An enchanting rendition of a star-crossed romance.
Damezin reignites a centuries-old love story.
In his graphic novel, the author draws from an ancient Arabic story about the unconsummated love between 7th-century poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and the beauty Layla al-Aamiriya. First popularized by the poet Nizami Ganjavi, innumerable versions and derivations have emerged; perhaps you’ve heard of Romeo and Juliet? Layla, with her otherworldly face, “would have had to hide her beauty beneath a hundred veils” so as not to eclipse the sun, and Qays “made the stars before him seem ugly” and had “the voice of a prophet.” They have adored each other since childhood, and Qays so fervently declares his ardor through oral verse that he earns the reputation of a madman, a majnun. Layla’s father forbids the marriage, and the duo suffers painfully. As a result, Qays falls ill, nearly perishing in the wild; the rapture of his devotion, however, inspires the animal kingdom to revive and serve him. Layla laments that “becoming mad with love is a man’s privilege,” and her father marries her to an affluent man whom she swears never to accept. Damezin retains the lyrical quality of the original work and spikes it with fierce sensuality (“To celebrate the scarlet wedding and the orgy / to feast on flesh, to frolic in blood…to perforate, lacerate, bite, and pierce”). Here, Layla assumes more agency than in previous versions. The illustrations give this tale a mythical feel, rendering the fever of love in a colorful visual style that evokes ancient Persian art.
An enchanting rendition of a star-crossed romance.Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781643379487
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Life Drawn
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced...
A pairing of the text of the Scottish Play with a filmed performance, designed with the Shakespeare novice in mind.
The left side of the screen of this enhanced e-book contains a full version of Macbeth, while the right side includes a performance of the dialogue shown (approximately 20 lines’ worth per page). This granular focus allows newcomers to experience the nuances of the play, which is rich in irony, hidden intentions and sudden shifts in emotional temperature. The set and costuming are deliberately simple: The background is white, and Macbeth’s “armor” is a leather jacket. But nobody’s dumbing down their performances. Francesca Faridany is particularly good as a tightly coiled Lady Macbeth; Raphael Nash-Thompson gives his roles as the drunken porter and a witch a garrulousness that carries an entertainingly sinister edge. The presentation is not without its hiccups. Matching the video on the right with the text on the left means routinely cutting off dramatic moments; at one point, users have to swipe to see and read the second half of a scene’s closing couplet—presumably an easy fix. A “tap to translate” button on each page puts the text into plain English, but the pop-up text covers up Shakespeare’s original, denying any attempts at comparison; moreover, the translation mainly redefines more obscure words, suggesting that smaller pop-ups for individual terms might be more meaningful.
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced e-book makes the play appealing and graspable to students . (Enhanced e-book. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: The New Book Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times...
A bland, uninspired graphic adaptation of the Bard’s renowned love story.
Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times oddly psychedelic-tinged backgrounds of cool blues and purples, the mood is strange, and the overall ambiance of the story markedly absent. Appealing to what could only be a high-interest/low–reading level audience, McDonald falls short of the mark. He explains a scene in an open-air tavern with a footnote—“a place where people gather to drink”—but he declines to offer definitions for more difficult words, such as “dirges.” While the adaptation does follow the foundation of the play, the contemporary language offers nothing; cringeworthy lines include Benvolio saying to Romeo at the party where he first meets Juliet, “Let’s go. It’s best to leave now, while the party’s in full swing.” Nagar’s faces swirl between dishwater and grotesque, adding another layer of lost passion in a story that should boil with romantic intensity. Each page number is enclosed in a little red heart; while the object of this little nuance is obvious, it’s also unpleasantly saccharine. Notes after the story include such edifying tidbits about Taylor Swift and “ ‘Wow’ dialogs from the play” (which culls out the famous quotes).Pub Date: May 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-93-80028-58-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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