Books: Tamara Drewe

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Tamara Drewe
By Posy Simmonds
2007





Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Ok _ I'm going to admit it - when I first wrote this I hadn't bothered to read it. I did try - but flicking through the pages and seeing all those words put me right off (urgh! words - in a book? no thanks). Still - having braved it the second time round I'm pretty pleased to see that what I wrote seems fairly accurate and sums up it up rather nicely (observe): "If you're looking for a "proper" "adult" "graphic novel" with the bias more on the words than the pictures then this is the book for you. Orginally published in The Guardian and based - ever so slightly - on Thomas Hardy’s “Far from the Madding Crowd” this is a book for those that enjoy snideness, rudeness, or humiliation that only the English countryside can provide. A young woman named Tamara Drewe has moved back to her family estate. She recently had a nose job, likes to wear short shorts, and drives most of the men crazy. The fun begins." (Ha - if you didn't know then I don't think you'd notice...).

What this leaves out (and coming from it after having read Literary Life and Gemma Bovery - the two books which come before this) is how familiar it all seems - at first anyhow. Posy Simmonds is obviously obsessed with writers and all their little quirks and foibles (my favourite line of the whole book is: "Ssh! Godsake, we're surrounded by novelists!") as well as all the dramatic possibilities that only tend to come from secluded places out in the countryside (altho maybe that says more about my big city ways). But it's cool as it progresses how different (younger) voices start to join in the chorus - and the subtle use of different styles of font tickled me too.

I really like Posy Simmonds and would recommend this book for anyone wanting to spend some time in the country. The artwork is (as always) fantastic and all the characterisations (and assioated blind spots) spot-on.

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Links: Guardian Interview, Comics Worth Reading Review.

Further reading: Literary Life, Ethel and Ernest: A True Story, Gemma Bovery, Blankets.

All comments welcome.