Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg

Title: Glass Town

Author: Isabel Greenberg

Publisher: Abrams ComicArts 2020

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 220

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

Glass Town is an original graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg that encompasses the eccentric childhoods of the four Brontë children—Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. The story begins in 1825, with the deaths of Maria and Elizabeth, the eldest siblings. It is in response to this loss that the four remaining Brontë children set pen to paper and created the fictional world that became known as Glass Town. This world and its cast of characters would come to be the Brontës’ escape from the realities of their lives. Within Glass Town the siblings experienced love, friendship, war, triumph, and heartbreak. Through a combination of quotes from the stories originally penned by the Brontës, biographical information about them, and Greenberg’s vivid comic book illustrations, readers will find themselves enraptured by this fascinating imaginary world.

I absolutely loved Greenberg’s other work, The One Hundred Nights of Hero, and was hoping for something similar. This is a reimagining of the make-believe world from the real life Bronte siblings. I am not the biggest fan of the Brontes, but dove into the volume anyway. Enjoyed the pieces focused on Glass Town. I did not enjoy the pieces focused on the real life characters. At times, the storytelling framing got in the way of the good stories. I wanted more Glass Town, less Brontes.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg

Title: The One Hundred Nights of Hero

Author: Isabel Greenberg

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2016

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

In the Empire of Migdal Bavel, Cherry is married to Jerome, a wicked man who makes a diabolical wager with his friend Manfred: if Manfred can seduce Cherry in one hundred nights, he can have his castle -- and Cherry.

But what Jerome doesn't know is that Cherry is in love with her maid Hero. The two women hatch a plan: Hero, a member of the League of Secret Story Tellers, will distract Manfred by regaling him with a mesmerizing tale each night for 100 nights, keeping him at bay. Those tales are beautifully depicted here, touching on themes of love and betrayal and loyalty and madness.

As intricate and richly imagined as the works of Chris Ware, and leavened with a dry wit that rivals Kate Beaton's in Hark! A Vagrant, Isabel Greenberg's One Hundred Nights of Hero will capture readers' hearts and minds, taking them through a magical medieval world.

Random comic recommendation from Goodreads that actually landed for me. This is a remix of the story of Scheherazade with added influences for other cultures. There’s an element of feminist rage that I really enjoyed. The stories and legends are inset into the larger story of Cherry and Hero. I loved seeing elements of other well-known and some other not-so-well-known stories.

Next up on the TBR pile: