Alan's War: the memories of G.I. Alan Cope by Emmanuel Guibert
I heard so many good things about this graphic that I really wanted to love it. I liked it, but I was not blown away. Maybe I wasn't supposed to be?
It was a very interesting and loving portrayal of the way that WW2 shaped and changed Alan Cope, but it seemed to lack to tension that I could tell permeated each decision Cope made along his life road. Certainly he told us that he came to the decision and made the choice after some drama, but the drama part seemed to have been left out.
Maybe I'm looking for a Bruce Willis where there isn't going to be one, but the action part of the action movie of Cope's life was missing.
On the other hand, maybe this is an accurate portrayal of how we expected WW2 vets to talk about their lives, and that is what they did and do...certainly it reminded my of the very brief experiences my grandfather spoke about. My memories of his description of time in the service surround the photos of him standing with his buddies in front of the planes, and all the photos of my grandmother as they waited for the inevitable parting.
Also, I'm certain Cope's decision to live in France, and the choices that French author Guibert made about how to write the book changed the perspective slightly. Perhaps it is due another read, perhaps the next book "Alan's Youth" will provide more insight.
No comments:
Post a Comment