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spenkevich's review against another edition
4.0
Being forced to suppress your true self from your public life of work, family and friends often becomes a long, lonesome journey, and this is especially true for Karl in Matthias Lehmann’s heartrending yet tragically beautiful graphic novel Parallel. Spanning the tumultuous decades from post-WWII to the 1980s in German, Karl struggles with being a gay man in a society where homosexuality is criminalized while also finding his clandestine relationships repeatedly causing harm to his life as a family man —a life he so desperately wishes he could live authentically while also realizing he cannot ever dismiss his true desires. In keeping with the title, the story is told in parallel timelines of Karl as a lonely, retired man worried he can never make amends with his estranged, adult daughter with the timeline of Karl’s adulthood leading through broken marriages and relationships, finding secret solace in queer communities and living in fear of being found out. This is a heavy book—both emotionally and literally as in comes in around 450pgs of striking black and white artwork—with Parallel capturing the struggles of queer people in history along with the history of post-war Germany and becoming a heartbreaking investigation into repression and isolation.
Occasionally this feels overly long, but the artwork is breathtaking. Particularly the many architectural frames, showing bombed out cities wearily getting back on their feet or somber landscapes that match the emotional vibes of the story (the winter artwork is particularly lovely). While I sometimes felt the use of shadows on faces wasn’t my favorite stylization, I did enjoy how well Lehmann shows his characters age. This is a somber artistic feast and for how sad the story is, the artwork is something you’ll want to pause and bask in.
The story is quite painful at times. It shows the way criminalization of sexualities forced people to hide (heres an article on the legal history, and that homosexuality was decriminalized in East Germany in 1968 and in West Germany in 1969, though the legislation was not discarded completely until 1994) which only heaps shame on top of an already difficult situation. We see Karl wrestle with his feelings, falling into secret affairs and even brining a lover to live at home with his wife and kid, and how the life he tries to keep hidden keeps coming back to haunt him. It can be a lot, and I was reminded a bit of [b:Giovanni's Room|406235|Giovanni's Room|James Baldwin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1223664870l/406235._SY75_.jpg|814207] where you see how the stresses and oppressions corners people into behaviors that end up hurting loved ones. It moves rather slowly through much of Karl’s past—slow as in detailed and letting the story breathe but never feeling like a slog as this book is really quite engaging—though I wish it would have addressed the issues between him and his daughter more. We never see her past childhood and only hear about vague arguments that lead to her cutting him out of her life for over a decade. One can surmise what occurred, but so much of the story is building around the break-up of that family bond and Karl’s hopes to repair it without any of that really making it onto the page in a rather long book.
Still, Parallel is quite moving and difficult to look away from. It covers a lot of ground, balances a lot of side characters, and is just gorgeous to look at. The side-characters are just as engaging as the main story, particularly the woman he can identify with in East Germany, and you feel every setback and heartbreak along with the characters on the page. I’m glad this was made available in the US in translation by Ivanka Hahnenberger as the insight into post-war Germany is also rather fascinating to read. Based on event’s of Lehmann’s own relative, this is a sad but powerful look at life struggling to keep moving forward, to find community and, most importantly, to find self-acceptance.
4/5
Occasionally this feels overly long, but the artwork is breathtaking. Particularly the many architectural frames, showing bombed out cities wearily getting back on their feet or somber landscapes that match the emotional vibes of the story (the winter artwork is particularly lovely). While I sometimes felt the use of shadows on faces wasn’t my favorite stylization, I did enjoy how well Lehmann shows his characters age. This is a somber artistic feast and for how sad the story is, the artwork is something you’ll want to pause and bask in.
The story is quite painful at times. It shows the way criminalization of sexualities forced people to hide (heres an article on the legal history, and that homosexuality was decriminalized in East Germany in 1968 and in West Germany in 1969, though the legislation was not discarded completely until 1994) which only heaps shame on top of an already difficult situation. We see Karl wrestle with his feelings, falling into secret affairs and even brining a lover to live at home with his wife and kid, and how the life he tries to keep hidden keeps coming back to haunt him. It can be a lot, and I was reminded a bit of [b:Giovanni's Room|406235|Giovanni's Room|James Baldwin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1223664870l/406235._SY75_.jpg|814207] where you see how the stresses and oppressions corners people into behaviors that end up hurting loved ones. It moves rather slowly through much of Karl’s past—slow as in detailed and letting the story breathe but never feeling like a slog as this book is really quite engaging—though I wish it would have addressed the issues between him and his daughter more. We never see her past childhood and only hear about vague arguments that lead to her cutting him out of her life for over a decade. One can surmise what occurred, but so much of the story is building around the break-up of that family bond and Karl’s hopes to repair it without any of that really making it onto the page in a rather long book.
Still, Parallel is quite moving and difficult to look away from. It covers a lot of ground, balances a lot of side characters, and is just gorgeous to look at. The side-characters are just as engaging as the main story, particularly the woman he can identify with in East Germany, and you feel every setback and heartbreak along with the characters on the page. I’m glad this was made available in the US in translation by Ivanka Hahnenberger as the insight into post-war Germany is also rather fascinating to read. Based on event’s of Lehmann’s own relative, this is a sad but powerful look at life struggling to keep moving forward, to find community and, most importantly, to find self-acceptance.
4/5
rociovoncina's review against another edition
3.0
Titulo: Parallel
Autor: Matthias Lehmann
Año publicado: 2023
Motivo de lectura: #NetGalley #ARC
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Idioma: Ingles
Puntuacion: 3.5/5
Recibi esta ARC a cambio de una reseña honesta. Gracias NetGalley por darme la oportunidad de leer este libro.
Que lectura mas deprimente, de verdad la historia es muy triste. No hay momentos de alivio donde realmente la tristeza no este presente, basicamente la experiencia es esto en loop infinito:
Siento que el protagonista (Karl) nunca tuvo en claro que queria, por un lado dice que quiere una familia, pero nunca esta para ellos, por el otro lado intenta colmar su verdadero deseo, pero en el camino va causando dolor. No se puede construir la felicidad propia en el cementerio de la infelicidad de los otros. Karl comete el mismo error una y otra vez, me da la impresion que en su propia nube de confusion emocional tambien pierde la memoria (?).
Las conversaciones con sus compañeros de trabajo es el retrato puro de lo que es una sociedad cerrada (y aunque se que esta ambientado en 1950 y la posguerra, hoy en dia aun se puede ver esto). Pero sin dudas es muy destacable las expresiones faciales de Karl dentro de la ilustracion, asi como tambien sus silencios. A medida que fui leyendo me di cuenta que en el silencio era donde mas entendia a Karl. Un Karl taciturno, miedoso, vulnerable, expuesto a una sociedad que criminaliza su orientacion sexual, es que hubo momentos donde Karl me rompio el corazon con su tristeza y desazon. Pero a su vez hubo momentos donde no podia empatizar con Karl.
La ilustracion, la belleza del blanco y negro, esta historia contada en color no hubiera sido lo mismo. El blanco y negro permite darle la emocion, el drama y la profundidad que esta historia necesita, los colores habrian sido una distraccion. Matthias Lehmann hace un trabajo fantastico capturando la emocion a traves de sus trazos.
Y el final es..(te imaginas que no voy a contarte el final! jajaja), esta novela grafica vale la pena ser leida.
---
I've received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
What a depressing read, the story is really sad. There are no moments of relief where sadness is not really present, basically the experience is this in an infinite loop:
I feel that the protagonist (Karl) was never clear about what he wanted, on one hand he says that he wants a family, but he is never there for them, on the other hand he tries to fulfill his true desire, but along the way he is causing pain. You cannot build your own happiness in the cemetery of the unhappiness of others. Karl makes the same mistake over and over again, he gives me the impression that in his own cloud of emotional confusion he also loses his memory(?).
The conversations with his coworkers is the pure portrait of a narow-minded society (and although I know that this is set in the 1950s and the postwar period, you can still see this today). But without a doubt, Karl's facial expressions within the illustration are very remarkable, as well as his silence. As I read, I realized that silence was where I understood Karl the most. A taciturn, fearful, vulnerable Karl, exposed to a society that criminalizes his sexual orientation, there were moments when Karl broke my heart with his sadness and discomfort. But at the same time there were moments where I couldn't empathize with Karl.
The illustration, the beauty of black and white, this story told in color would not have been the same. Black and white allows for the emotion, drama and depth that this story needs, colors would have been distracting. Matthias Lehmann does a fantastic job capturing emotions through his lines.
And the ending is...(can you imagine I'm not going to tell you the ending! hahaha), this graphic novel is worth reading.
Autor: Matthias Lehmann
Año publicado: 2023
Motivo de lectura: #NetGalley #ARC
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Idioma: Ingles
Puntuacion: 3.5/5
Recibi esta ARC a cambio de una reseña honesta. Gracias NetGalley por darme la oportunidad de leer este libro.
Que lectura mas deprimente, de verdad la historia es muy triste. No hay momentos de alivio donde realmente la tristeza no este presente, basicamente la experiencia es esto en loop infinito:
Siento que el protagonista (Karl) nunca tuvo en claro que queria, por un lado dice que quiere una familia, pero nunca esta para ellos, por el otro lado intenta colmar su verdadero deseo, pero en el camino va causando dolor. No se puede construir la felicidad propia en el cementerio de la infelicidad de los otros. Karl comete el mismo error una y otra vez, me da la impresion que en su propia nube de confusion emocional tambien pierde la memoria (?).
Las conversaciones con sus compañeros de trabajo es el retrato puro de lo que es una sociedad cerrada (y aunque se que esta ambientado en 1950 y la posguerra, hoy en dia aun se puede ver esto). Pero sin dudas es muy destacable las expresiones faciales de Karl dentro de la ilustracion, asi como tambien sus silencios. A medida que fui leyendo me di cuenta que en el silencio era donde mas entendia a Karl. Un Karl taciturno, miedoso, vulnerable, expuesto a una sociedad que criminaliza su orientacion sexual, es que hubo momentos donde Karl me rompio el corazon con su tristeza y desazon. Pero a su vez hubo momentos donde no podia empatizar con Karl.
La ilustracion, la belleza del blanco y negro, esta historia contada en color no hubiera sido lo mismo. El blanco y negro permite darle la emocion, el drama y la profundidad que esta historia necesita, los colores habrian sido una distraccion. Matthias Lehmann hace un trabajo fantastico capturando la emocion a traves de sus trazos.
Y el final es..(te imaginas que no voy a contarte el final! jajaja), esta novela grafica vale la pena ser leida.
---
I've received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
What a depressing read, the story is really sad. There are no moments of relief where sadness is not really present, basically the experience is this in an infinite loop:
I feel that the protagonist (Karl) was never clear about what he wanted, on one hand he says that he wants a family, but he is never there for them, on the other hand he tries to fulfill his true desire, but along the way he is causing pain. You cannot build your own happiness in the cemetery of the unhappiness of others. Karl makes the same mistake over and over again, he gives me the impression that in his own cloud of emotional confusion he also loses his memory(?).
The conversations with his coworkers is the pure portrait of a narow-minded society (and although I know that this is set in the 1950s and the postwar period, you can still see this today). But without a doubt, Karl's facial expressions within the illustration are very remarkable, as well as his silence. As I read, I realized that silence was where I understood Karl the most. A taciturn, fearful, vulnerable Karl, exposed to a society that criminalizes his sexual orientation, there were moments when Karl broke my heart with his sadness and discomfort. But at the same time there were moments where I couldn't empathize with Karl.
The illustration, the beauty of black and white, this story told in color would not have been the same. Black and white allows for the emotion, drama and depth that this story needs, colors would have been distracting. Matthias Lehmann does a fantastic job capturing emotions through his lines.
And the ending is...(can you imagine I'm not going to tell you the ending! hahaha), this graphic novel is worth reading.
ewpapp's review
4.0
This is obviously a sad story, reflecting not only the difficulties of being gay and having to hide it, but also the difficulties of being a woman semi-reliant on a man who makes no effort to be there for her. This is a common trope in historical gay stories, where the wife of the struggling gay man is put on the back burner and almost villainized for holding the man back. In this particular story I appreciated the autonomy and personhood that the second wife had. She wasn't the enemy, the husband wasn't a tragic hero, they both struggled through their situations together and came out on the other side still able to coexist. The illustrations in this book are amazing, architectural and expressive at the same time. The black and gray give the story a somber atmosphere which feels appropriate.
kaiyear's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
in the end, prejudice hurts all
disabledbookdragon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
crystaldbudy's review against another edition
4.0
[3.5 rounded up]
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Parallel tells the story of Karl Kling in a dual timeline format -- older Karl in his present life in 1980s Germany, freshly retired; and young Karl as a WWII veteran in 1950s Germany. It shows Karl writing a letter to his daughter, who has disowned him many years prior, and reminiscing about his life in the process. A good portion of this is how he was forced to live a double life -- trying desperately to have a family so he wouldn't be alone while secretly gay at a time when it was a crime.
This was a heartbreaking story. It was not a fun or joyful read; it wasn't supposed to be. It was, however, quite timely given the human rights violations happening around the world, particularly the US. It's painful to realize this was the reality for so many people, and that it may be coming right back around.
Karl is portrayed unapologetically as he is -- a flawed man. He desperately wants to have a family and he puts those families through the wringer. But yet you also can't help but feel for him because how difficult must it be to have to deny your true self? To not be able to love who you want to love?
It was nice to see him portrayed in both a way that could make you angry at him for the way he treated those around him but also sympathetic to him because of what he was going through.
My biggest complaints were:
1. The time jumps were sometimes difficult to keep track of as all the panels looked the same regardless of timeline and it jumped around quite a lot.
2. I had trouble keeping up with who was who as many of the characters looked quite similar.
3. The text was also sometimes hard for me to read on Karl's letter to his daughter without zooming in.
I did also feel like we were missing big parts of the story. This book was so long, yet there was so much left out. It shows Present Day Karl going to visit two people who Past Karl had a major falling out with, but yet I didn't feel as though it was properly explained how they all ended up friends again? Also wasn't completely certain exactly what happened with him and his daughter. Unless I missed something, which is entirely possible. This probably would be one that would require rereading a few times to be able to fully understand it.
The ending was nice but abrupt. I scrolled past the last panel and had to go back because I thought I had skipped something by accident. But perhaps the open-ended ending was the best thing for this story.
At its core, the story is important, and that made me rate it higher despite its flaws. Not a light read, but an important one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Parallel tells the story of Karl Kling in a dual timeline format -- older Karl in his present life in 1980s Germany, freshly retired; and young Karl as a WWII veteran in 1950s Germany. It shows Karl writing a letter to his daughter, who has disowned him many years prior, and reminiscing about his life in the process. A good portion of this is how he was forced to live a double life -- trying desperately to have a family so he wouldn't be alone while secretly gay at a time when it was a crime.
This was a heartbreaking story. It was not a fun or joyful read; it wasn't supposed to be. It was, however, quite timely given the human rights violations happening around the world, particularly the US. It's painful to realize this was the reality for so many people, and that it may be coming right back around.
Karl is portrayed unapologetically as he is -- a flawed man. He desperately wants to have a family and he puts those families through the wringer. But yet you also can't help but feel for him because how difficult must it be to have to deny your true self? To not be able to love who you want to love?
It was nice to see him portrayed in both a way that could make you angry at him for the way he treated those around him but also sympathetic to him because of what he was going through.
My biggest complaints were:
1. The time jumps were sometimes difficult to keep track of as all the panels looked the same regardless of timeline and it jumped around quite a lot.
2. I had trouble keeping up with who was who as many of the characters looked quite similar.
3. The text was also sometimes hard for me to read on Karl's letter to his daughter without zooming in.
I did also feel like we were missing big parts of the story. This book was so long, yet there was so much left out. It shows Present Day Karl going to visit two people who Past Karl had a major falling out with, but yet I didn't feel as though it was properly explained how they all ended up friends again? Also wasn't completely certain exactly what happened with him and his daughter. Unless I missed something, which is entirely possible. This probably would be one that would require rereading a few times to be able to fully understand it.
The ending was nice but abrupt. I scrolled past the last panel and had to go back because I thought I had skipped something by accident. But perhaps the open-ended ending was the best thing for this story.
At its core, the story is important, and that made me rate it higher despite its flaws. Not a light read, but an important one.
pocketfullofjoy's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0