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Asterios Polyp

By David Mazzucchelli

(118)

| Hardcover | 9780307377326

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Book Description

For decades, Mazzucchelli has been a master without a masterpiece. Now he has one. His long-awaited graphic novel is a huge, knotty marvel, the comics equivalent of a Pynchon or Gaddis novel, and radically different from anything he's done before. Asterios Polyp, its arrogant, prickly protagonist, iContinue

For decades, Mazzucchelli has been a master without a masterpiece. Now he has one. His long-awaited graphic novel is a huge, knotty marvel, the comics equivalent of a Pynchon or Gaddis novel, and radically different from anything he's done before. Asterios Polyp, its arrogant, prickly protagonist, is an award-winning architect who's never built an actual building, and a pedant in the midst of a spiritual crisis. After the structure of his own life falls apart, he runs away to try to rebuild it into something new. There are fascinating digressions on aesthetic philosophy, as well as some very broad satire, but the core of the book is Mazzucchelli's odyssey of style—every major character in the book is associated with a specific drawing style and visual motifs, and the design, color scheme and formal techniques of every page change to reinforce whatever's happening in the story. Although Mazzucchelli stacks the deck—few characters besides Polyp and his inamorata, the impossibly good-hearted sculptor Hana, are more than caricatures—the book's bravado and mastery make it riveting even when it's frustrating, and provide a powerful example of how comics use visual information to illustrate complex, interconnected topics. Easily one of the best books of 2009 already.

Critics

  • Shades of Meaning

    Modernism came late to comics. Cartoonists are naturally stylistic chameleons, selecting and altering visual techniques to serve their subjects. But explicitly presenting style as content? That’s always trickier. It took creative giants to make it wo ... (read full critics)

    nytimes published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

  • Asterios Polyp

    Asterios Polyp is a blowhard, a "paper architect" who is renowned for his conceptual genius but has never had a project come to fruition. "I don't like drawing from life," he says with characteristic rigidness. "Things are always in the wrong place." ... (read full critics)

    austinchronicle published on Tue, 7 Sep 2010

3 Reviews

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  • " i don't like drawing from life. things are always in the wrong place. "

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    kovalski said on Jan 8, 2012 | Add your feedback

  • Asterios Polyp is the kind of book for which the term "graphic novel" was invented. It's literature, it's graphic art, it's a jewel. Mazzucchelli uses all the tools of his brilliant art and multi-layered storytelling to create credible, rounded characters and to write a true and moving tale. ... (continue)

    Asterios Polyp is the kind of book for which the term "graphic novel" was invented. It's literature, it's graphic art, it's a jewel. Mazzucchelli uses all the tools of his brilliant art and multi-layered storytelling to create credible, rounded characters and to write a true and moving tale. Unlike some other hyped graphic novels, Asterios Polyp is accessible as well as intellectual, and the plot has (*gasp*) a beginning, a middle part and an ending.

    Asterios Polyp, an award-winning "paper architect", is the surviving half of a pair of twins. His still-born twin brother has a profound influence on Asterios' worldview and relationships. The story starts as the architect's apartment building is struck by lightning and he loses all in the ensuing fire. The accident offers Polyp an occasion to run away from his old life as far as he possibly can - and to learn a few things about himself and others. On the way, he meets several great characters (each of which get their own style and lettering - without it getting annoying or looking like a trick!), my own favourites being his wife Hana and his landlady Ursula Major (!).

    I don't want to say much more about it, because it is a book that you should discover for yourself. All I will say is that Asterios Polyp is a real masterpiece :).

    Wow, Mr Mazzucchelli. Just - wow.

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    Ampersand said on Jun 2, 2010 | Add your feedback

  • riveting, ambitious, frustrating, and challenging graphic novel about everything under the sun

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    BradNYC said on Aug 21, 2009 | Add your feedback

Book Details

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ISBN Edition List Sale Seller
9780307377326 Hardcover $29.95 $21.56 bn.com
$29.95 $19.49 The Book Depository
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+ 2 copies tradable: 1 in USA →
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