9. Graphic Classics: Louisa May Alcott

Graphic Classics: Louisa May Alcott edited by Tom Pomplun (Canada) - (US)
Graphic Classics, Vol. 18

Pages: 144
Ages: 13+
Finished: Jan. 18, 2010
First Published: Nov. 2009
Genre: graphic novel, short stories
Rating: 4.5/5

First sentence:

It's so dreadful to be poor.

Acquired: Received a review copy from the publisher.

Reason for Reading: I love this series and will eventually read them all.

Comments: I'll start with my immediate response to finishing this volume, "Fantastic!". This is the second full colour offering in the Graphic Classics series and it is a beautiful book. The artwork is absolutely stunning and each artist has worked in a style and palette perfectly suited for each individual story. Usually, in these collection there will be at least one illustrator's rendition I'm not too fond of but I loved them all. The book includes 2 poems, an adaptation of the novel Little Women and 5 short stories. It's been ages since I've read Little Women and, of course, this is a quick run through of the story but the essence of the story is there; the individual personalities of the girls shine through and this graphic adaption pays homage to the novel well, especially with the wonderful artwork by Anne Timmons.

The highlight of this volume, though, is the short stories. I have not read any of Louisa May Alcott's stories before and was wondrously surprised at this ghastly Gothic collection. Four of them are fabulous 19th century sensationalist stories full of corpses, murder and madness while the other is a strange, yet delightful, morality tale for children. My favourite story out of the whole book was the last one, A Whisper in the Dark, which at a full 41 pages is a perfect example of the era's Gothic story with romance, long dark corridors, strange noises in the night and madness, all wonderfully illustrated by Arnold Arre using a palette mostly of browns, going to greys and black to suit the mood.

Yet another fine volume in the series and a must read for fans of the series or Louisa May Alcott.