minkkmuse's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
such a gorgeously illustrated, emotionally complex narrative that tackles issues of love, grief, and purpose. a little overly sappy at times, but overall a really inspiring, reflective story dissecting what it means to be alive, the inevitability of death, and the role of art in life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
chaoticnostalgia's review
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Feeling like I will be thinking about this for a while, but can't figure out how much I liked it. I'm definitely feeling existential.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Cancer, and Medical content
Minor: Pregnancy
safecamp's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Pregnancy, Grief, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Murder, and Gun violence
nannahnannah's review
3.0
I feel so bad for finding this just "meh ...", because I can just feel that there was so much love put into this (and it also says the authors poured their souls into the graphic novel in the introduction ...). But that love never really reached me, I guess, and I couldn't connect to the characters or the story.
Representation:
main character is an Afro (right?)-Brazilian
his best friend is black (Afro-Brazilian?)
the book takes place in Brazil, so there are many ethnicities
Brás de Oliva Domingos is the son of a famous writer, and dreams of becoming one himself while he writes obituaries for a newspaper.
That's basically the basic storyline, and then the graphic novel riffs of that, asking the question: what are the most important moments of your life? Each chapter is an "alternative life" for Brás (with an alternative death, too, and an obituary to top it off). They're also rather slow moving, with an in-the-moment feel (except for a couple, oof), that lets you explore that question for yourself: what moments ARE important in life? What do I want out of it?
But there was just something about the writing (LOTS of macho "living the life! Lots of chicks, yeah!" dialogue maybe) ... that I just didn't get. And that's okay; just means it's not for me.
I did have a problem, however, with the fact that Jorge, Brás's best friend, a dark-skinned black man, was the only character close to Brás Frankly, both the darker-skinned characters Brás knew and loved turned out to be either overly emotional, violent, or unstable. Not a very good choice .
Anyway, it's obvious many people connected to this story, so it's also obvious it was a just "not for me" book.
Representation:
main character is an Afro (right?)-Brazilian
his best friend is black (Afro-Brazilian?)
the book takes place in Brazil, so there are many ethnicities
Brás de Oliva Domingos is the son of a famous writer, and dreams of becoming one himself while he writes obituaries for a newspaper.
That's basically the basic storyline, and then the graphic novel riffs of that, asking the question: what are the most important moments of your life? Each chapter is an "alternative life" for Brás (with an alternative death, too, and an obituary to top it off). They're also rather slow moving, with an in-the-moment feel (except for a couple, oof), that lets you explore that question for yourself: what moments ARE important in life? What do I want out of it?
But there was just something about the writing (LOTS of macho "living the life! Lots of chicks, yeah!" dialogue maybe) ... that I just didn't get. And that's okay; just means it's not for me.
I did have a problem, however, with the fact that Jorge, Brás's best friend, a dark-skinned black man, was the only character close to Brás
Spoiler
who turned violent and killed him. Disappointing.Anyway, it's obvious many people connected to this story, so it's also obvious it was a just "not for me" book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
iuvmoonie's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Medical content, Car accident, Terminal illness, Sexism, and Misogyny
sharonus's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
books_jamie_reads's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Sexism
skeptic_hecate's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The first volume was a weird read, I couldn't understand it and I didn't know if I liked it, the second volume got me hooked. The sadest one is the ninth story, and I cannot say I have ever read something like this before. Hard hitting and surprisingly unique, I am very glad I read this lovely book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, and Death of parent
krys_kilz's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This graphic novel was highly recommended to me by a friend and I am so grateful to her.
The artwork in these comics was something else - just utterly spectacular. The saturated color took it to the next level and I really enjoyed the use of watercolors.
I loved the premise of the series and how it was narrated in a very human, slice of life type way while still maintaining some fantasy elements. I also appreciated the emotional and thoughtful musings about mortality, living in the present, relationships (romantic, familial, and friendship), and grief.
The one criticism I have is that the main character felt a little flat at times. I found it difficult to fully connect with him.
The artwork in these comics was something else - just utterly spectacular. The saturated color took it to the next level and I really enjoyed the use of watercolors.
I loved the premise of the series and how it was narrated in a very human, slice of life type way while still maintaining some fantasy elements. I also appreciated the emotional and thoughtful musings about mortality, living in the present, relationships (romantic, familial, and friendship), and grief.
The one criticism I have is that the main character felt a little flat at times. I found it difficult to fully connect with him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Sexual content
waybeyondblue's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Murder and Violence