Lost Girls, Vols. 1-3 by Alan Moore Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Lost Girls, Vols. 1-3
Book Review: An engaging story that's not for everyone, and not just because of the adult subject matter
Summary: 3 Stars
I had some high expectations for this book because it was written by
Alan Moore, and he had all the freedom he wanted to tell any kind of
story. Despite all that the book was a bit of a let down.
The concept of the story is interesting. Three legendary heroines:
Dorothy, Alice and Wendy all meet up in a hotel in Austria, on the eve
of World War I. The hotel is called the Himmelgarten (himmel= sky,
heaven; garten=garden heavenly garden? ) and is a place of earthly
pleasures. The staff is VERY friendly and each room has the same
white book, a collection of erotic pictures and stories. The setting
brings out certain qualities in the three protagonists, so that they
grow a special bond, also brought on by the recounting of their
childhood.
Their stories, as told by Moore are of course quite different than the
cherished childhood tales we all know. Instead of the "fairy tale"
magic the readers expect the characters to encounter, they have their
first sexual experiences. The original stories inspire these new
imaginings, and the old characters and themes are eluded to in clever
ways. For example, each boy that Dorothy came across echoed the same
failings her friends had in the original story. The first boy was
like the scarecrow (no brains), the second was like the cowardly lion,
and the third was like the tin woodman (no heart.) (I don't want to
give away to many of these allusions to someone who hasn't read the
story, because it's part of the fun of reading the book.) The story has a lot clever humor, visually and in wordplay. One example is the way the shadow play between Wendy and her husband, which constrasts their intense sexual desires with their proper but lifeless, loveless relationship.
The story is set on the eve of WWI. In the middle of the story, the cataylismic event of the Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand's assination occurs. The discovery of the three women is set in a backdrop of this coming unease, a metaphorical storm that will change the world. People weathering a storm by telling stories is the frame for other works of literature: Magic Mountain, Canterbury Tales, etc. It's also siginificant to note that the end of WWI is the beginning of the pessimistic period of Modernism in fiction, and Moore frames the story with this in mind. There is a sense that innocence is lost and things will never be the same.
The art served to tell the tale, even if it wasn't overly impressive.
If the reader is familiar with erotica, you could tell that the illustrator was eluding to certain styles of erotica, particularly from the 1920's. Overall, the art seems "cartoonish" and falls short of this design, but it still works. Each girl's story had it's own style, mostly apparent by the way the panels were set up: Dorothy had window panes, Alice had ovals like a mirror and Wendy had a story book pattern. The way Dorothy story was illustrated was my favorite, a more impressionist sort of composition, and the most pleasing to my eye.
Thematically, Moore was interested in the validity of erotica as an
art form, and that is one of the main themes of the book. I would say
that the book is erotica and therefore art or literature due to the clever elusions, and well-crafted framework of the story. I don't see the subject matter as trashy or exploitative, but rather bold. Many people have strong objections to the age of many of the characters involved in sexual exploits, but Lost Girls supposedly passed the acid test for not being child pornography. Most people will take it at face value and enjoy the aesthetic value instead of seeing the pictures/situations as titillating.
However, overal I wouldn't say Lost Girls was great art or overly entertaining however. It is a good read, but it is relatively forgettable, and certainly did not live up to expectations. If Moore's goal for the book was a defense of erotica, I think that it fell a little short. I thought it succeed instead as a celebration of erotica, and elegiac look at time when that type of art was more appreciated. I base this reading in part to the frame story it was set in and the historical back drop. The ending fits with this theme, even if many of the other readers I talked to didn't like it.
Book Review: Art or Pornography?
Summary: 5 Stars
It's most definitely art because of the amazing renderings and wide ranging styles employed by Melinda Gebbie. And it's most definitely pornography, but at the furthest end of the spectrum from the cheap sordid type prevalent in Jazz Mags or The News Of The World. There is a richness and depth in Alan Moore's writing and the numerous pastiches skillfully match his partner's beautiful artwork.
This has been worth waiting 16 years for them to complete. And there's not many times that you could say that! The only comparison I can think of is Brian Wilson's Smile, which took 37 years from gestation to completion.
Book Review: Beautiful erotica
Summary: 5 Stars
This 3-volume set is an antidote to the imagination-free pornography that saturates the internet and the video market. While it's plenty explicit and free of cuteness and prudish euphemism, its retro art style reflects the undercurrents of suppressed passion in the characters, and the story-line evokes a sense of mystery and reticence that are far more erotic than the close-ups of genitalia and sweaty circus-sex that comprise most sexual literature these days. It reminds us that the most erotic device is, and will always be, the imagination.Book Review: Boring
Summary: 1 Stars
I was really looking forward to this release, but once I had it, I found it to be lacking. The characters have no depth, and somehow Moore managed to make a wonderful idea boring. Despite the graphic illustrations, I found myself drifting off, my eyes sliding over the text and the stories. I had to make myself re-read everything, and found it a chore to do so.
This graphic novel isn't even a good male fantasy, and most of the the things that are in there for shock value aren't even shocking or thought provoking--just done in bad taste that doesn't even engage. (Though my friends and I had good laughs on how we speculated Dorothy could only get aroused now by watching the weather channel.)
Book Review: Classics Comic Smut
Summary: 4 Stars
Fascinating reimagining of the heroines of classic children's stories as sexual beings. Worth reading, if only for the sheer fact of its existence and the fact it will unnerve people to see it on your shelf. Alan Moore triumphs once again.