Review by Matthew Nielsen
Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds is a story centred around a writer’s retreat in the English countryside. It starts off from the point of view of university professor Glen, and then moves on to the retreat’s de facto manager Beth. We also see things from other people’s points of view at various times throughout the story. This gives us a wonderful chance to know what everyone is thinking.
When you open the book, you’ll find a mix of panels and blocks of text. The layout is a mix between the kind of thing you’d see in a Raymond Briggs novel (such as Ethel and Ernest) and what you’d see in an illustrated children’s novel (such as The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey), but let’s be clear — this is not a children’s novel, neither in style of art nor in style of writing. It’s a mature, well thought-out, beautifully detailed tale. There are many wonderful scenes of the countryside throughout, along with very relatable expressions and faces. The faces are drawn less photo-realistic and more cartoonified, but not in a silly or jarring way.
I reckon most people who read graphic novels don’t like big blocks of text appearing, but here it works just fine. The panels show people interacting with each other, thinking to themselves, or going through various stages of their day. The blocks of text tell the story from the current POV, always first person and never third person. The text really helps us get into the minds of the characters; it’s wonderful!
Anyway, if you’re up for a story about very real, very believable people, that is also full of the beauty of life through wonderful illustrations, this is graphic novel that I’m sure you’d love.
To learn more, check out Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds.
