The Virgin Read: Oh Yeah, That Asterios Thing

Asterios Polyp

By David Mazzucchelli

Published by Pantheon, 2009

I definitely enjoyed reading this, but knowing I would be reviewing it was pretty daunting. It’s obviously a major work that everyone has something to say about--I barely read blogs, my sum total of time spent in comics shops still adds up to less time than it takes to watch Titanic, and yet I've still heard (or read) a good bit about it. And, yet here I am, and here's my “virgin” take on it. I haven’t read many graphic novels, so I don’t have a lot to compare it and contrast it to. I can guess that Frank Santoro approves of the coloring – a max of 3 colors per page, just like he favors. And I have to say I like that because a lot of points can be made using few colors, i. e., a character’s emotional state. But honey, that's it. I've just run out of the intellectual comic-y things that I've got. So, what follows is less of a review, and a little more of my personal feelings and reactions to the work.

In reading this I began to feel like this was someone’s illustrated thesis. It's chock full of ideas, history, theories and philosophy. It seemed like a graduate level crash course in, um….arrt? See, I’m not sure in what. That’s the thing. So much information and thought and ideas, but under what heading to they fall? Regardless, it’s a smart book/story – one that makes you want to learn more. (Which maybe makes it less like a thesis, because...really, who wants to read somebody's thesis?)

My whole reading experience boiled down to a lesson in perception. I see and understand that this storyline is a common one. I know several comparisons have been mentioned in other people’s reviews and I'd imagine those comparisons are more apt than mine, because the one that came to mind was The Wizard of Oz – a desire to run away followed by a journey to a whole new place that makes you rediscover who you are, and that you really want to go home – to wherever, or whomever, home is for you.

Time and time again, though, I was given the opportunity to see the world through Asterios’ eyes, and then through the eyes of the other (his unborn twin). And for all the heady psychology in all of that, it all came down to love. Love colors our perception of things, but love – pure love – is just love. It doesn't vary in perspective. Asterios loves Hanna and Hanna loves Asterios, despite their differences in opinion, habits, perspective or what have you. Ursula and Stiff love each other despite the fact that they see the world in two entirely different ways. There’s no defining it, shaping it, reasoning about it – love just loves, because that's what it is, it's something pure and, to my mind, something that has no reason to adapt or develop. The way I read, what I think, whether or not I enjoy something--those things will change. But love isn't up to me, and it isn't up to Asterios either. A big part of this book--comic?--felt like a journey in watching him learn that.

St. Francis of Assisi is mentioned a few times in this book, and the week I was reading it I ran into about ten to twelve references to that same man. Odd coincidence. I was familiar with the prayer that was inspired by him, but did not know his story. There are some minor similarities to this plot – Francis was a young man of extravagance and wealth, he had a crisis of faith when he came across a beggar, then suffered a health crisis, and soon decided to abandon his old ways and devote his life to God, or at least to seeking God. (If God is in fact Love, then, well, you can see the parallel. You also have to change the beggar into divorce. And the health crisis to lightning? I don't know what you do with the solar car.)

I’ve been trying to think how St. Francis ties in a little more. One of the most signinficant aspects of the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi is its desire for the one praying to lose one's selfishness, to embrace a humbler generosity. And throughout the story of his past, Asterios is the epitome of self-centered.  He's ego in the extreme, most of which is illustrated in his relationship with Hanna. He loves her, he cares about what she thinks and sees and believes in (although in a way that at times seems shallow, as if he's accepted it as a necessity of partnership), but he's so consumed with himself that he not only neglects her at times, but often disrespects and hurts her. It's the downfall of their relationship. (I should probably admit that part of me wants to point out how Hanna clearly chose a man willing to set up the exact dynamic that she’d had with her parents, something that Mazzucchelli makes clear by illustrating Hanna the same way when she's being ostracized by her parents as she is when Asterios is ignoring her. Is it so she can have the opportunity to break the pattern? So she can continue to be victimized?)

Anyway, while it takes Asterios losing everything and getting humble to get on the road to being a better person--which, in his case, mostly means learning to be quiet, it's his final lesson that I liked the best. He learns to do what my favorite line from the St. Francis prayer suggests: seek to love, rather than be loved. He takes a chance and goes back to Hanna. Because it's a story--or maybe just because it's love--she's happy to see him.

My favorite parts are all the ones that involve Hanna & Asterios, from the depiction of the day they met all the way to their reunion. I loved every part of that story, especially the way it was drawn. My favorite pages were the four that illustrates every single beauty and flaw in Hannah. (If you've read it, it's the part where Asterios uses tweezers and Hanna gets all nervous until he says "Do you trust me?") That part of the book just bore witness to everything in their relationship, it made me want them together, it made me believe them together--far more than any cute date, clever conversation, or lustful sex scene would have. It’s a compelling, touching series of drawings. And if you’ve ever been in love, you immediately understand the message. It’s less about words and more about feeling, it's less about what is being perceived and more about the love. Those pages are magic.

Life is all about relationships. I feel like this is the best kept secret because although I believe that now, I thought, growing up, that life was all about achievement, that it was all about merit. But somewhere along the line I learned that you can be successful as hell--money in the bank, buckets of opportunity--and still feel empty. That nothing is ever as fulfilling as true friendship. I mean, I always think I'd like to be insanely rich and/or recognized for all my hilariously impossible achievements, whatever they might be - but nothing fills me with joy like hanging out and laughing with my husband, nothing makes me feel as successful as witnessing a child learn something new. And this seems to be the overarching theme that Asterios is learning about. This is a book with a message, but it's for the protagonist. And therefore we, as voyeurs, get to learn it, or better yet, get to be reminded of it, along with him. But it doesn't seek to teach, preach or ejaculate from some sort of moral high ground. That's commendable. I think it's incredibly hard to have something that you want to say, and be able to share it without coming across as superior, belittllig or anything as such, especially when it's something as sweet as this.

See, I want to say that I”ve never read anything like this – but what does that mean coming from me? Of course I haven’t read anything like this. Every comic I've read is up here on this blog, it's not like I'm hiding some history with these things, it's not like I'm filling my non-Virgin Read time reading other ones. But even though I’ve got nothing else to compare it to, it’s definitely better than your typical superhero graphic novel, of which I've read...well, none, actually. It's also better than housepaint, mice and expired hot dogs. It’s smart, interesting to read, fun to look at and has something I hope anybody could identify with.

I highly recommend this book to anyone. (Have I done that before? Recommended something? Is that even necessary?) It was fun, challenging and thought provoking. The best kind of reading.

-Nina Stone, 2009

Comments

[plok]

Hooray, they printed my letter!

It's interesting, isn't it -- it's a pretty simple story. Just told well.

Glad you liked it!

[The Beast Must Die]

Best Virgin Read ever.

[Kenny Cather]

YYYAAAYYY!!!!!!

I'm *so* glad you reviewed this and *so* glad you posted a review of it! This is awesome!

OK, first thought is in regards to this quote:

"But honey, that's it. I've just run out of the intellectual comic-y things that I've got. So, what follows is less of a review, and a little more of my personal feelings and reactions to the work."

I don't read your reviews for intellectual comic-y things. That doesn't mean I don't think your smart or don't have intellectual things worth saying, I'm just saying it's not why I come here to read your reviews or Tucker's, for that matter. There are plenty of people on the web who say intellectual stuff, but a lot of them are full of themselves, and a lot of them bore me to tears. I like your reviews because you always talk about how you interacted with the work, and that's the stuff I like to read about. It's the same with Tucker and Matt Brady - the three of you combined are a triumvirate of genius, but for me, the good stuff is reading what your interactions with the work are.

Anyway, on that note, this review is a huge success and fascinating. I honestly never noticed the Wizard of Oz thing (that's *super* intellectual!). Now I want to go back and re-read it looking for that part.

As for the two pages with all the panels showing the quiet interaction and love, I felt the same way you did. I cried when I read those two pages. I'm deeply, madly in love with my fiance, but when words are involved, I usually make a mess of things. It's the silent things that are said through little actions and observations where our love is almost tangible. That's love.

Anyway, before I get misty eyed talking about it again, I'm going to stop. Excellent review, as always!

[Justin]

I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading this piece, particularly this little nugget of wisdom which I instantly applied to my own life and it rang true:

"Life is all about relationships. I feel like this is the best kept secret because although I believe that now, I thought, growing up, that life was all about achievement, that it was all about merit. But somewhere along the line I learned that you can be successful as hell--money in the bank, buckets of opportunity--and still feel empty. That nothing is ever as fulfilling as true friendship. I mean, I always think I'd like to be insanely rich and/or recognized for all my hilariously impossible achievements, whatever they might be - but nothing fills me with joy like hanging out and laughing with my husband, nothing makes me feel as successful as witnessing a child learn something new."

[afdumin]

Asterios Polyp: "Better than expired hotdogs."
-Nina Stone