Lucky

As you probably know, I'm not a great fan of the graphic novel genre.  I guess this means I'm not the best equipped to review them - Lucky, by Gabrielle Bell, just wasn't my cup of tea.

I've come across some absolutely fantastic graphic novels in my time: Blankets by Craig Thompson and the recently-reviewed Asterios Polyp to name a few.  I'd like to think I know the good ones when I see them.  If that's true, then Lucky just isn't that great a novel.  Yes, it's filled with simple, attractive drawings, but the plot is practically non-existent.  It's meant to tell a story, but to me it felt like a collection of anecdotes, none of which flow.  The book is divided into three parts: Lucky #1 (her first "book", discarded in favor of) Lucky #2 (which she left at an airport), all culminating in the book I just finished reading, Lucky #3.  I mean, there were some very nice sections, like when Gabrielle (did I mention it's an autobiography?) discovers why a pair of ex-roomates began feuding.  In general, it's a story about Ms. Bell and her artsy friends/boyfriend apartment-hunting and trying to make enough money to deal with life.  Which is fine, it just creates a book that reads more like a rather boring diary than anything entertaining.

It's pretty short (just over 100 pages) so if you have some time to kill, I might suggest browsing through it, but if you're looking for a creative, quirky little book in this genre, turn to Passionella and Other Stories, by Jules Feiffer.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

2/5