When I Arrived at the Castle

I have read a bunch of comics by E.M. Carroll, and they are typically very scary, creepy, and totally engrossing. They adapted the celebrated YA novel Speak into graphic novel form, and you can also enjoy an anthology of some of their best short stories, Through the Woods. They are an Eisner and an Ignatz Award winning artist, and they won one of those awards for this book, When I Arrived at the Castle.

The plot of this book is that a cat-woman has been traveling through the countryside in a rainstorm and she comes to a castle. The countess of the castle takes her in and lets her warm up, but (surprise, surprise) she is actually a vampire who is playing with her prey. 

Or is she? As we progress through the book, we learn more (maybe?) about the cat-woman, and not only has she met the vampire before, she may just be stalking her instead. Or maybe she is actually courting her?

When I Arrived at the Castle is a beguiling book because of its complex plot, which takes several turns. It takes its framework from classic fairy tales, but twists them into a different configuration. It is gorgeously illustrated, full of feeling, blood, and gore as well as gothic architecture and furniture. Reading it has its share of suspense, but it is also a very atmospheric book, and the ambience powers it just as much as the plot. After reading this very potent and disturbing tale, I was compelled to re-read it, to make more sense of what I just experienced and also try to figure out if this was a book about murder or romance. It is a frightening and a frightfully good book, haunting readers with its images and tone.

All of the reviews I have read of this book sing its praises. Andy Oliver called it "as hypnotic as it is terrifying." Shea Hennum commented on "Carroll’s incredible capacity to scare." Sara L. Jewell wrote that "what is so satisfying about Carroll’s oeuvre is its resistance to a single reading or interpretation."

This edition of When I Arrived at the Castle was published by Silver Sprocket, and they have a preview and more information about it here. 

Speak: The Graphic Novel

 

Speak is a landmark book in terms of YA literature, about Melinda Sordino, an incoming freshman who is shunned because she called the police who busted an end-of-summer high school party. As a result, she keeps to herself and lives in her head, which is not a very safe place, because what nobody knows is that she called for help because she was raped. What follows is a horror story, where her former friends and current schoolmates bully or shun her. Her former best friend Rachel won't speak to her, and worse yet, starts dating Andy, the boy who attacked her. At home, her parents are very unhappy in their own relationship, and they pay little attention to her, except to punish her for her increasingly poor grades.

This story is a powerfully charged one, and it exposes a system where victims are blamed and aggressors' actions are ignored or even encouraged. It also provides a realistic portrait of a suffering teen, along with all the signs of how her trauma manifests in multiple ways, even as she strives to simply dismiss it. I was also struck by how much the atmosphere of the school, complete with its array of various teachers, do and do not contribute to her being able to cope and find help.

I think it is fitting that the art style brings out a sense of dread and horror that suits the narrative. The black, white, and grey tones set a stark tone, and there are multiple images that are so striking that they will linger with me. So much of the visceral aspects and physical violence come through via the imagery, and this book does an excellent job making the reader empathize with Melinda's situation.

I feel that the message of this book is both necessary and also still controversial, evidenced by how often Speak frequently appears on banned book lists even 20 years after its original publication. I have never read the original novel, so I cannot compare how well the adaptation works in that sense, but I was profoundly moved by this graphic novel. I feel that it is still an important book, one that might be a buoy for someone struggling with pain from abuse or a helpful signpost to someone who might recognize similar suffering and be an ally.

This book is based on the original novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, and was adapted by Emily Carroll. Anderson is a best-selling author and two-time National Book Award Finalist, and some of her other works include the books Shout and Fever 1793. Carroll is an Eisner and an Ignatz Award winning artist who is known for her graphic novels Through the Woods and When I Arrived at the Castle. Both creators speak about their work on this adaptation in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been glowing. Andrea Ayres wrote, "This graphic novel stands distinctly on its own, making its mark in the world of young adult literature and bringing its powerful message of resiliency to a brand new generation." In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews summed it up as "powerful, necessary, and essential." In another starred review, Kelley Gile opined that "it is amazing how closely this version evokes the style and feeling of the original."

Speak: The Graphic Novel was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and they offer a preview and more here.

Through the Woods

This book is another one I am kicking myself for not reading years ago when I first got it. Luckily, one of the students in my Graphic Novels and Multiliteracies seminar chose it for our weekly read, and not only did I get to experience it but will get to discuss it, too. Put simply, Through the Woods is a collection of five gorgeous, horrible, and chilling stories.

These stories are reminiscent of classic, gothic horror tales a la the Brothers Grimm. They feature dark strangers, wintry settings, isolated families, envy, loneliness, ghouls, mysterious manors, and labyrinthine forests. Also, they are all master classes in pacing, revelation, and building suspense. Everything in this book, the artwork, the poetic text, the character designs, and the layouts, contributes to beautifully rendered stories, an atmosphere of dread, interesting characterizations, and scenes of pure fantasy and amazement. I am not even going to go into detail about the separate stories, because I think a reader should get to experience them for themselves to get the optimal impact.

I cannot heap enough praises on this book. It blew me away.

Seriously, you need to buy or borrow this book RIGHT NOW.

This book's creator is Emily Carroll, who won multiple awards for this debut, including two Eisners and an Ignatz. She publishes much of her work online and has a good number of her stories available to read online at her website. They are well worth checking out. She talks extensively about her work and career in this interview.

The reviews I have read of this book have been glowing. Amal El-Mohtar called it "stunningly beautiful" and "magnificently executed." Sarah Horrocks wrote, "There is also a poetry to Carroll’s written word that you rarely get in western comics." Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review and summed up, "A sure winner for any reader with a yen to become permanently terrified. Brilliant."

Through the Woods was published by Simon & Schuster, and they have a preview and more info about it here.