Customer Reviews

The Shiniest Jewel: A Family Love Story

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I love this book. Marian Henley's drawings are so poetically spare, deft and masterful, and the story line is so compelling--the adoption of a child while losing a father--that I defy anyone not to read it in one sitting. I've always been a fan of Ms. Henley's work because of her commanding grasp of both the absurd and the sublime in life. She often mixes hilarity with poignancy in her work to illuminate her own very personal experiences. This takes great courage. And as deep as this book is, and as artfully constructed as it is, this tome is also a very FUN AND AMUSING read. THE SHINIEST JEWEL will give you many little jolts of pleasure and pathos through the unsentimental voice of its author. It sheds light on our wacky human condition, and on our one possible hope of redemption through the power of love. All written with great humor and heart. BUY THIS BOOK NOW!!! You'll cherish it.

Marian Henley's The Shiniest Jewel is a moving graphic memoir about, at its core, life and death, the two intertwined here in her search for a baby to adopt, and the poor health of her aging father. Her circumstances are unusual: she's 49 and unmarried, though she has been with her boyfriend, Rick, for a decade.

What's outstanding about this book is how powerful Henley's illustrations are, often saying so much more than her words. She shows her horror at the idea of marriage with a series of grotesque faces. She makes though bubble asides, one of the funniest of which is when she finally does decide to get married, and as she publicly says "We just adopted him from Russia!" she's thinking, "So, you see I'm not a slut." Another priceless one is when she's being interviewed about adopting, she gets yelled at by a woman who, in the drawing, practically breathes fire.

The babies, first Sergey, whose adoption falls through, then Igor, who she winds up adopting and calling William, are less cute and perky than most images of babies we see. They are more solid, chunky, in Henley's version.

This is also a bit of a warning to those looking to adopt through an agency. Henley almost has a breakdown when her visit to Vladivostok is almost for naught when the staff of her agency fails to tell her she needs a certain document. Though she doesn't explicitly offer advice, and she is someone who did her research, the point comes across that no matter how prepared you are, there will likely be obstacles, especially if you're unmarried.

This is a tearjerker, as by the end, her father is in hospice, his descent chronicled alongside the first moments of her motherhood. Henley's simple but powerful artwork serves as a complement to her story, one that may not be all that remarkable, but finds its power in the most basic human emotions, ones that speak to our need for family, the kind we are born into and the kind we create.

There is a happy (mostly) ending, but there is still a trace of sadness, as the "shiniest jewel" she plucks from Russia means that her adopted son's family couldn't afford to care for him. The look she's given by his caretaker says volumes, and underscores the fact that none of this is an easy process for Henley, even if the ultimate outcome is one that brings her what she's been seeking. Even the very idea that a baby is a "shiny jewel" clamoring for someone's attention has a bittersweet twist, as Igor leaves the other children behind. That's not the focus of this story, but is still something Henley makes sure her readers are aware of, weaving happy and sad, life and death, until it can become hard to fully separate them.

I've read this book twice and both times it made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes. Henley uses spare and telling line drawings to convey her story, diving into the hope, loss, joy, anxiety, frustration, and familial and romantic ties that layer this tale of loves gained and lost. Excellent storytelling -- rich and deceptively complex in this apparently straight-forward graphic narrative.

The Shiniest Jewel is the true story of Marian Henley's journey through adoption, love, and loss, told in the graphic novel format.

Marian has a serious boyfriend, that she isn't ready to marry. She is about to turn 50 and decides she wants more than anything a child so she turns to adoption. We go along on her journey through disappointment and also happiness. At the same time she's trying to adopt a child her father is slowly dying. She fears she will be out of the country during her father's last days. This is a beautiful story of life and death and everything in between.

What a great story that is only complimented by the graphic novel format. Seeing the author's work right there in front of your eyes instead of just reading about it is wonderful. Henley has a very simple illustration style, basically line drawings yet the emotion is there. A person has to be very brave to tell such a personal story such as this.

Like the Heartbreak Diet, The Shiniest Jewel would be a great place to start for someone hesitant about graphic novels. It's a very approachable story!

I read a lot of autobiographical graphic novels. It is my favored genre. This book is very well done. The drawing style is simple without shading, but there is still a lot of detail. One problem some people run into when illustrating this style is showing things realistically, which is very boring when there is not much action. The author is a master at overcoming this. Her drawings are often metaphors for the emotions or words. It's an intersesting story, especially for anyone thinkig about adoption.

Author/Illustrator Marian Henley's bittersweet memoir thoroughly captivated me from page 1. Using a poignant narrative and exquisitely detailed drawings, she shares the story of her anguishing journey to motherhood and the agonizing loss of her father. Ms. Henley's humorous illustrations brilliantly portray her feelings and emotions. To me, her story is about the entwining of life's opposites...emotional ups and downs...beginnings and endings...life and death. I really loved this book because I can relate to the deep longing for a child and the heartbreak of slowly losing a beloved father. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS READ!

A graphic novel memoir of Marian Henely's experience with foreign adoption, and all that surrounded her life at that time. Her father is getting sick, she is learning to understand her parents approval for what it is, and Henely's vulnerability really is laid out in this book. The Shiniest Jewel, I could not put it down. I sat down with it unstarted, and got up with it finished. I cried, laughed and felt the range of emotions in between. I loved this graphic novel memoir. It is the best graphic novel I have ever read. Marian Henely's illustrations are minimalistic and clear, but really help the reader understand even more deeply than just the writing alone would her ups and downs, her stresses and all the setbacks in the process of adoption. I can't say enough.

I think books like this one, The Shiniest Jewel really help bring awareness of what adoptive parents go trough. I know not all foreign adoptions are the same, but all the stories I have heard personally have been equally difficult. Hopes up one moment, hopes dashed the next. I watched a friend of mine mourn when the girl they were supposed to fly over and adopt from Nigeria died before the fight was confirmed. The idea that they would KNOW her, an ocean away, and morn for her is understandable, isn't it? It is just like a pregnant woman who almost carries to full term, dreaming of all the meals she will eat with her child, all the baseball games they will watch together, all the shoes that will need to be tied, and then the baby does not make it.

Because foreign adoptions are such a big thing these days, this book is published in excellent timing. To help those who are going through the emotional circus of the adoption process, but also to help their friends, family and anyone else understand the difficulty and joy in bringing home a baby from a world away.

Amazing book.

Since several detailed summaries are already listed, I will just say that this book is a unique adult fiction novel that I really enjoyed. It's a quick read but shouldn't be raced through just to reach the end. It should be read and then contemplated for its gems of life experiences. Marian Henley writes (and draws) her story of being a single woman though committed for seven years to her partner, and at 49, her experiences with adopting a foreign child. She also tells of her father's battle with illness and his long hospitalization. I liked Ms. Henley's unique idea that instead of just writing her life story, she used her talent as a cartoonist and illustrated her life story. This book, THE SHINIEST JEWEL:A Family Love Story, will make you laugh at her funny narrations, and cry with her pain, grind your teeth in frustration at the system and cheer for her success at adoption. Recommended read!

If your idea of graphic novels involves super-heros battling the forces of darkness using dialog heavy on "Bang!" "Pow!" and "Zap!", you may be surprised when you see Marian Henley's graphic memoir, The Shiniest Jewel. It's a deceptively simple story of love and family, of being different and learning self-acceptance--and of the life-altering miracle of gaining a whole new understanding of yourself in the process.

The Shiniest Jewel chronicles cartoonist Henley's decision at age 49 to adopt a child from Russia, a decision she announces to her parents on a Christmas Eve visit after years of agonizing and months after actually initiating the adoption process. A panel filling the whole next page shows Henley doubled over in a chair, alone after blurting out the news. "That night, I worried," says the caption. The thought balloons drifting over her solitary figure will resonate with anyone who has ever doubted her path (which probably is all of us): "What are they thinking?" "Why do I care what they're thinking?" "They think I'm crazy." "Maybe I am crazy." "I'm not crazy."

The decision to adopt a child takes Henley through anxiety and into elation when the adoption agency finds her a boy, Sergey. "I kept [his picture] on my drawing table, so I could see it while I worked...I felt proud of him. He wasn't my son, and yet he was," says the text next to the panels showing the photo of a snub-nosed, round-cheeked, bald infant. Then comes despair when after months of waiting (one panel shows her using reading glasses to decipher a Russian grammer labeled "Easy!" "Fun!" while in another she is doing a yoga headstand), she finds that the authorities in Russia have decided that she is "too old" (here the panel shows her looking into a mirror and feeling her face) and "too unstable" to adopt. ("They had seen my portfolio statements. How unstable could I be?")

As Henley reels, her father, who has already survived heart bypass, prostate cancer, and throat cancer, goes back into the hospital, and her boyfriend of seven years, an orthopedic surgeon, asks her to buy a house with him in Nashville, where he has moved after medical school in Austin, where Henley lives. Then she gets an email from her agency offering Igor, a year-old boy in Vladivostok, the far eastern edge of Russia. His mother was HIV positive, his father unknown. She has 12 business days to make her decision. What she decides will test her more than anything she has ever known--and ultimately reshape her life completely.

Henley's spare and evocative drawings and her deft ability to employ just a few words to evoke voices and thoughts exemplify the truth in the phrase "less equals more." The lack of clutter keeps the story moving quickly and also lends it a simple realism and power. If you've wondered about the popularity of graphic novels, you'll understand after reading The Shiniest Jewel, a jewel of a story, well-drawn and well-told.

by Susan J. Tweit
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

This book is so funny, charming and honest I only wish it had been three times as long. Both the writing and the illustrations had me laughing out loud. I hope Ms. Henley is already working on another book because I can't wait to read it.