La Perdida by Jessica Abel Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of La Perdida
Book Review: Doesn't quite live up to the hype
Summary: 2 Stars
Carla, the narrator, is really oblivious. She is charmingly oblivious when she can't hold a taco right in the first few pages, but becomes more and more frustratingly oblivious as the story progresses: she has little direction or common sense, and so quickly gets dragged down by her circle of low-life "friends." Such a weak central figure deflates the work as a whole. Although readers are made to care about what happens to Carla while reading the story, afterwards, reading the book just feels like a waste of time. Carla is a dumb girl who learns very little, and doesn't apply that in life.
The narrative gets very tedious at points. The story does go quickly, I suppose, but reflects the directionlessness of Carla's life. The plot is rife with little characters that make brief cameos, muddy the waters, and then disappear.
Character development for recurring characters is a little flat; the characters don't flesh out much beyond the description in the dust jacket -- Oscar as a "pretty-boy who sells pot and dreams of being a DJ," and Memo as "a left-wing, pseudo-intellectual ladies' man." Harry is one-sidedly painted as a capitalist pig and privileged brat, and not allowed to develop much beyond that.
That said, there are some good points about Abel's graphic novel. It captures Carla's reasons (albeit vague and poorly thought-out) for going to Mexico and her desire to find her roots, although more attention could have been given to the culture shock that inevitably comes with entering and living in a new country. The culture shock is basically glossed over; she finds a few aspects of Mexico grimy but nets herself into even-grimier situations.
The artwork is pretty good, but one or two panel transitions are confusing. The aesthetic is also very cluttered. When she details the backgrounds, she uses the same thickness of line, which makes it annoying to try to process what's foreground and what's not. Dialogue is all crammed together. The text boxes for Carla's "voiceovers" sometimes work really well, but sometimes give a sense of trying to fit too much into too, too little space. It's a major relief when Abel provides visual space once in a while.
Overall, a dense read, a bit off-putting if you don't like profanity in every other panel, okay if you're already an avid graphic novel fan but not recommended if you want a user-friendly first-time graphic novel to sink your teeth into. I hope that this never gets made into a movie, though--it would be a disaster.
Book Review: Mexico City Blues updated
Summary: 4 Stars
La Perdida is a richly layered coming of age story based upon a young woman, Carla, backpacking to Mexico City to discover her 'authentic' Mexican roots. The distinction between the 'tourist' and the 'traveller' is explored in the various communities inhabiting Mexico City: the 'ex-pat' world and its varieties, the familial world of Mexico, the world of criminals and 'revolutionaries'. Carla's experience of the tension between 'authenticity' and human solidarity is one of the novel's key motivations expressed through 'romantic' entanglements (blurred with the culture of the 'hook up') and the kidnapping plot, culminating in Carla's more sympathetic understanding of Harry by the end. The arrival of Carla's brother Rod is a catalyst which increases these thematic tensions, e.g. as he has never visited Mexico and yet is still 'more authentically' Mexican despite this inconvenient fact. Relationships shift as people discover the world: conflict and discovery means letting some people go, or transforming existing ones, such as with Carla and her roomate Liana. The references to William S. Burroughs were thought-provoking and interweaved various themes of the story, involving not only Carla but implicating the author as well, though La Perdida is not autobiographical. The attention to cultural detail and 'youth culture' is terrific, and there is a dictionary in the back which especially assists with idiomatic usages. The graphic novel form, with a black and white and panel technique reminiscent of Maus, is well-used to depict the nuances which wouldn't be available in written form, e.g. 'reading' expressions on character's faces, but dialogue remains a key component of the story architecture.
La Perdida is recommended reading for tourists and travellers of all ages, in lands foreign and domestic, and all those journeying through life.
Book Review: Stay Perdida
Summary: 2 Stars
The protagonist is the epitome of the "oblivious gringa" that travels
half a world away (in her mind) to Mexico (3rd world country
nonetheless) to "find herself". Wearing her half-mexican mask and
claiming to be better than her ex, just cuz she wants to get to know
the people and the culture, I find this character not only annoying,
but completely undeserving of any sympathy. The whole story is filled
with self-indulgent and forgettable events, only to come back to the
US feeling bad about her little escapade. The only satisfying feature
of this comic is that is short. I hope she stays lost.
Book Review: accomplished, fascinating graphic novel
Summary: 4 Stars
For what it's worth, I'm related to Jessica Abel. If that thought suggests to you that I am trying to elevate her rating on Amazon, well, take my review with as many grains of salt as you'd like. I am not particularly close to her, although she answers my e-mail within a reasonable time when I write to her :).
I was not immediately aware that Abel had released this book and finally, for any number of reasons, only finished it a week ago. Regardless, it is a very interesting take on self-discovery and the tension between self-confidence and an openness to the world. It is the story of Carla, a young Mexican-American who speaks almost no Spanish and, planning only to stay with an ex in Mexico City for a little while, ends up caught up in serious criminal activity and with a much more nuanced understanding of what it means to know oneself and where one comes from. Abel combines genres as few are able (no pun intended) or willing to do and I think she does it largely successfully. I would say I found it a little difficult to believe that a girl as intelligent as Carla is, who learns Spanish in fairly short order and who works almost from the start as an ESL teacher in Mexico City, is still so stupid that she allows herself to be conned by some of the rather shallow, elementary arguments against US economic and cultural imperialism to which she does allow herself to held hostage to. That is not to say that the US does not have policies and ideas which it should not be ashamed of. It just seemed clear to me-perhaps owing to the fact that I am a little older than Carla-that the arguments against economic and, to some degree cultural, imperialism, were not really policies to which she subscribed or supported. She engages with people who have varying degrees of sincerity about the imperialism of the US and it's obvious-she interacts with "regular" Mexicans, learns Spanish in the city, lives with a Mexico City native-that she is more than interested in seeing how regular folks live and not sealing herself off from the everyday experience a la her ex-Harry. Yet she allows them to suggest that she is one of the purveyors and a prime example, of the sort of imperialism which she clearly separates herself from. That said.......exploring the challenge of finding the appropriate balance of involvement in a society foreign to oneself and retaining one's own identity is a tough thing to do and Abel does it quite well.
I am not a connoisseur of comics although I have found myself more interested in recent years, but I would imagine that Abel is among a tiny number of those able to explore such themes so masterfully in the indie comic world. Her drawing is beautiful, capturing the broad cityscape, the close encounter, and what was always impressive to me, the lingering feeling. When Carla had a strong feeling-the sort that you have and that you let come out and it lingers-Abel draws Carla having the sort of dreamlike gaze that overcomes one at a time like that. This emotion is conveyed via the glazed-eye look for a couple of panels.
This book would be interesting I think, to anyone who has parents of different racial backgrounds, one of which they may feel less connected to. The storytelling, and Abel's ear for dialogue and empathy for motivation, would make this book attractive to anyone. The limning of the human desire to know oneself and the complexity of doing so, make this a fascinating book.
Book Review: no
Summary: 5 Stars
better than some , not as good as others , somewhat predictable but then again arnet we all at times.