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sorren_briarwood 's review for:
Parallel
by Matthias Lehmann
I recievd an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Parallel was sadly a little underwhelming for me. For one reason or another, I found it difficult to connect with the protagonist and the characters- it could be that they didn't really seem to exist beyond the sexuality conflict. Obviously, that's the focus of this book, and I think these stories desperately need to be told- but I think this one dimensionality undermines the themes the book is trying to sell. I only put this book down yesterday, and already I couldn't tell you a single character's name. Parallel is also genreally a pretty bleak read, it also begins to blur together a little, and I think this contributed to how emotionally distant I felt when reading it: for me as a reader, it kind of made me shut down. Obviously, I wasn't exactly expecting a rom-com, but I think Parallel could still have used a few moments of levity, particularly with the protagonist's family, if only to drive home what he was so afraid of losing.
That said, I didn't hate Parallel: the backdrop was interesting, and although the art didn't always work for me, (sometimes characters, locations, etc. blurred together or expressions were difficult to read. ) I really liked how Lehmann depicted environments and buildings. I think the post-WWII Germany setting is one of the strongest aspects of the book, and I liked how that was woven so seamlessly into the narrative. On the other hand, I felt that the pacing was sometimes a little odd: I would have liked a clearer visual delineaiton between past and present, since that opportunity was available with this being a graphic novel.
This is arguably spoiler territory, so if you're especially nervy about them, skip this paragraph, but I'll keep this vague as possible: I have a massive peeve about books that build up to a particular event, only to cut off without letting that event play out in full. I understand why it was done here, but I don't think it works. It's unsatisfying as a reader, and I think it's a huge disservice to the themes, since this book is so much about repression and secrecy and how toxic it can be: to not see the conversation that the whole book balances on play out- to not get even a glimpse of the other side of the story- was massively dissapointing to me.
Although it is exciting to see more historical fiction centred around queerness, particularly in the graphic novel space, Parallel simply wasn't for me. I feel extremely little, looking back on the experience of reading it, though I doubt this will be anyone's experience. If you're considering it, I'd recommend reading some other reviews as well, because while I wouldn't recommend it, I wouldn't warn someone else away from it either. It's at times like these I really wish GoodReads allowed half-star ratings: I feel so neutral about this, 2.5 stars is really the only possible rating I could give it.
Parallel was sadly a little underwhelming for me. For one reason or another, I found it difficult to connect with the protagonist and the characters- it could be that they didn't really seem to exist beyond the sexuality conflict. Obviously, that's the focus of this book, and I think these stories desperately need to be told- but I think this one dimensionality undermines the themes the book is trying to sell. I only put this book down yesterday, and already I couldn't tell you a single character's name. Parallel is also genreally a pretty bleak read, it also begins to blur together a little, and I think this contributed to how emotionally distant I felt when reading it: for me as a reader, it kind of made me shut down. Obviously, I wasn't exactly expecting a rom-com, but I think Parallel could still have used a few moments of levity, particularly with the protagonist's family, if only to drive home what he was so afraid of losing.
That said, I didn't hate Parallel: the backdrop was interesting, and although the art didn't always work for me, (sometimes characters, locations, etc. blurred together or expressions were difficult to read. ) I really liked how Lehmann depicted environments and buildings. I think the post-WWII Germany setting is one of the strongest aspects of the book, and I liked how that was woven so seamlessly into the narrative. On the other hand, I felt that the pacing was sometimes a little odd: I would have liked a clearer visual delineaiton between past and present, since that opportunity was available with this being a graphic novel.
This is arguably spoiler territory, so if you're especially nervy about them, skip this paragraph, but I'll keep this vague as possible: I have a massive peeve about books that build up to a particular event, only to cut off without letting that event play out in full. I understand why it was done here, but I don't think it works. It's unsatisfying as a reader, and I think it's a huge disservice to the themes, since this book is so much about repression and secrecy and how toxic it can be: to not see the conversation that the whole book balances on play out- to not get even a glimpse of the other side of the story- was massively dissapointing to me.
Although it is exciting to see more historical fiction centred around queerness, particularly in the graphic novel space, Parallel simply wasn't for me. I feel extremely little, looking back on the experience of reading it, though I doubt this will be anyone's experience. If you're considering it, I'd recommend reading some other reviews as well, because while I wouldn't recommend it, I wouldn't warn someone else away from it either. It's at times like these I really wish GoodReads allowed half-star ratings: I feel so neutral about this, 2.5 stars is really the only possible rating I could give it.