Customer Reviews

Asterios Polyp

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reading Asterios Polyp is a daunting experience. Or maybe not so much the reading, which can be accomplished easily enough, but the being able to speak sensibly about it afterward. I feel kind of like how I did after finishing Bolaño's 2666: A Novel, only not quite so out of my depth. Like Bolaño, Mazzucchelli's work here displays a breadth and depth that overtly requires multiple readings in order find ground solid enough to speak with any authority about the book.

But since I've only read the book once, you'll have to be satisfied with my initial thoughts. Asterios Polyp is, in the simplest terms, a coming-of-age story--one in which the fifty-year-old lead, celebrated architect Asterios Polyp, begins a quest to put away the childish things of his past and embarks on journey of both self-discovery and exploration of the world as it is rather than how he has intended to see it for so long. In this aspect, Asterios reminded me of Mr. Ryder from Ishiguro's The Unconsoled, a man at the top of his rarefied field who still must learn to grow up. And like Ryder, Asterios suffers from an inability to see the world as it is and is (really, like us all) victim to his own perceptions.

Reality, perception, and memory play a huge role in Mazzucchelli's work here even as they do in everything I've yet read by Ishiguro.

On top of this is layered the framework of Greek tragedy and specific allusion to the myth of Orpheus (this is pointed out through fistfuls of overt clues, not the least of which is a dream in which Asterios takes the role of Orpheus and his ex-wife Hana embodies Eurydice). We get narrative explanations from a meta-source in the Greek choral tradition. Comparisons to Dionysus and Apollo lead to an evaluation of dualistic systems (and perhaps systems generally) as Asterios gradually must free himself from systemic shackles in order to finally grow up. Of course we suspect if Asterios abandons one aspect he will be destroyed even as Orpheus was for abandoning Dionysius. As well, there are plenty of references to The Odyssey and this cross-pollination of mythologies only serves to enrich our experience of Asterios' journey.

The subject matter, by its summary, sounds simple enough but Mazzucchelli throws so much into this piece and exercises such deft control over the page that one can easily drown in the details. The art is very particular. Much is made of Mazzucchelli's use of colour through the book and, well, with good reason. The colouring itself offers storytelling that is available through no other means. In fact, so occasionally powerful is his use of colour that I worry for colourblind readers, that they might miss out on some of the book's more sublime moments.

On top of Mazzucchelli's tight reign over his colour spectrum, there is ample evidence that he maintains the same level of control over his linework and design. Asterios Polyp is a thoroughly designed experience, with every element from script to story to illustration to panel design to colouration to control of whitespace adding voice to the chorus of this performance. The battle between geometric and organic shapes gives the reader (who may not be familiar with all the names and ideas Asterios or his ghostly narrator reference) a hook on which to hang the interpreter's hat. One's experience of Asterios Polyp will no doubt be more enriched by a working knowledge of architectural history, familiarity with Greek mythology and Homeric tradition, and a smackerel of understanding of postmodern sculpture--but Mazzucchelli's conveyance of story through his visual sense means that even those with Asterios-sized gaps in their education can still get in there and have some deeper sense of what's going on.

As of this writing, I have only read Asterios Polyp once. Of course I still have questions. Of course I do. I think I understand the ending, but I'd like to reread and think on it again. I think I understand why he physically takes on the identity of his true last name in the book's final act (Polyp is only half his original surname, as the immigration official chopped in half the family name when his father immigrated to America). I sometimes understand what Mazzuchelli intends with his character names and sometimes not. I have the barest kernel of an idea why Mazzuchelli, in a mature work that depicts nudity and violence, insists on representing verbal obscenity with cartoony symbolic representation (e.g. "We made up a $#@*load of these"). I don't yet fully grasp Asterios' Ignazio dreams. I am certain, however, that many of these things will become more clear on subsequent readings.

As I said, I have only read Asterios Polyp once. And I can't wait to change that fact.

Those who have spent the majority of their lives jumping through professional hoops (academic or otherwise) only to be blind-sided by the joylessness of the destination will recognize themselves here. As with our protagonist, a sophisticated armoring of the ego serves for a time to obscure the truth, but that truth eventually leaks in, rendering what were once bright and shiny objects of desire to be simply soggy, mostly irrelevant objects.

An effective conveyance of the heart of territory explored by Proust, Sartre, Nietzsche, and virtually every author on Buddhism is not what you expect to find in a deceptively simple, clean-lined, colorful, and humorous cartoon. And Mr. Mazzucchelli does keep his figures cartoony, unlike Shaun Tan's magnificent "The Arrival" which transmits its equally poignant story with the power of sepia-toned, three-dimensional portraiture and magical landscapes. Indeed, the contrast between the playful visual style and the depth of the content in "Asterios Polyp" creates a wonderful tension - the kind that keeps you just off-balance enough to want more, all the way through to the end.

It's very hard to pick my favorite scenes from the book (warning: skip this paragraph if you don't want to know anything about the story before you read it): the guy on the bus showing the tattoo on his lip, the absurd innuendos of the supercilious choreographer, the meteor foreshadowing, the review of Asterios' sexual conquests through the decades, the shock of seeing a 50 year transformation of Asterios' father within 2 panels, etc. But if I had to pick two, one would be the collage of Asterios' haunted memories of all the mundane, intimate and unglamorous moments of living with Hana and how precious each of them had become once she was gone. The other would be the afternoon Asterios rests after building the treehouse, when Mr. "Locked Within His Head" enters a moment of pure "being-ness" with all sensory filters unblocked and all thought-process noise turned off. Absolutely magical.

Thank you, Mr. Mazzucchelli, for creating a masterpiece. I hope it will be marketed by your publisher like an Updike or Pynchon novel, and not ushered into the graphic novel offshoot category that most folks don't yet know what to make of. You have taken a major step in helping GNs take their deserved role in mainstream literature, by showing exactly what nuances of meaning could NOT have been depicted on a page of nothing but text.

If you've followed the work of David Mazzucchelli then you already know the man possesses far greater gifts than just being an artist. His work on Daredevil defined his hand and his self-published Rubber Blanket defined his passion.

In Asterios Polyp he defines his genuis.

When I'd heard he was going to "redefine the graphic novel" I immediately thought it was press release pretension. But you know, everyone deserves credit for trying. What Mazzucchelli does is makes it look like he's not trying. It flows seamlessly from color to line, to form and shape and before you know it you're really reading words and pictures in a very unique way; yet still familiar.

Anyone who loved Rubber Blanket and Paul Auster's City of Glass will want this book. Anyone who likes smart literature who wants a new challenge for themselves to mix words and pictures will learn to appreciate what comics can be.

This is just another step in the right direction for the medium as well as the man. I hope David Mazzucchelli continues to practice in the medium he makes us appreciate so much.

=s=

I'm a relatively new follower of the graphic novel literary genre, so perhaps a somewhat inexpert reviewer. I haven't followed David Mazzucchelli's work over the years or anything, but someone recommended this to me and I picked it up. And "Wow" is the right word for it. This GN takes you through the entire range of emotional responses that a really great text novel does. It's extremely engaging, and there's something, some little detail at least, that delights on just about every page. I also had the sense reading it that I need to read it again more closely, the way one should read such serious literature. Because there are deep literary resonances here. I heartily recommend it.

I waited for this book in the same fashion that I waited for Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day, and Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, and as with both of those books, not only was I *not* disappointed, I was amazed that these men not only raised the bar, but cleared it, with room to spare.

In the case of Asterios Polyp, I am glad to say that the wait is over, and Mazzucchelli has delivered not just the masterpiece we all knew he had in him, but probably the graphic novel we will still be talking about ten years from now, in the same way we talk about Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. Groundbreaking, emotional, inventive, sly, thought-provoking: Mazzucchelli has opened a door and shown us a room we never knew was in this house before. Bravo. I will have to buy a second copy soon as I have already loaned out the one I bought to my best friend.

I'm definitely going against the grain here of the mostly 5-star reviews and "best graphic novel of the year" accolades being given this book. On the positive side the artwork is wonderful. Mazzucchelli uses a number of inventive layouts to try and break the mold of the tradition square panel format of comics. Sometimes it's successful, sometime it just comes across as in exercise in 'look what I can do'. I found it especially disappointing that the lettering felt very computer generated/typeset while the artwork was much more fluid. The story was a little too distant for me, too abstract or academic in its construction. I never felt attached to the main protagonist of the book so ultimately never cared what happened at the end. If I had to sum it up, this book, the art and the story, are almost too smart for their own good and the emotion got left behind in the inventive layouts. Still, I'm recommending it for comic fans because the attempt alone is worth the purchase.

After reading Asterios Polyp I would have to agree with Ms. Robbins excellent review of this book, this is Mazzucchelli trying a bit too hard to craft a serious work, when perhaps crafting a good, cohesive, compelling, and interesting one would have served him better. If you want to read a Mazzuccheli drawn work that does succeed in being about higher issues of self, issues of humanism and existentialism, read PAUL AUSTER'S CITY OF GLASS... which is quite brilliant. But in that work he had a writer, Paul Karasik to help shape that Adaptation.

In ASTERIOS it's clearly Mazzucchelli trying to ape some of the themes and concepts of CITY OF GLASS, but they come across as just that, poor mimicry, that doesn't fit, or have any real place in the mismash of a story he's trying to tell. Pretension is a word that's bandied about a bit. And I think it's because it fits. There are people who think anything pseudo literary is deep, and praise it to be thought hip or intelligent, and like this work they are neither. You want deep in a GN, read CITY OF GLASS, read FROM HELL. ASTERIOS is a poor mix of two really great things, TONY TAKITANI and CITY OF GLASS, both of which tackle serious issues, while still being excellently and cohesively crafted AND entertaining. ASTERIOS is none of those things.

And have to say, as a fan of Mazzucchelli's art, I don't care for the art in this at all. Cartooning up his already minimalist style, not good.
In summation ASTERIOS POLYP may be a meaningful work... for those who embrace the superficial, others will be better served... looking elsewhere. At the very least rent it from your library before buying. Then if it does speak to you, come back here and buy it. If not, you're only out, the time it took you to read it.

Best of luck to you.

"Asterios Polyp" is a fascinating work of fiction. It demonstrates the depth and complexity that can be achieved within the graphic novel medium, accomplishing philosophically what "V for Vendetta" accomplished politically. It confirms that the graphic novel is capable of conveying ideas and emotions in ways that no other medium can. Despite this praise, however, the final outcome was not entirely satisfying despite being a very enjoyable experience - hence four instead of five stars.

The story begins on a stormy night with the titular character, Asterios Polyp, who though alive has stopped living. The narrative follows him as he copes with loss and struggles to move on while providing substantial background that informs who he has become. Interspersed throughout are philosophical ruminations on life, love, god, time, memory, architecture, etc.

The visual style is simple but captivating. The color palette and drawing style inform the narrative as fully as the text. For example, the emotional differences between Asterios and his wife, Hana, are strikingly represented by the use of reds and blues and mechanical embellishments to figures (occasionally the styles switch or overlap pointedly). Another vivid visual is the introductory sketch of Hana. She stands with hands clasped behind her back, head bowed, and eyes lowered or closed. A spotlight shines beside her illuminating empty space. We learn she has been overlooked throughout life. The picture is worth a thousand words. The same visualization is leveraged later when Asterios compliments her sculptures. A spotlight shines on her as she thanks him, clearly relishing the adoration. But the spotlight slowly pans away from her as Asterios rambles on about his interpretations of her art. As he drones on, smitten with his own cleverness while ignoring her attempts to clarify her own intent, the spotlight focuses on him. Hana is left in the dark once again. Brilliant! As a final example, there is the lengthy adaptation of the classical myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Asterios is our hero who goes to the underworld to reclaim Hana. Instead of a lyre, he carries his drafting tool. Several of the events that occurred during and in the aftermath of the storm in the beginning of the book are delightfully echoed here. Lacking any text, it is a visual marvel.

The breadth of the work is staggering. Author David Mazzucchelli speaks insightfully on a diverse range of topics including science, art, design, classical mythology and philosophy and more. This is not a casual read.

Having stated the work was not completely satisfying, here are my reasons. First, though a work of this complexity would probably yield a rich harvest on repeated readings, I do feel some things were unclear and even confusing. Second, a few of the characters did not seem to fit naturally into the story. Perhaps none of them seemed complete or whole. Finally, the ending left me cold.

That said, I was truly impressed with the work. Not since Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" has so much been packed into a graphic novel. And though this may be blasphemy to some, I rate "Asterios Polyp" a much better work.

Asterios Polyp is quite simply the most well written and conceived graphic novel of the decade (so far).

Like Gatsby and his melancholy we see a life so full of achievement and "balance" shatter, and then is reformed.

Jungian archetypes, philosophy, mysticism. It's all here, splendidly drawn and edited by a true master.

This is what this medium can do, folks.

Do yourself a favor; and buy this novel.

this is an amazing graphic novel the likes of which rarely comes along. it really knows what it's doing, playing with the fact that its narrative trades in drawings as well as words, allowing itself to be fanciful while alluding to a rarefied (and not so rarefied) history of visual representation. at times, it's like a meditation on principles of design, creative expression, and the artistic life. even still, it never loses track of the need to tell a good story about interesting characters in a rich setting.

this book deserves to win a lot of awards and a huge following!