Lisa Brown (2) (1972–)

A graphic novel about the surviving conjoined twin, the one pressured into the separation surgery by her dominating sister. Left with one leg and one arm she returns to the freak show her sister was so intent on escaping. Her sister, though dead is still with her and still deriding her choices. About having to live with the mistakes of others as well as our own and seeing the value and the hazards of the people around you. The art quite suits the story though some of the noses distracted me.

Jane and Isabel are conjoined twins, joined at the torso and sharing an arm and a leg. They were sold at a young age to a circus sideshow, where the other performers have become a found family to them. But Jane, the more forceful personality of the two, dreams of a "normal" life. When an ambitious doctor proposes an operation that will separate the girls, Jane pressures Isabel into accepting. When Isabel awakes, she learns that Jane did not survive the surgery. Now she must find her own show more place in the world -- and, to top it off, she must wear prosthetics because Jane was the one with control of their shared limbs. Jane's still with her, though -- when you've been together all your life, can a little thing like death really separate you?

This historical graphic novel is based on the lives of similar conjoined twins, though Jane and Isabel are fictional characters. The illustrations are skillfully drawn and easy to "read" (said as someone who is much more text oriented and sometimes struggles to follow the story in graphic novels). It's a coming-of-age amidst tragedy story for Isabel, and manages to pack a novel's worth of story into the shorter graphic format. Graphic novel fans and those interested in sideshow history or conjoined twins should pick this one up. show less

A cheeky idea with mixed results.

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss.)

Long Story Short: 100 Classic Books in Three Panels is pretty much what it sounds like, with two (admittedly nitpicky) differences: 1) the comics are anywhere from one to six panels; and 2) some of these are not what you (if you are of the snobby literary persuasion) would call "classics."

Yes, there are the usual suspects: Shakespeare and Poe; Don Quixote and Madame Bovary; To Kill a show more Mockingbird and Pride and Prejudice. But you'll also find some more contemporary works (The Hunger Games, The Perks of Being a Wallflower), as well as books not uncommonly derided as "lowbrow" or "pedestrian" (Carrie, Twilight).*

This is a really clever concept that's rather hit-or-miss in execution. The collection's success really hinges on its reader's familiarity with the books being parodied and, c'mon, who - outside of an English lit major - has read so many of these old and stuffy books? (Moby Dick, ugh.) Or, if you haven't yet read some of these titles but plan to, the spoilers are all but guaranteed to ruin your life.

Still, there are some pretty fun comics here. In no particular order, I loved the Bible, by a bunch of anonymous, long-dead dudes; "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson ("Let's all get together and kill Mrs. Hutchinson."); The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain ("You can love someone and still be racist."); Charlotte's Web by EB White ("WRITERS make the best of friends. And then they DIE."); and, of course, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair ("DON'T. EAT. MEAT."). And Carrie = words to live by.

http://www.easyvegan.info/img/long-story-short-02.jpg

I really think Brown could've done better with both The Handmaid's Tale and Lolita, though. Reducing Atwood's message to "IT IS HARD TO BE A WOMAN" seems pretty simplistic, even for this project; any distillation that doesn't contain the word "patriarchy" or "theocracy" is way off the mark. And the Lolita strip just feels icky. Like, it's a story about a pedophile rapist; no need to romanticize it with phrases like "fire of my loins" and "sin of my soul." This makes child rape seem, like, complicated and existential when it's just more of the same misogyny we all know and hate. KISS.

* fwiw, I hope the scare quotes adequately telegraph my disgust. Stephen King is one of my auto-reads!

http://www.easyvegan.info/2020/04/07/long-story-short-100-classic-books-in-three... show less

Conjoined twins Jane and Isabel have been working as part of an old-timey sideshow for as long as they can remember when they meet a doctor who swears he can separate them with a state-of-the-art surgery, which Jane desperately wants to try. Unfortunately, the surgery leaves Isabel minus an arm and a leg -- and results in Jane's death. The surgeon warns that Isabel might feel her phantom limbs, but he doesn't realize she's haunted by her phantom twin.

This was an interesting book, definitely show more on the quirky side but absolutely engrossing. I liked Isabel's character and felt for her along her journey of ups and downs as she tries to navigate life and find a place to belong. I was so pleased she got a happy ending because things looked pretty dire for a moment there. The story is captivating with is colorful cast of characters -- some good, some bad, and some neutral, just like in real life. Speaking of real life, the book ends with an author's note regarding the history of sideshows, including its troubling and triumphant aspects. show less