Reviews

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V

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sapphire_mayo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

5.0

ardaboo's review against another edition

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4.0

"It's what happens when things die. They go away, but you don't realize all the parts of you that they were holding up until after. And in the days that follow, the possibilities of what could've been begin to fall away. Leaving you with less, each time-- more precious, to be savored. Like a cigarette. The point of life, my friend, is to be smoked."

spenkevich's review against another edition

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5.0

Okay so this is ASTONISHINGLY GOOD. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is a visual treat and emotional ride. Author Ram V. and artist Felipe Andrade deliver this incredible story set in Mumbai, playing with Hindu mythology through characters that are fun and comical enough to keep the otherwise heavy, existential themes of the graphic novel from dipping into melodrama. Plus it is absolutely gorgeous to look at, with a sharp art style brought to life in heaping doses of arrestingly bright color palettes. When Death (visually represented as Kali finds herself laid off because a boy has been born that will put an end to death, she is sent to live a mortal life and decides she must kill him to allow death to continue. We follow Death as she finds herself without a purpose and living through several of her own deaths, and through this immortal being grappling with the emotions of those with a finite lifespan we must ultimately confront the question if death itself does have a purpose in life.

Told across five issues, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr has an engaging, episodic narrative with each issue comprising its own arc within a larger story. In each we see Laila brought back to life, with longer gaps of years between each death, and engaging with Darius (the boy destined to end death) at different phases of his life. Having been unable to kill him as a baby, and dying herself in the escape, Laila begins to contemplate existence and in each arc—aided by some fascinating characters like a funeral bird who ferries souls from death, a talking cigarette, or a Chinese temple—we discover more ideas on the meaning of life in a reality where we know it must come to and end. It is rather amusing seeing Death, already in the stolen body of Laila, continuously meet an abrupt and tragic end and have to start over again.

The story mercifully manages to avoid seeming overly cliched or pop-self-helpy, with so rather moving lines and messages from ‘to be witnessed by someone else and to be remembered when you are gone, these are the things that belong to mortals,’ or ‘I’ve just learned today that those are different things…dying and going away forever.’ The story is zany with plenty of dark humor to keep it upbeat as it moves along at a rather fast pace, but it is still quite ponderous and lovely. As much as it bends your thoughts towards ideas of death and destruction, it also celebrates life and is a surprisingly comforting read. Plus it is a joy to look at, this is worth it for the bold and colorful art alone.

This was one where I though I knew where it was going but was surprised to see the rather clever and moving twists in it. This is a book that keeps you on your toes and keeps your mind working. It’s a lovely reminder that death doesn’t have to be such a gloomy concept and makes you think about outlooks that could create more death-positivity. This is such a fun book, it’ll make you laugh, it’ll blow your mind, and it’ll also hit you deeply in the feelings. My only minor complaint is the font is occasionally hard to read. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is a complete gem of a graphic novel that reminds you ‘like a cigarette, the point of life, my friends, is to be smoked.’

5/5