Reviews

The House that Groaned by Karrie Fransman

Only show reviews with written explanations

helhas3letters's review

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

pantsbooks89's review

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2.0

This was not for me, I love the graphics and drawings but The story line was weird and confusing I did not see the purpose.

In short: this wasn’t what I expected and not in a good way.

Perhaps I misunderstood the synopsis or maybe it was that the synopsis was worded poorly which allowed for multiple interpretations and made me, in a roundabout way, misunderstand what this graphic novel was going to be and was supposed to be. I went into it expecting quirkiness, of course, as the illustrations highly hinted at the fact that this wasn’t going to be a conventional book. The illustrations drew me in and ended up making this somewhat successful for me, but the words themselves are what let this down massively. I feel like it had so much potential but its execution was inherently poor and this made it ultimately fall down. It’s always disappointing when expectations aren’t met and my hopes were completely dashed with this as I feel like there was so much that it could’ve been and yet not much that it ended up being.

The plot didn’t make sense, the characters were flat, the setting was dry, the whole piece as a whole was incredibly deflating and there wasn’t much to pull it back to being remotely decent opposed to the illustrations themselves, which is why I rated it two stars - the art style was irresistible, quirky, and generally unlike anything I’ve seen before in anything of this nature. I do feel like if it had been padded out correctly, it would’ve offered so much more! I think it had so much to give but little chance to deliver, and that’s endlessly disappointing.

Despite it not being what I wanted, or expected, I would still recommend you to check this out - whether for the art style itself or whether the plot draws you in. It’s an incredibly quick read so you can’t really go wrong with giving it a go. I still think it’s worth a gander at, even if I didn’t pull anything particularly lasting from it.

belle_fiction's review

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5.0

What a weird and wonderful book!!!

The House that Groaned is a refreshing, and often, grotesque commentary on society and the strange beings who inhabit it. We follow a woman whose unhealthy relationship with food consumes her life, a man who is attracted to diseased and deformed women, a man who longs for a relationship with someone real as opposed to the models whose photos he retouches, a new female lodger who we learn isn't quite what she seems and an elderly woman who blends in with her surroundings.

Most of these characters typify social norms; for example, there is a lot of emphasis on appearance and image in contemporary society, and in order to achieve the 'desired' look, most people resort to manipulating their eating habits. Janet is a formerly larger female who denies herself treats in order to remain thin. We can see that she isn't happy, and her continual calorie counting takes over her life becoming a borderline obsession. Fransman contrasts her with Marion who is a larger woman and proud of the excesses she indulges in. We see that Janet and Marion are two opposite ends of the scale - neither one of them is happy deep down, and we come to learn that their upbringing influenced the people they have become.

Fransman cleverly addresses the Nature vs Nurture debate in her book and asks the question: are we who we are because of genetics or are we products of our environments? I think in the case of The House that Groaned, our environments are pivotal factors which shape and mould us into the adults we become.

And then there is Brian who is attracted to women of all shapes and sizes with diseases/disfigurements. His back story is a little more opaque, although we come to learn that as a child he was diagnosed with Meningococcal meningitis. What I believe Fransman is trying to emphasise is the understanding one diseased person has for another, and how they have an affinity through their diseases, almost like a linchpin connecting them together.

Matt is the guy who retouches models' photographs and who continually strives for perfection; perfection in his work, in the models themselves and in the world around him. He meets Barbara, the newest resident, and immediately takes a shine to her - she is attractive, in proportion and perfectly sculpted. We later learn that Barbara wasn't born a female, she was actually a boy named Peter, and in her own endeavour to achieve perfection and be accepted/wanted by society, changed gender resulting in a sculpted body, a sculpted body lusted after by Matt.

And finally we meet Demi Durbach, a lady who has lived within the confines of her apartment for so long that she literally blends in with her furnishings. This is a very real and prevalent topic affecting mostly elderly people who feel that they cannot go out in society because society has either changed too much for them and they no longer recognise the society they once was a part of, or they feel ostracised/a burden to society. Despite this character being a background one (no pun intended) it was quite possibly the story which affected and moved me the most - a melancholic story of an elderly woman trying to reintegrate herself back in society.

The story ends rather grotesquely, a lot of people die in horrific ways or end up in unpleasant situations, but for me there is an honesty and a justness to the book - most of these residents are too wrapped up in their own sins to notice the wider world hence why their obsessions become their own undoing.

And of course, let's not forget about the street where they all live - Rottin Road. I think the name speaks for itself; some of them are rotting from the outside in, while others are rotting from the inside out, and a few are just plain rotten.

The illustrations are perfect, using a minimal and subdued colour scheme to encapsulate the fact that actions speak louder than words. Fransman focuses on the behaviour of the characters within a compact space and by using natural colours, does not dilute or impair the honesty and grittiness of her portrayal of real life.

This book is about a handful of flawed people, or if you prefer, misfits, whose unhealthy and unnatural obsessions make The House that Groaned a compelling, unusual and utterly memorable book. If you want to read something different, thought-provoking and ferociously honest, then this book is definitely for you!

ohnoflora's review

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3.0

Wow, that was not what I expected! What begins as a series of vignettes about tenants of a Victorian tenement, builds to a explosively grotesque climax.

gavreads's review

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Literary graphic novels feel pretty rare. I could be wrong as they are outside my radar or more exactly they fall between my main interest in novels and the cursory eye I keep on comics. And I have seen a two graphic novels from mainstream (eg non-comic publishers) in the last year one based on a fantasy novel and one with a fish man, which still fall into ‘genre’ so would have a more identifiable audience.

I’d venture that The House That Groaned hasn’t got a readymade market but will find fans with literary readers and those that love graphic novels but want something that isn’t superheroes and spandex will definitely enjoy it.

It arrived in the morning and I’d read it by the afternoon. Reading comics isn’t something that takes hours but it surprised me as I had other things I should have been doing. So what engaged me?

The world that Karrie Fransman managed to create in 141 Rottin Road.

Visually apart from the yellow lights in the windows on the front cover the rest of the book is black, white with various shades of blue. The style is comic art. Each panel bring it alive as they should but the panels are more than functionary as there is something magical about it.

Not only is there magic in the art but in the story itself. It definitely dips it toe into magical realism, which is quite odd for a story involving the six occupants of house converted to flats. I initially thought it would played ‘straighter’ than it eventually was. But it’s surreal blending of reality with the imaginary is what makes it so absorbing a read.

Barbara moves in to 141 Rottin Road, which is anything but the thick-walled apartment she was told, and allows us to use her as an introduction to the other residents, who are, if I’m being honest, more than a little odd.

And Fransman seems to have great fun playing on their oddities. Though they aren’t so odd to unrealistic. The woman that runs a fat club but really just wants to eat, the man whose only means of sexual excitement is extreme looking women, and then there is the neighbour across the landing…

Even though it revolves around 141 Rottin Road we occasionally leave its walls to see key defining moments in the characters lives (Fransman even includes the building’s life in those flashbacks). And I think that’s the most fascinating aspect; what made them into the strange people that they are?

And that element makes it quite dark. The fact that these people have been so twisted by those key moments and how that has had what we might see as a negative affect on their lives. It’s also a very fun and playful story both in terms of visuals and storytelling like the hall literally filling up with people for the diet class and the a very glutenous food eating scene.

The House That Groaned is the type of story that graphic novels are made for. Visually compelling and narratively complex. It’s also a book that challenges the conventions and expectations of what the medium can do.

Can we have more books like this? Please!