Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60661 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

Finely Crafted Contemporary Victoriana
Much like "Gemma Bovary", "Tamara Drewe" betrays its origins in Victorian literature (in this case Hardy's "Far From The Madding Crowd")through its preoccupation with the relatively minor hardships (or perhaps slightly firmships) of a group of well educated, affluent types with not a whole lot to worry about. Even allowing for their historical context Victorian novels can feel a bit blinkered and self-indulgent, when transposed to a contemporary setting with the modern reader's self-awareness of his or her relative lot in life this sense is only exacerbated.

That said Posy Simmonds is undeniably a skilled craftswoman and a gifted illustrator with a talent for characterisation. As a result "Tamara Drewe" is, much like its Victoria precursors, never less than eminently readable.

One other slight quibble - Some of the lettering (specifically that used to communicate Beth's thoughts) is intrusively mechanistic to no obvious narrative end, an odd "error" from such an experienced graphic novelist.

'The line of beauty'
Immersing oneself in Simmonds's alternate reality is, as other reviewers have observed, compulsive and addictive. Her efficiency of line (I meant that graphically, but it occurs to me that it applies equally to her mastery of the written word) fills her characters with life and the story with conviction and pathos. 'Empathise' is a possibly weary word, but I found myself empathising energetically with all her characters, sensing their emotions and sliding effortlessly from frame to frame between their various POV's. Something about Simmonds's style makes this form of her work somehow more effective than cinema whilst exploiting the languageless subliminal messages of facial expression and 'body language' that literature cannot get across. It's quite ingenious. To combine graphic novel art with beautifully-structured storytelling and such acute social commentary is an amazing achievement. And how she makes her foxy chicks just so foxy, and her frequently oily, smouldering heroes quite so smoulderingly oily, with just a few pencil strokes....well! Brilliant. Her earlier satire, 'Gemma Bovery', whilst suffused with a wicked black humour, made me want to cry. A bit. And I'm a bloke. What more can one say?

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.