have slaughtered and killed billions of people, average or post-human, in order to eradicate the world of post-human development (also described from the same conversation as described in the previous sentence). I also found it a bit ironic that, though the Purists' leaders were trying to protect the purity of humanity, they had no qualms about turning their armed forces into cyborgs in order to stamp out the Post-Humans.
It was difficult for me to like many of the characters in the novel. The one that I was most sympathetic to, again, was Craig, because he seemed to care about people the most. I liked how humane Aldous was until the Purist forces killed Samantha, his wife. The way he threw ethical standards away for vengeance was a bit head spinning, and I didn't really care for that. There was an antagonistic character, a Purist soldier named Paine, who I understood was honourable in a twisted way, in which he wanted to maintain the integrity of the timey-wimey space/time continuum, however, he was a bit over the top in his nastiness, so I didn't like him much either. I totally did not like Samantha; she gave a rather callous response in how she didn't ask for billions of lives to be lost just because her group wanted to continue with their post-human research. In my opinion, "the needs of the few don't outweigh the needs of the many," especially with billions of lives in the balance.
What I find interesting, on reflection, is how the desire for immortality pops up in science fiction, and that in this genre, the desire is sometimes supposedly achieved through the path of technological advances. This is comparable to how this desire to live forever is reflected in some of the vampire or werewolf fiction that I've read elsewhere; a bite from one of these dark creatures may transfer some sort of immortality, but they could still be killed under certain circumstances (e.g. by beheading, stake through the heart, exposure to sunlight, by silver bullet through the heart, etc.). However, in these fictional accounts, this kind of immortality is also limited, and is not absolute.
There is some swearing and violence in Sub-Human.
I have not read the other installments of the Post Human series other than a quick peek at the fifth book in the series which was also offered for free during that Christmas week. However, in my opinion, the novel ends at a point where a reader can stop and leave this fictional universe if there is no more desire to read about what happens next.
Edited on January 3, 2017 to add:
There is no room for God in this series. It appears that the concept of god is...post-human. A quick peek into another of the subsequent books (not book five) indicates that some of the testing that the AI had to undergo appears to have much akin to torture. Just reading what I have is a bit bewildering.
I took at look into this genre to see what ideas are being bandied about for spirituality (God) and immortality, but the world being described is pretty dark, depressing, and nihilistic to me.
************************************************
1 Corinthians 15:51- 52 (NIV) Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
In Sub-Human, almost all of the topics listed above are included, but instead of broaching the topic of transferring human consciousness into a computer, an artificial intelligence (AI) is dumped into Dr. Craig Emilson, a soldier who had died, but had been revived by his former wife, Samantha, and her new husband, Dr. Aldous Gibson. Craig had been dead for 14 years after the end of World War III, which came about because the current leader, President Morgan, wanted to wipe all forms of post-human development in order to preserve humanity in its pure, unadulterated state (i.e. having no physical technological modifications or being threatened by the presence of AI).
However, Morgan and his Purist troops have come to destroy and annihilate the Post-Humans in their hidden base, hours within Craig's revival. The new world is confusing for Craig, who now must adapt to being a Post-Human without any help except from the AI that he is charged with protecting from the Purists who are in pursuit.
This novel troubled me at first because I felt empathy for Craig's character; he has been broadsided by the fact that Samantha, his wife, has moved on. For her, 14 years had passed since his death, but for Craig, it seemed as if only a few hours has passed since he last saw her. The ethics and morality of reviving a person who has clearly died and has been dead for 14 years is questionable, especially since it appears that Samantha and Aldous revived Craig for scientific reasons and because they could do it. I didn't get the sense that they spent much time considering how it would feel for Craig to realize that his wife is no longer his, but to another man whom Craig was suspicious of before he died. Perhaps Aldous did, but Samantha was not intuitive enough to figure out that this would pose a big problem if Craig did return to life.
Also thought provoking: Aldous is chronologically 74 years old, but he now appears to be around 30 years old. His post-human research has enabled him to turn back the biological clock and give him the body of a younger man. He has achieved a form of immortality through the nanotechnology in his body, which can repair aging and diseased tissue. Post-Humans can still die, but it may take longer and be more difficult than killing the average human.
Besides touching the issues of immortality achieved through technological advances, Sub-Human tries to explore what the term itself actually means. In the novel, different groups, factions, and people define it differently, but I want to point out two from the novel. To a Purist like Morgan, the Post-Humans are sub-human because they are no longer "pure" physiologically or cognitively (this coming from a conversation that Aldous has with a doctor from which he is asking help from). For Aldous, a Post-Human, the sub-humans are the Purist forces that have slaughtered and killed billions of people, average or post-human, in order to eradicate the world of post-human development (also described from the same conversation as described in the previous sentence). I also found it a bit ironic that, though the Purists' leaders were trying to protect the purity of humanity, they had no qualms about turning their armed forces into cyborgs in order to stamp out the Post-Humans.
It was difficult for me to like many of the characters in the novel. The one that I was most sympathetic to, again, was Craig, because he seemed to care about people the most. I liked how humane Aldous was until the Purist forces killed Samantha, his wife. The way he threw ethical standards away for vengeance was a bit head spinning, and I didn't really care for that. There was an antagonistic character, a Purist soldier named Paine, who I understood was honourable in a twisted way, in which he wanted to maintain the integrity of the timey-wimey space/time continuum, however, he was a bit over the top in his nastiness, so I didn't like him much either. I totally did not like Samantha; she gave a rather callous response in how she didn't ask for billions of lives to be lost just because her group wanted to continue with their post-human research. In my opinion, "the needs of the few don't outweigh the needs of the many," especially with billions of lives in the balance.
What I find interesting, on reflection, is how the desire for immortality pops up in science fiction, and that in this genre, the desire is sometimes supposedly achieved through the path of technological advances. This is comparable to how this desire to live forever is reflected in some of the vampire or werewolf fiction that I've read elsewhere; a bite from one of these dark creatures may transfer some sort of immortality, but they could still be killed under certain circumstances (e.g. by beheading, stake through the heart, exposure to sunlight, by silver bullet through the heart, etc.). However, in these fictional accounts, this kind of immortality is also limited, and is not absolute.
There is some swearing and violence in Sub-Human.
I have not read the other installments of the Post Human series other than a quick peek at the fifth book in the series which was also offered for free during that Christmas week. However, in my opinion, the novel ends at a point where a reader can stop and leave this fictional universe if there is no more desire to read about what happens next.
Edited on January 3, 2017 to add:
There is no room for God in this series. It appears that the concept of god is...post-human. A quick peek into another of the subsequent books (not book five) indicates that some of the testing that the AI had to undergo appears to have much akin to torture. Just reading what I have is a bit bewildering.
I took at look into this genre to see what ideas are being bandied about for spirituality (God) and immortality, but the world being described is pretty dark, depressing, and nihilistic to me.
************************************************
1 Corinthians 15:51- 52 (NIV) Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Wednesday, 16 November 2016
Review: Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility - Adapted by Stacy King, Art by Po Tse
Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Stacy King and illustrated by Po Tse, covers the general story arc of Jane Austen's story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. The sisters must navigate through the waters of change when the death of their father forces them to relocate in a smaller home away from the estate that they grew up in. Elinor exhibits a temperament that reflects more "sense" than emotion, while Marianne is more romantically inclined and prone to flights of feeling rather than exclusively being governed by sense. Perhaps it would be better to say that Marianne would rather follow her heart than necessarily do the sensible thing. When I was first acquainted with Austen's original novel, it took me a while to figure out that her use of the word, "sensibility," had more to do with emotions, rather than rational thought. Anyways, the sisters' temperaments guide their thoughts and behavior when prospective suitors appear, and both are not immune to the pain and turmoil that results when their lives do not unfold as they hope.
It took a couple of hours for me to read the book in one sitting, and I enjoyed reading this version. I didn't want to leave the book until it was finished.
Besides the story itself, I enjoyed reading the commentary that was provided on the novel's themes about sensible thought versus emotional reaction. Stacy King mentions that every character had to balance sense with sensibility in their choices. This wasn't something that I had considered before when I read the original novel in the past; I had only considered the choices for Elinor and Marianne, but it makes sense that the other characters also had to wrestle with their own choices. It was also interesting to read about the social habits of the 19th century, especially about how men and women met, and about what acceptable behaviour was. Explanations are given to explain how Marianne's behaviour was so scandalous, for she had violated a number of social rules of propriety.
It was also interesting to look at the Character Design Sketchbook that appeared in a couple of pages at the back (the left side of the book, because, after all, this is truly a manga book which reads from right to left). Po Tse's commentary about how he drew the various characters to reflect certain character traits increased my appreciation of this adaptation while reading it.
Sense and Sensibility is the third adaptation that I've read from Manga Classics, (Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre being the other two,) and I've come to the opinion that this series is a good gateway to get younger readers interested in reading classical literature. For Janeites, apparently, there is also a Manga Classics version of Emma which I haven't read yet, but will be glad to put on my "to read" list. I would dearly love to see other adaptations of Jane Austen's work in the future, particularly for Persuasion, and Mansfield Park.
According to Manga Classics' Facebook page, an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo will be coming soon, so I'll be keeping my eyes open for that in 2017.
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of "Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility" by Stacy King and Po Tse from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
Thursday, 10 November 2016
Review: Manga Classics: Jane Eyre - Adapted by Crystal S. Chan, Art by SunNeko Lee
I first read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre many years ago when I was in grade 12. There was a lot of excitement in the female portion of the class; we were getting a chance to read Romantic literature in English and Mr. Rochester was supposed to be a sigh worthy figure. For some reason, our class didn't get very far with the novel. I think that we were assigned to read it over spring break, and we may have been required to write an essay. However, I don't recall that our class went very deep into studying this novel, probably because of time constraints to make sure that we covered the prescribed curriculum before June arrived.
This is my memory of reading Jane Eyre: it was a dry reading experience for me. The diction might have bogged me down. I seem to recall that there were about two to three pages devoted to a description of a painting. My teenage mind probably stalled upon reading that, wondering why so much space was devoted to that and not to the romance. However, I can't confirm that this is true or if I mixed that fact up with some other novel that I may have read at around that time, because I have not read Jane Eyre since. I also have to confess that I'm not a big fan of any of the Bronte sisters, because one of them dissed Jane Austen's writing. Yes, I'm more for Team Austen than for Team Bronte.
Anyways, Manga Classics will be releasing their own version of Jane Eyre, adapted by Crystal S. Chan, with the art drawn by SunNeko Lee. This graphic novel captured my interest as it described the story of Jane Eyre, a plucky and strong minded orphan who grows up to become a governess for the ward of her employer, Mr. Rochester, who eventually becomes her love interest. However, there are strange and bizarre happenings at Thornfield Hall, the home of Mr. Rochester, which may interfere with their romance.
Most of what I know of Jane Eyre is from two visual adaptations, a BBC series starring Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke, and a movie starring Samantha Morton and Ciaran Hinds. It's almost embarrassing to admit that I'm comparing the content of the Manga Classics version against the movies that I watched years ago. The graphic novel contains a few pages of commentary about adapting the novel to manga format; some changes were made in the order of the narrative to build suspense at the end of each chapter, and also to strengthen the cohesiveness of the story through foreshadowing. There was a small section about how the manga adaptation was better able to convincingly execute a particular plot point than the television or movie versions (where Mr. Rochester disguises himself as a female gypsy). I had read those notes before reading the manga, and had almost forgotten to check if it was very obvious that a man was trying to masquerade as a woman, so I'll agree that manga is probably more able to carry that deception off.
I'm not a manga expert, but most of the art work appeared to be in the shoujo style. There were probably only a couple of frames in the narrative that contained the chibi style. The dark and brooding mood of the novel might not lend itself to levity and light heartedness that suits chibi drawings. For a plain female, Jane appears to be pretty and cute, but my understanding is that the appearance of plain heroines in any manga story is non-existent. Mr. Rochester looks sufficiently mature, and he's got great hair!
Would I recommend reading this version? I would say, "Yes," for the following reasons: my daughter expressed an interest in reading this version when she saw what I was reading. Who wouldn't want their kids to have a interest in reading classic literature, even though it is adapted? Also, after reading this, I'm thinking about giving Bronte's original version another look. Not even watching the movies was able to move me enough to want to take the novel up again, but this version has stirred up my interest.
Disclaimer: In exchange for a review, I received from NetGalley an e-copy of "Manga Classics: Jane Eyre," by Crystal S. Chan and SunNeko Lee. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
This is my memory of reading Jane Eyre: it was a dry reading experience for me. The diction might have bogged me down. I seem to recall that there were about two to three pages devoted to a description of a painting. My teenage mind probably stalled upon reading that, wondering why so much space was devoted to that and not to the romance. However, I can't confirm that this is true or if I mixed that fact up with some other novel that I may have read at around that time, because I have not read Jane Eyre since. I also have to confess that I'm not a big fan of any of the Bronte sisters, because one of them dissed Jane Austen's writing. Yes, I'm more for Team Austen than for Team Bronte.
Anyways, Manga Classics will be releasing their own version of Jane Eyre, adapted by Crystal S. Chan, with the art drawn by SunNeko Lee. This graphic novel captured my interest as it described the story of Jane Eyre, a plucky and strong minded orphan who grows up to become a governess for the ward of her employer, Mr. Rochester, who eventually becomes her love interest. However, there are strange and bizarre happenings at Thornfield Hall, the home of Mr. Rochester, which may interfere with their romance.
Most of what I know of Jane Eyre is from two visual adaptations, a BBC series starring Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke, and a movie starring Samantha Morton and Ciaran Hinds. It's almost embarrassing to admit that I'm comparing the content of the Manga Classics version against the movies that I watched years ago. The graphic novel contains a few pages of commentary about adapting the novel to manga format; some changes were made in the order of the narrative to build suspense at the end of each chapter, and also to strengthen the cohesiveness of the story through foreshadowing. There was a small section about how the manga adaptation was better able to convincingly execute a particular plot point than the television or movie versions (where Mr. Rochester disguises himself as a female gypsy). I had read those notes before reading the manga, and had almost forgotten to check if it was very obvious that a man was trying to masquerade as a woman, so I'll agree that manga is probably more able to carry that deception off.
I'm not a manga expert, but most of the art work appeared to be in the shoujo style. There were probably only a couple of frames in the narrative that contained the chibi style. The dark and brooding mood of the novel might not lend itself to levity and light heartedness that suits chibi drawings. For a plain female, Jane appears to be pretty and cute, but my understanding is that the appearance of plain heroines in any manga story is non-existent. Mr. Rochester looks sufficiently mature, and he's got great hair!
Would I recommend reading this version? I would say, "Yes," for the following reasons: my daughter expressed an interest in reading this version when she saw what I was reading. Who wouldn't want their kids to have a interest in reading classic literature, even though it is adapted? Also, after reading this, I'm thinking about giving Bronte's original version another look. Not even watching the movies was able to move me enough to want to take the novel up again, but this version has stirred up my interest.
Disclaimer: In exchange for a review, I received from NetGalley an e-copy of "Manga Classics: Jane Eyre," by Crystal S. Chan and SunNeko Lee. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
Sunday, 30 October 2016
Review: Beneath a Golden Veil by Melanie Dobson
Beneath a Golden Veil, by Melanie Dobson, was a book that stuck with me for days after I read it. The story is set in the years before the American Civil War, and is about slavery, its injustices, and how it divided people, even within the same family. In 1854, Alden Payne is a law student at Harvard, but comes from a prominent family in Virginia. His family intends for him to take over the family plantation after he finishes his studies, but Alden's heart isn't into operating the plantation, especially when it requires the servitude of slaves for it to remain successful and prosperous.
On a trip back home before his final year of study, Alden stops by to visit his married sister, Eliza, before heading off to the family's ancestral home. Eliza hands over a slave boy named Isaac, telling Alden that the boy is a gift for their father. Alden arrives home with Isaac in the middle of a manhunt for an escaped slave, Benjamin, who Alden had always considered to be like a brother. When Alden discovers that his father murdered Benjamin for his repeated insubordination, and that Benjamin was actually his half brother, he decides to run away from the plantation and takes Isaac along with him. He intends to set Isaac free by taking him to Canada, before resuming his studies in Harvard, but Isaac's master, Alden's brother-in-law, Victor, catches up to them. Instead of running up to the Canadian border, Alden decides that he and Isaac will board a ship to California and finish his legal studies by apprenticing with a lawyer who had already travelled West to establish a legal office in Sacramento.
Isabelle Labrie, a young woman with secrets in her past, operates a hotel in Sacramento. California, at this time, is a free state, although any slave owners who are passing through could still keep their slaves. Her hotel occasionally becomes a hiding spot for slaves who are trying to make their way to Canada. It is here where she meets Alden and Isaac, who are posing as master and slave, even though Alden abhors slavery. They do this in order to prevent Isaac from being kidnapped; there is a history of freed slaves being abducted and sold back into slavery. Alden is taken with the beautiful Isabelle, but she despises him because she thinks that he is a slave owner. He can't reveal what his true intentions are for Isaac without endangering them both, but trouble dogs them in the form of Victor, who has been following them with the intent of reclaiming Isaac as a slave. However, Victor is not only a problem for Isaac; he poses a threat to Isabelle too.
Beneath a Golden Veil touches on the issues about slavery, freedom, and the need to treat every human being with dignity and respect regardless of their skin colour. The novel speaks about dark things that humans can do against each other, and ultimately, against God. The lives and relationships of several of the characters, whether they were protagonists or antagonists, were messed up. However, there was also hope for those who put their hope in the Lord, both in the present world, and in the world to come.
Also, in the novel, the author tells us through the characters that it doesn't matter what people think because the past shouldn't define us if we are children of God. I think that this is such a precious truth. Our identities, as children of God, are based on God's Word and on Jesus' sacrifice for us; it is not based on what happened to us in the past, or by anything that we have done. (John 1:12 Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God...).
There are discussion questions in the back of the book that I found thought provoking, particularly the one that asked, "The issue of slavery divided the United States of America in the 1800s. What moral issues today divide our communities? How do you fight for what you believe is right?"
The novel is a bit weightier than your average historical romance; however, there is also a happy ending. As I mentioned before, Beneath a Golden Veil made quite an impression on me over its themes and ideas which have stayed with me for days after I finished the book.
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of "Beneath a Golden Veil" by Melanie Dobson from Net Galley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
On a trip back home before his final year of study, Alden stops by to visit his married sister, Eliza, before heading off to the family's ancestral home. Eliza hands over a slave boy named Isaac, telling Alden that the boy is a gift for their father. Alden arrives home with Isaac in the middle of a manhunt for an escaped slave, Benjamin, who Alden had always considered to be like a brother. When Alden discovers that his father murdered Benjamin for his repeated insubordination, and that Benjamin was actually his half brother, he decides to run away from the plantation and takes Isaac along with him. He intends to set Isaac free by taking him to Canada, before resuming his studies in Harvard, but Isaac's master, Alden's brother-in-law, Victor, catches up to them. Instead of running up to the Canadian border, Alden decides that he and Isaac will board a ship to California and finish his legal studies by apprenticing with a lawyer who had already travelled West to establish a legal office in Sacramento.
Isabelle Labrie, a young woman with secrets in her past, operates a hotel in Sacramento. California, at this time, is a free state, although any slave owners who are passing through could still keep their slaves. Her hotel occasionally becomes a hiding spot for slaves who are trying to make their way to Canada. It is here where she meets Alden and Isaac, who are posing as master and slave, even though Alden abhors slavery. They do this in order to prevent Isaac from being kidnapped; there is a history of freed slaves being abducted and sold back into slavery. Alden is taken with the beautiful Isabelle, but she despises him because she thinks that he is a slave owner. He can't reveal what his true intentions are for Isaac without endangering them both, but trouble dogs them in the form of Victor, who has been following them with the intent of reclaiming Isaac as a slave. However, Victor is not only a problem for Isaac; he poses a threat to Isabelle too.
Beneath a Golden Veil touches on the issues about slavery, freedom, and the need to treat every human being with dignity and respect regardless of their skin colour. The novel speaks about dark things that humans can do against each other, and ultimately, against God. The lives and relationships of several of the characters, whether they were protagonists or antagonists, were messed up. However, there was also hope for those who put their hope in the Lord, both in the present world, and in the world to come.
Also, in the novel, the author tells us through the characters that it doesn't matter what people think because the past shouldn't define us if we are children of God. I think that this is such a precious truth. Our identities, as children of God, are based on God's Word and on Jesus' sacrifice for us; it is not based on what happened to us in the past, or by anything that we have done. (John 1:12 Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God...).
There are discussion questions in the back of the book that I found thought provoking, particularly the one that asked, "The issue of slavery divided the United States of America in the 1800s. What moral issues today divide our communities? How do you fight for what you believe is right?"
The novel is a bit weightier than your average historical romance; however, there is also a happy ending. As I mentioned before, Beneath a Golden Veil made quite an impression on me over its themes and ideas which have stayed with me for days after I finished the book.
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of "Beneath a Golden Veil" by Melanie Dobson from Net Galley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
Saturday, 27 August 2016
Review: Manga Classics: Pride and Prejudice by Stacy King, Art by Po Tse
It is a truth universally acknowledged (by my family) that if there's a novel, story, or film with a connection to Pride and Prejudice, I'm going to want to read or view it. Stacy King has adapted Jane Austen's novel for a manga version, with the art drawn by Po Tse. This version retains the general story arc from the original version where Darcy's proud demeanor and Elizabeth's prejudice against Darcy present impediments to their romance. However, being an adaptation, there have been some alterations in the story, most of which I can live with, with the exception of Darcy being a poor dancer. (Sorry, in my universe, Darcy probably suffered through lessons with a dancing master, and is probably an excellent dancer; but he just doesn't enjoy the activity.)
Some of the language has been modernized, and is not what I'd expect a person living in Regency times would use, but that would be helpful for those who don't want to slog through archaic expressions in order to understand and appreciate the content of the novel.
Generally, I liked the artwork. The Bennet girls look suitably cute and adorable, Charlotte Lucas and Mary King look sufficiently plain, Bingley has the hair of an angelic choir boy, and Wickham is the best looking man in the crowd. Darcy does have a handsome and noble mien, but personally, I find that the depiction of his hair in most of the drawings...is a bit of a miss for me. There are three locks that seem to wing off in different directions. You kind of have to see it to understand...although I will say: shades of Dagwood Bumstead.
Like the 1995 BBC televised version of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth, there is a bit of a wet shirt scene in the manga version, although the appearance of Darcy in such a disheveled state occurs at a different point of the story than that of the television series. The manga is clean, although Elizabeth and readers get to see some glimpses of Darcy's six-pack. The Darcy fan-girl in me squeaked a bit! :P
I thought that this was a pretty good adaptation, and I enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend this for those who enjoy manga romance but don't want to see anything too provocative, and for those who might find it difficult reading the original text of this classic novel.
Some of the language has been modernized, and is not what I'd expect a person living in Regency times would use, but that would be helpful for those who don't want to slog through archaic expressions in order to understand and appreciate the content of the novel.
Generally, I liked the artwork. The Bennet girls look suitably cute and adorable, Charlotte Lucas and Mary King look sufficiently plain, Bingley has the hair of an angelic choir boy, and Wickham is the best looking man in the crowd. Darcy does have a handsome and noble mien, but personally, I find that the depiction of his hair in most of the drawings...is a bit of a miss for me. There are three locks that seem to wing off in different directions. You kind of have to see it to understand...although I will say: shades of Dagwood Bumstead.
Like the 1995 BBC televised version of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth, there is a bit of a wet shirt scene in the manga version, although the appearance of Darcy in such a disheveled state occurs at a different point of the story than that of the television series. The manga is clean, although Elizabeth and readers get to see some glimpses of Darcy's six-pack. The Darcy fan-girl in me squeaked a bit! :P
I thought that this was a pretty good adaptation, and I enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend this for those who enjoy manga romance but don't want to see anything too provocative, and for those who might find it difficult reading the original text of this classic novel.
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