The Impostor's Daughter

I had never read a graphic novel before The Impostor's Daughter by Laurie Sandell, and had never planned to. However, this book kept popping up on my computer screen while I was doing other research, and then again at the library. I was walking past a display and there it was, literally front and center. At this point I still didn't realize it was a graphic novel, but when I picked it up and opened the pages, I couldn't put it back on the shelf. I had read three pages in the course of a minute (which isn't hard to do -- remember, graphic novel basically means comic book novel). From the little I've seen, I thought graphic novels only catered to techy/ comic book obsessed guys or asian teenagers. But, like when I found Betty and Veronica in the sea of boring boy comics when I was younger and growing up with a comic book obsessed big brother, I found that I could partake in this genre as well. 

The Impostor's Daughter is a memoir. It explores the author's recovery from an unhealthy lifestyle that manifested from an unusual childhood; growing up with a con-artist father. Usually I am not interested in reading about people's lives if they aren't someone I am familiar with before-hand, but somehow the style of this book made reading it feel less like a commitment. Sandell has had plenty of experience writing for magazines (some of which I read), and therefore she knows how to hook this twenty-something's attention. Her story is interesting, but it was the genre she chose to express it through that kept me reading. Which I did. In roughly an hour. 

Grab yourself a copy and see if you aren't as entertained as I was. Worst that can happen: you've got a graphic novel under your belt and can say with authority what you think of them.

As for me, I'm sold -- well partly; as long as they are expressly written for my demographic to enjoy and have pictures of people who look like actual human beings. Next up in this department, The Complete Persepolis.
Three Coconuts

xo,
The Coconut Librarian

Comments

[jaydek]

interesting...I, too, loved Betty & Veronica back in the day but don't currently read graphic novels. My boyfriend buys at least one a week so I'll peak over his shoulder to see if they're of any interest to me but so far, nothing. maybe this is a good one to start with, doesn't seem so superhero-centric or violent. there was pieces of the graphic novel "cancer vixen" that i saw a couple years ago that reminds me of how you were drawn to this...it's a familiar story, but telling it in an unconventional way makes it more interesting. I love books that take advantage of their form, or traditional stories that find a new twist--like after seeing The Informant! this weekend and enjoying yet another corporate culture story but told in a totally new way.