Midnight Sun

I'm glad they dug up a weird episode from history (the crashing of the Italia off Svalbard), but they didn't write about what's surely the most notable part, the disappearance of Roald Amundsen, who got in his plane and went to rescue the dudes, because they had a history? Totally unmentioned, and instead there's some drunken journalist. Ultimately, this ersatz Tintin didn't keep my attention. ( )

Based on an actual event, this graphic novel tells the story of a group of men stranded in the North Pole when their airship crashed. Woven into their story is the story of a young reporter sent to cover the story. Although the story was interesting, it seemed kind of slight to me. I would have preferred to read a graphic-nonfiction account of what actually happened. I did appreciate the author's note telling about the actual crash and how he changed things for the story. He admits that the true events were much more complicated and he had to simplify to fit the story to the graphic novel format. I would have rather read a meatier book that attempted to fit in more of the political aspects and failed rescue attempts. ( )