sphinx reviewed on 3/27/2017 + 97 more book reviews

This book was a disappointment. I managed to read about two-thirds of the way through before giving up. The art is incredibly claustrophobia-inducing, with no space to breathe between tightly packed bubbles of writing and sloppy drawings that show no knowledge of real human anatomy or physics. The art reaches levels of the grotesque, as all the characters have a disturbing empty-eyed look and the sex scenes are more reminiscent of corpses wrestling than people enjoying each other.

One of the main issues with the book is that the author has chosen to tell and not show. Events that could have been illustrated in fascinating detail are instead dryly related as large blocks of text and awkwardly stilted dialogue that was obviously lifted directly from another book. It's clear the subject matter deserved an entire series of graphic novels and not just 112 pages. Trying to pack an entire life into such a short space is a huge mistake.

The author also feels the need to insert herself within the text in order to brag about her own anarchist activism, clearly trying to draw parallels between herself and her heroine, even though this is meant to be a biography of a historical figure and not a personal piece. It's a little embarrassing.

Not a very professional or well-thought-out piece. I'm not even sure what Emma Goldman actually achieved, based on what I read. Not recommended.

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