That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story - Huda Fahmy

"That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story" is an interesting read, with a great start, and some very good visual gags that, unfortunately, falls shorts in delivering on the high expectations the author creates in the first pages.

In this graphic novel, Huda Fahmy tells the story of how she met and married her husband. It all starts really well, with a short guide for people that need to know some concepts about Muslim culture and then jumping to the moment she met her husband.

But stop! We need first to see, understand and go with Fahmy through the rules of dating, of intergender relationships, of courtship, of suitors... etc., etc., before we can go back to the moment she got to meet her husband. Some of this is great, with a funny and relatable way to explain things and a couple of very funny moments (and also easy to understand for people who could come from a different background).

However, it all end ups being overly simplistic, with repetition of the same gags and ideas over and over... and over. The chaperone one is one of the few that keeps being funny, but a couple of the others, on to of becoming repetitive, could also make some readers raise their eyebrows (but here we enter into the topic of believes, ideas, etc...).

Also, for what is supposed to be a love story, there is little of love or character development here: look how I met that guy, let's go back to see how I understood relationships as a young Muslim woman; see, we meet this guy again. Married.

End.

It makes for a blunt, over-simplistic, character arc. It is good to see how the character (and her environment) understands relationships, etc., but the author just telling me her husband is funny, handsome and the perfect partner does not make for compelling storytelling or laugh out loud moments.

The best: it is a love story with heart; some visual gags; the start

The worst: but it is also a love story that doesn't exist, with pace problems all along the graphic novel, some of Fahmy's opinions are too far away from my own views to really enjoy a couple of situations

Further reading: no idea about something similar, right now, so, maybe Cabre's "Jo confesso" for family relationships (in a very different environment) or Atwood's "The Edible Woman" for another take on a woman that is thinking about marriage

6.5/10

(Original English)

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*

ソロモンの偽証: 第II部 決意 上巻 - 宮部 みゆき (Miyuki Miyabe)

I feel quite ambivalent about this book. On the one hand, it is fun, it is a page-turner, the story is simple but compelling, and Miyabe's knack to create interesting youngsters is as good as ever. On the other hand, it feels more of the same, and, really, nothing actually happens. You could jump from the ending of book two of the series to the fourth and probably be able to follow the story without many problems.

Because... Well, what does really happen here? Ryōko decides that, as Kashiwagi's death is still a mystery, the middle school students that were of the same year as the deceased have to organize a 'mock' trial and find the truth behind the death... Cue pages and more pages of easy to read conversations, with interesting (but a little bit stereotypical, particularly the adults) characters, and some head-scratching situations that border on the unbelievable. And little, or none, plot development.

Fun, but one has to wonder what was Miyabe thinking when she decided to stretch the story so thin.

The best: a page-turner

The worst: it is just air, page after page of nothingness

Alternatives: well, read the first two or Miyabe's own "Brave Story"... but, today, and just for today, I will recommend manga instead of other books. Manga with middle or high school students at their center: "Slam Jump", "アゲイン！！" ("Again!!"), "響" (Hibiki), "センセイ君主" ("My Teacher, My Love")...

6.5/10

(Original Japanese)

Gretel - Ben Meares

This is a story of witches. Or at least one that doesn't want to be. "Gretel" revolves around... well, Gretel (yep, the one with the brother and the witch, or at least one with the same name, also a brother and also a witch that wants to eat them... or at least their heart), a woman that became a witch hunter around three hundred years ago, after she and her brother were kidnapped (and the brother killed; back then she was just a child). Gretel was saved and then trained by a random guy with a beard and then, after she had become strong enough, started to rid the world of all those bad women of yore. However, after a while, you get tired of killing witches, and the same happened to Gretel. We find her in America, having given up on killing witches... or not exactly, because lately witches are trying to hunt her down. Why? And she has also had a vision that says her former mentor is going to be killed. Gretel will not allow this.

"Gretel" is an entertaining comic, with interesting characters (even though the bad are very bad and the good kind of bad too) and a simple but non-stop plot that never becomes boring, and keeps the reader turning the pages. It is actually so simple that sometimes one would desire a little bit more to chew on.

The only couple of downsides are a tendency for the story to travel in time that becomes a little bit too much the umpteenth time we are sent two hundred years ago for four or five pages of background, or the tendency of the story to add a lot of exposition to this. Luckily for us, the atmosphere, the darkness, the violence, the characters, more than make up for this shortcomings.

The drawing style fits perfectly the story, even if some of the strips make sometimes for difficult reading. It is clear, it develops well the action and it conveys the story perfectly. It is also attractive. However, as always, we could make a couple of commentaries around the choice of clothing of the females here, but that is not something only this comic is guilty of.

A guilty pleasure waiting to be read.

The best: the drawing style is nice; the plot, even if simple, is entertaining; acceptable action and gore

The worst: Too much jumping back in time for exposition time; the plot is sometimes too simple; the ending is a little bit abrupt

Alternatives: hmmm... "Fullmetal Alchemist", because

7/10

(English)

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*

Northern Lights - Philip Pullman

Extremely disappointing. "Northern Lights" is a very poor read, with lame characters, poor world construction and worrying ideology that does little to entice the reader with its simple plot and unnecessary violence.

The story is your typical book for children that are not so children anymore: the chosen child, with a big adventure, a big mystery, big stuff all around. But if in Harry Potter, Rowling, for all the shortcomings of the series, did great in developing relatable characters and creating a world worth living in (in part playing to the 'I wish my school days were like that' tune), Pullman fails miserable all the time. The writing style is simplistic, the plot non-existent, with so many Deux Ex Machina moments you feel his obvious distaste for the church is actually a disguise, silly over-the-top violence, and a heavy handed treatment of many topics, for starters with the 'a bear must be a bear', a worrisome message if there was one (it is not the only time Pullman pulls a 'you should just be what you are, never try to challenge the status quo' message in the story). For so much about a child fighting against adults, it is curious his obsession with sending messages about 'your right place' in society.

Not good.

The best: some ideas in the world creation

The worst: unnecessary violence, too many Deux Ex Machina moments, the attack on the church is just silly and out of nowhere (please, develop, Pullman, develop), the messages about knowing your place and never challenge what you are are worrisome

Alternatives: Jonathan Stroud's "Bartimaeus" (really funny), Terry Pratchett's for younger readers (whatever that means), "Beyond the Deepwoods"... If you are older... (or the one you are going to give a book to is older) "Harry Potter", "Hunger Games", "Lord of the Rings"...

3.5/10

(Original English)

"Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe" by Stacy King (& Edgar Allan Poe)

"Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe" is a manga adaptation of five of Edgar Allan Poe's stories (and poem): "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Raven", "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" (you have to wonder why those and not others maybe better suited for a manga adaptation). And the result, even if far of a tragedy, is a middling effort that leaves the reader with a strange aftertaste, because you will feel the ingredients for a great work were here, but the mixing and the cooking were a disgrace.

Let's start with the stories: they are short and to the point, with darkness, a Gothic and beautiful atmosphere and dark instincts. No criticisms here. But the adaptation does little to enhance Poe's words; quite the opposite, with so many bubbles of description and narration and no interaction between them and the drawings, it detaches the reader from the work they have in front of their eyes. Stories that should bring a shudder and make the heart beat fast, end up being boring, cold, and repetitive.

It doesn't help that the drawing style, even if beautiful, seems too cute for these kind of stories. All the characters are too clean, too handsome, too infantile, for the stories, and make the stark contrast between text and art more accentuated.

Not a horrible manga. But it could have been so much more (for starters, alive).

The best: the atmosphere; it will make you want to go and read the original Edgar Allan Poe

The worst: too many bubbles of description and narration and not enough (almost not at all) of dialogue (and I know art is art (for example, you can have a comic without dialogue), but I expect my drawings and my text to interact); too cold; too cute; some other stories (better for the medium, could have been chosen)

Further reading: go read Edgar Allan Poe

5/10

(Original English)

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood (Sueños en el umbral. Memorias de una niña del harén)

This is a charming book that tells the story of a young girl in the small world she grows up in, not small because it is just a room, but small because of the limitations the society/family she lives in puts her. A girl, and the other women that live with her, that, nonetheless, tries to fight the walls that surround her every walking day. In this semi-(never sure about how much truth are in these stories, so...) autobiographical account, Mernissi waves a world that doesn't change even if it is in constant fluidity, with the lines pushed one or the other way, with the women within the 'harem' having their liberty more or less 'free' depending on developments many times too far away for them to have any influence on (even if they suffer their impact). You have the rebel ones, the desire for freedom, the men that can't understand that rules can be changed... All the topics and the typical. The atmosphere, the characters, the struggle against sexism or gender relations is well depicted, with a clear message and interesting situations. However, it also seems pretty clear that Mernissi has written the book with 'Occident' in her mind, and some of the moments and situations seem to suffer from 'Orientalism', as they offer a view, an ogling eye on the situations, that seems to fit too perfectly, too nicely, with what a person from Occident should expect from growing up in Morocco. In that respect, it kind of reinforces what Edward Said criticized. What repercussions have this on the book? That's up to you to decide. The best: the atmosphere of the story The worst: pandering to the worst instincts of 'Orientalism' Read more: not really sure, so why not bring up the "كتاب ألف ليلة وليلة" ("One Thousand and One Nights") that plays so huge a role in the book? 6.5/10 (Spanish translation by Ángela Pérez Gómez)

Robyn Hood: Outlaw

I have to recognize that 'superhero' comic books are not my cup of tea. All those vigilante types or creatures with superpowers from this or another planet didn't call my attention when I was younger, even if I read some "Ironman" or "The Fantastic Four" (lent by a schoolmate). I was more into novels, and a little bit into manga and European comic books like "Asterix". Nowadays I don't read many comic books either, but I am interested in them and I am always open to try something new. And here we come to "Robyn Hood: Outlaw" of which the first that called my attention was it cover. It looks cool, I thought. Well, I started reading it. Ah, nice, I thought, even if not particularly original: we are thrown into the story when our heroine comes home and discovers her friend almost dead in her apartment. It's a trap! Robyn Hood has to run away from the police and clear her name. And save her friend, now in the hospital. And mix with some maybe shady types. Etc., etc. Haven't we seen this before? Yes, we have, but curiously or not, I found "Robyn Hood: Outlaw" a very well done work, with interesting characters, nice pace, and a well done plot that, even if not particularly original, never becomes boring and uninteresting. Also the art work is top notch, and it brings the story nicely to life. From the first page we are thrown into the story, and the reader will discover that accompanying our protagonist is lots of fun, with new plot development after new plot development that brings the comic to many different places in a brisk place. This could be one of its downsides, actually, because sometimes we jump from a place to another, or from a new character to another new one in too few pages, all too brusque, without given us time to settle down or digest what we are reading. Minor quibbles, though. "Robyn Hood: Outlaw" is a very entertaining, well done, nicely depicted comic book. I will be waiting for more adventures (or find previous ones) of Robyn Hood. The best: I liked the art work, the characters, the heroine, the atmosphere and the world; quite cool The worst: the plot is a little bit simple and not very original; it ends too brusquely and the same happens within the volume too, with some changes of pace that could have been better done Alternatives: "OnePunch Man", do yourself a favor 8/10 (Original English)

War and Peas: Funny Comics for Dirty Lovers

*Provided by Netgalley (as always a great opportunity to read some amazing works) "War and Peas" is a very funny comic book, with interesting little characters that appear all through its pages that reminded me of early Terry Pratchett, when simple humor and plays on words where the basis of his stories. In "War and Peas" the same happens. You have little vignettes that tell a story in just one, two pages, all of the dark humor kind. And Jonathan Kunz and Elizabeth Pich have done a great job in creating a simple but charming, engaging, tongue in cheek, with lots of dark humor, comic, where recurrent characters like the robot, the dead boy, the witch... have some very funny moments. It is never boring, and it's read in a sitting. On the downside, it is not anything that you haven't seen a hundred times before, because many of these play of words, vignettes, are just variations of many others, and that means that sometimes there will be more chuckles than laughs. And a couple just fall flat (but that could be my sense of humor, more than they being bad per se). The drawing style is simple, but perfect for this kind of comics, where the punchline, the little details, and the humor are the most important part. They convey perfectly the authors' purpose and are very funny. Strongly recommended. The best: the humor and drawing style The worst: not particularly original Further reading: just try Terry Pratchett, or the first volumes of OnePunch Man, for example 7.5/10 (Original English)