The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
A review by niccoyong
Beverly by Nick Drnaso
3.0
3.5 stars rounded down.
i'll preface this by saying that drnaso is the best graphic novelist i've read - neither sabrina nor beverly were slight or shallow, but were consistently thematically and stylistically clever, interesting, and thought-provoking.
however, here i felt that i could appreciate it more intellectually than i could as a piece of fiction...? vaguely uncomfortable and unsettling with the banality and crass vapidity,, as well as lurking shadowy menaces in his depiction of suburban life,, while i understand on an intellectual level his decision to keep it constantly muted and flat (and there are many other such smart choices throughout), i did think it suffered as a result, in having no "climax", or even much narrative variation other than creeping tension that never really paid off anywhere
would probably rise in my estimation with a reread and more thinking but it really does nothing to capture my attention and incentivise me to do so
i'll preface this by saying that drnaso is the best graphic novelist i've read - neither sabrina nor beverly were slight or shallow, but were consistently thematically and stylistically clever, interesting, and thought-provoking.
however, here i felt that i could appreciate it more intellectually than i could as a piece of fiction...? vaguely uncomfortable and unsettling with the banality and crass vapidity,, as well as lurking shadowy menaces in his depiction of suburban life,, while i understand on an intellectual level his decision to keep it constantly muted and flat (and there are many other such smart choices throughout), i did think it suffered as a result, in having no "climax", or even much narrative variation other than creeping tension that never really paid off anywhere
would probably rise in my estimation with a reread and more thinking but it really does nothing to capture my attention and incentivise me to do so