Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21110 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

Forbiddenplanet.co.uk
'The cartooning is beautiful...let's hope there aren't 7 years until the next'

Evening Standard
`Anyone who still thinks comic books aren't for grown-ups should have a look at Tamara Drewe''

Daily Telegraph
'Simmonds manages to be both sympathetic and merciless... she has a novelistic insight and ear for dialogue'

Customer Reviews

Exquisitely detailed and unputdownable
Posy Simmonds' graphic novel, originally serialised in the Guardian's Review supplement, follows the chain of events that unfolds when the eponymous Tamara Drewe - a former wallflower who, via plastic surgery and increased confidence, has transformed herself into a stunning and much-desired woman - returns to her parents' country home. There, her life fatefully intersects with a number of local residents, most significantly the inhabitants of a nearby literary retreat; its married owners, Nicholas and Beth Hardiman; and a pair of bored teenage girls, Jody and Casey.

I devoured this every week in its original comic-strip format, and loved it even more second time round - I literally couldn't put the book down until I'd finished reading. The plot unfolds in both words and pictures, with the author using a number of different narrative voices to tell the story from different angles. The combination of styles makes for fantastic storytelling; Simmonds captures body language and facial expressions perfectly in her illustrations, and her narration is never anything less than totally convincing (the way she skips between fiftysomething, middle-class Beth Hardiman and fifteen-year-old, working-class Casey, without ever losing a trace of authenticity, is particularly impressive). The fact that this is a graphic novel takes nothing away from the fact that it is also a brilliant, compelling, always believable story. I would recommend it to everyone; it's a book I know I will enjoy over and over again.

A small masterpiece
I received this as a birthday present. I had followed it serialised in the Guardian but hadn't fully realised it's full quality and insights till I read it with more careful attention. Posy is without equal in this medium. She amuses, but she is dealing with serious issues and her characters feel real, often reminding me of people I know. The tale is so well constructed that it makes a rivetting and satisfying read. Posy is a highly gifted artist but her ear for language is also exceptional. She can tune effortlessly to any register she chooses with hilarious accuracy
and looking at her drawings I almost hear the voices.It's uncanny. A delightful book printed on high quality paper.Not to be missed.

Beautiful book & a great story
The production qualities of the book make it a joy to turn every page and the drawing and story are up to the author's usual very high standard.

A wicked tale of modern mores.

Thoroughly recommended