Bizarre Romance

Bizarre Romance was an interesting read and not what I was expecting!

I do enjoy picking up a "random" book that I normally wouldn't find in my TBR/book buying journey. Bizarre Romance was one of those books that I looked at and decided I would take a chance. The 16 stories in the book are absolutely marvelous, but I found it really hard to keep engaged with them. Maybe it was bad timing of reading it, or maybe it just wasn't for me. Regardless, beautifully written, amazing illustrations, and overall a good book. But, unfortunately, my enjoyment level just wasn't there.

Two out of five stars.

This book is a collection of 13 stories, written by Audrey Niffenegger and illustrated by her husband, Eddie Campbell. Some of the stories were previously published as text-only, but many are new for the collection. Just like the title says, these stories are truly bizarre and quirky. All tie in, some somewhat loosely, to the theme of romance and love, whether it’s romantic love, love of cats (more than one story covers this!), love of friends, or, even, love of art itself. Sometimes the art is a mix of photo-realistic and comic-style (“Thursdays, 6 to 8 p.m.”), sometimes it’s illustrations bookending a story (“The Composite Boyfriend”, “Girl on a Roof”, “At the Movies”) or small vignettes strewn throughout (“Secret Life, with Cats”), some of it is beautifully illustrated comic panels (“RoseRedSnowRidingBeautyShoesHoodSleepingWhite”, “Motion Studies: Getting Out of Bed”). Some short reviews: Thursdays, 6 to 8 p.m – ☆☆☆. Comic-ish (panels, but additional text above panels). Fairy tale retelling with a definite Bluebeard’s wife vibe. The Composite Boyfriend: ☆☆☆☆. Prose, with beginning and ending illustrations. I loved the paper doll composite boyfriend, and thought the story was an interesting premise. RoseRedSnowRidingBeautyShoesHoodSleepingWhite: ☆☆☆☆☆. Comic. Delightful fairy tale of a woman who, while trying to find a Halloween costume, sarcastically declares herself a sort of composite princess, only to find herself sucked through the mirror. Sweetly bizarre and bittersweet. Secret Life, with Cats: ☆☆☆☆☆. Prose, with initial illustration and small vignettes interspersed. It’s a creepy crazy cat lady story. Of course I loved it! The Ruin of Grant Lowery: ☆☆. Comic. I didn’t think the art (bits of photos with MS Paint-style art overlayed) matched the cruel fairy story. My least favorite. Girl on a Roof: ☆☆. Prose, with beginning and ending illustrations. Interesting premise (a girl writing a letter to her girlfriend, after Katrina), but boring. It felt thematically odd coming after the fairy tale. Jakob Wywialowski and the Angels: ☆☆☆☆☆. Comic. My favorite! Excellent mix of the everyday (man trying to get rid of pests in the attic) and weird (but the pests are angels). It also has my favorite quote: “They were sort of smudged, but you could tell that underneath the soot they were real pretty. I felt bad about throwing them out of the attic, but what was I supposed to do? One thing leads to another, and before you know it, you’ve got seraphim.” At the Movies: ☆☆. Prose, with initial illustration. I just did not understand this one. Motion Studies: Getting Out of Bed: ☆☆☆☆. Illustrations with text. The beautiful art is what really makes this one. Without it, the story would be pretty boring. The Wrong Fairy: ☆☆☆☆☆. Prose with initial illustration. A fairy tale from the point of view of an alcoholic artist. It’s minimally illustrated, but deals with the subject of art itself, and it was a fascinating dip into the crazy artist / “off to fairyland” tropes. Another favorite. Digging Up the Cat: ☆☆☆. Comic-ish. Exactly what it says – semi-autobiographical story of the author digging up her dead pet cat to rebury him. The Church of the Funnies: ☆☆☆. Prose with initial illustrations. This is the text of a sermon the author gave. Interesting take on art as a sort of religion. Backwards in Seville: ☆☆☆. Comic. A very tragic sort of fairytale. Overall, I found most of the stories pretty polarizing – I either really liked them, or really didn’t. Overall, though, I’d give this 4 stars, and definitely recommend it to anyone who loves graphic novels or fairy tale retellings! I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Nunca vamos a comprender plenamente lo que es el amor o lo que significa amar o ser amado por otro ser vivo. Es por eso que cuando te adentras en libros de esta temática, no deberías esperar una resolución a tus planteamientos más profundos. Sin embargo, siempre se puede aprender algo nuevo, algo que nos haga arañar tímidamente la mampara de cristal que nos separa de la completa y perfecta definición de AMOR. Una definición que cada uno busca de manera diferente y que esquiva a todos por igual. Incluso a aquellos que creen haber dado con ella. En 170 páginas se esconden 13 pequeñas historias de amor. A cada cual más distinta (e incluso bizarra). Son 13 experiencias, 13 amores. Algunas te desgarran el alma, otras te parten el corazón. Con algunas te emocionas, con otras vuelves a creer. Algunas son reflexiones en alto, dedicatorias. En otras, el amor se esconde en las situaciones más banales. Yo tengo mis favoritas y estoy seguro de que cada lector escogerá las suyas propias. Cada una tiene su toque especial. Para hablar del amor a veces hay que dejarlo de lado, tenerlo como un actor secundario. En algunas historias sucede esto mismo y cuando ocurre, la autora brilla aún más. Su reflexión sobre qué es el arte en "La Iglesia de las Historietas" es de lo mejor que he leído en mucho tiempo. Algo para releer, releer y citar. Muy recomendable.