Gray Horses
Hope Larson
Oni Press
112 pages
Noemie is an exchange student from France living in the US. The plotline is pretty simple and uninvolved. Noemie meets a baker’s daughter, Anna, and attends art school. She also has some odd dreams involving Anna.
The text, although very simplified, has some French thrown in, which was a fun touch. However, I know absolutely no French, so I admit to just skimming over it. For those of you that do know even a bit of French, it is definitely a fun touch.
I didn’t like this book at all. I read it during the read-a-thon and I was glad to pick up a graphic novel to break up the monotony in the later hours, but I was ready for it to be over as soon as it began.
My biggest problem with this book was that it just did not have a cohesive plot. I finished it wondering what the point was, as it seemed like everything was just jumping around. The dream aspect was especially confusing to me and I just didn’t “get it”.
With a lot of graphic novels, the text takes a backseat to the images, and up until now I have been appreciative of that, but the text and plotline were so sparse that even the artwork couldn’t save this book for me. So yes, I am sorry to say there really wasn’t much about this book I enjoyed.
Other Reviews:
A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy
I borrowed this book from my local library.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: book review, graphic novels |
ReviewsbyLola's Blog 
I’m sorry this one didn’t work for you. The premise sounds interesting, and I’ve been meaning to read more graphic novels lately, but I think I’ll keep searching.
Hmm, I don’t like texts full of foreign language, and I haven’t found many graphic novels I’ve loved. Add in the lack of cohesive plot, and it sounds like I won’t be reading Gray Horses any time soon.
Sorry you didn’t like it much. I hate it when a book ends up being disappointing.
Sorry to hear this book wasn’t as good as its cover would lead you to believe.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t like it! I haven’t read this book yet, but I am a fan of Larson’s. But I can definitely see how her somewhat surreal style wouldn’t work for everyone.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. I did love the French. It took me awhile to realize the translations were on the page. I know some French, but it’s rusty, so that helped. I’m not sure I really “got” it either, but I liked the experience of being alone in a new place, of visiting a new culture. She captured it very well.