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A review by jecoats
Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler
5.0
This graphic novel was recommended to me by a colleague. This adaptation has won the
Bram Stoker Award for Best Graphic Novel (2017) and the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for Best Adaptation from Another Medium (2018). I read the physical copy my colleague loaned me from her classroom library.
The graphic novel follows Dana, a woman living in 1976, as she is transported back through time to 1815. There she meets Rufus, a child she saves from drowning. As suddenly as she was transported back in time, she returns to her own time. As events unfold, we learn that whenever Rufus’s life is in danger, she is summoned to the past to help. Dana learns that Rufus might be an ancestor of hers, and vows to keep him safe to ensure the safety of her lineage. However, Rufus is a white boy living on a plantation, while Dana is an independent and educated black woman. Ensuring Rufus’s survival may cost Dana her freedom, autonomy, and her own morality. Dana’s story is a painful journey of survival and self-discovery.
I have read the original novel by Octavia Butler, and while I find the novel to be a tremendous achievement of historical science fiction, this adaptation is absolutely breathtaking. I don’t even know where to start with the praise this title deserves. The narrative follows the story tightly, with nothing being cut or added for the sake of the graphic novel format. To be sure, some scenes are trimmed down or depicted with a sense of urgency and brevity, but every scene from the book remains intact in some form. We are treated to a bit more of Dana's inner thoughts through the use of text bubbles, which I think adds to the emotional range of the character. The artwork is gorgeous, depicting the characters in a slightly exaggerated, abstract manner. This helps underscore the almost impossible and surreal nature of the narrative, while adding to the beauty and horror of the text’s themes.
This adaptation is probably best suited for older readers - maybe 8th to 12th grade - due to its graphic depictions of violence and rape. I think this graphic novel would be a wonderful way to teach certain scenes in the book, as it could help scaffold some of the novel’s denser sections, improving student comprehension. As I mentioned with the Beowulf adaptation, I think this graphic novel would also be useful to introduce reticent or emerging readers to longer, more difficult pieces of literature.
Bram Stoker Award for Best Graphic Novel (2017) and the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for Best Adaptation from Another Medium (2018). I read the physical copy my colleague loaned me from her classroom library.
The graphic novel follows Dana, a woman living in 1976, as she is transported back through time to 1815. There she meets Rufus, a child she saves from drowning. As suddenly as she was transported back in time, she returns to her own time. As events unfold, we learn that whenever Rufus’s life is in danger, she is summoned to the past to help. Dana learns that Rufus might be an ancestor of hers, and vows to keep him safe to ensure the safety of her lineage. However, Rufus is a white boy living on a plantation, while Dana is an independent and educated black woman. Ensuring Rufus’s survival may cost Dana her freedom, autonomy, and her own morality. Dana’s story is a painful journey of survival and self-discovery.
I have read the original novel by Octavia Butler, and while I find the novel to be a tremendous achievement of historical science fiction, this adaptation is absolutely breathtaking. I don’t even know where to start with the praise this title deserves. The narrative follows the story tightly, with nothing being cut or added for the sake of the graphic novel format. To be sure, some scenes are trimmed down or depicted with a sense of urgency and brevity, but every scene from the book remains intact in some form. We are treated to a bit more of Dana's inner thoughts through the use of text bubbles, which I think adds to the emotional range of the character. The artwork is gorgeous, depicting the characters in a slightly exaggerated, abstract manner. This helps underscore the almost impossible and surreal nature of the narrative, while adding to the beauty and horror of the text’s themes.
This adaptation is probably best suited for older readers - maybe 8th to 12th grade - due to its graphic depictions of violence and rape. I think this graphic novel would be a wonderful way to teach certain scenes in the book, as it could help scaffold some of the novel’s denser sections, improving student comprehension. As I mentioned with the Beowulf adaptation, I think this graphic novel would also be useful to introduce reticent or emerging readers to longer, more difficult pieces of literature.