"To compensate a little for the treachery and weakness of my memory, so extreme that it has happened to me more than once to pick up again, as recent and unknown to me, books which I had read carefully a few years before . . . I have adopted the habit for some time now of adding at the end of each book . . . the time I finished reading it and the judgment I have derived of it as a whole, so that this may represent to me at least the sense and general idea I had conceived of the author in reading it." (Montaigne, Book II, Essay 10 (publ. 1580))

Monday, February 27, 2017

Watchmen (Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, 1986)

Book club selection (via CPG; session held February 26, 2017).

Graphic novel which I've learned is the most highly-regarded of its kind.  Pioneered the concept of caped heroes with very human flaws, complex/mixed motives, etc.

Not knowing anything about comic books or superhero genre in general; not knowing anything about this book or its characters in particular; I seldom connected with what was going on.  Part of the challenge was very basic:  trying to get used to looking at some text, then switching frame of reference to take in the related illustrations.  I found this much more difficult than "regular" reading.

Part of my bad attitude results from Hollywood overkill of this kind of thing - hasn't captured my imagination at all.

Yet the reviews for this book are thoughtful and positive.  There's something here.

And the "who watches the watchmen" quote is always of interest.
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