Thursday, July 09, 2009

Robot Dreams by Sara Varon


This moving, charming graphic novel about a dog and a robot shows us in poignant detail how powerful and fragile relationships are. After a Labor Day jaunt to the beach leaves the robot rusted, immobilized in the sand, the dog must return alone to the life they shared. But the memory of their friendship lingers, and as the seasons pass, the dog tries to fill the emotional void left by the loss of his closest friend, making and losing a series of friends, from a melting snowman to epicurean anteaters. But for the robot, lying rusting on the beach, the only relief from loneliness is in dreams.
Title and author of book: Robot Dreams by Sara Varon

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Graphic Novel. Fantasy?

What led you to pick up this book? I have seen a couple of reviews that made it look promising, so I figured I would give it a try.

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? I liked this book because it was different. It is not like anything I had read before, to be truthful. You had to make your own impressions about the book based on the pictures. There were no words telling you exactly what was going on. This meant that the artist had to be able to draw pictures that were clear. It also meant that each person that 'reads' this book might not get the same impression from it. That made it fresh, which really interested me.

What did you like least? On the other hand, I am finding that I am not very good at 'reading' books by use of pictures. I think at heart I am a novel girl. I like words and I find that I have a hard time remembering to pay attention the pictures. I expect the words to tell me everything that is going on. At least with this book there were no words, so you had to pay attention to the pictures. While I did like this book, though, it is not something that I need to read a lot of. Plus, I am glad I got it from the library because it wouldn't be worth it to me to own it.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? No. This was my first.

What did you think of the main character? I think there were two main characters: the dog and the robot. I felt bad for both of them. The dog lost his best friend and spends the book trying to replace that experience, but it doesn't really work out for him. He cannot get over the loss of his friend. The robot, on the other hand, is trapped on a closed beach. He does not have any options other than to dream, so that is what he does. Varon does a good job making you feel for the characters. I was pretty impressed by this!

What about the ending? I had no major problems with the ending. Saying any more than that, though, would be a spoiler!

While this is not my favourite method of reading a book, I do have to say that I enjoyed this at the same time. While I won't be rushing out to buy it, I do recommend it.

10 comments:

  1. Oh, I hope I can find this! You totally sold me with this review, Kelly! It will definitely be an odd sort of read for me too, but it sounds too sweet to pass up.

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  2. Hmmm definitely sounds interesting!

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  3. I've read a book similar with just pictures, by Shaun Tan titled "The Arrival." Like you I'm definitely a novel girl but I took my time with The Arrival and really loved the pictures and the feelings they invoked in me. Excellent review on this one and I'm glad that you enjoyed it!

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  4. I think I'm more of a novel girl, too -- so I wish my library would get some graphic novels. They're great for a change of pace. I just don't want to have to buy them!

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  5. I'm not a graphic novel person but you sure made this one sound good. I like the title too.

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  6. I enjoyed this book but I thought the ending was going to be different from what it was.

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  7. I really want to check this out. Never read anything like it before either, but it sounds very interesting.

    -Quacky


    (oh, and please check my blog for details on a big giveaway. Spread the word?)

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  8. Debi: I think you would like this. The kids, too.

    Staci: Shaun Tan is fantastic. I need to borrow more of his books from the library.

    Nancy: I don't want to buy them, either!

    Alice: It was good. :)

    Vasilly: I remember you saying that back when I said I was reading it.

    Quacky: It is different. It is nice to read something different from time to time.

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  9. I should really get more into graphic novels! Everyone seems to be finding wonderful-sounding ones.

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  10. Oh this sounds so sad!

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