Tag: Elaine M. Will

Elaine M. Will – Dust Ship Glory | Review

December 22, 2017
Authors U-Z (By Surname)Non-Fiction

Title: Dust Ship Glory

Author: Elaine M. Will

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 179

Rating: 5*/5

 

Elaine M. Will - Dustship Glory

Elaine M. Will – Dustship Glory

 

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free for review.

Wow, Elaine M. Will has done it again. Her last graphic novel, Look Straight Ahead, was very good. This one, though, is masterful. I can see it being taught in schools one day, particularly in the Saskatchewan area. And I’m not just saying that because she sent this.

In terms of the plot, it follows the fascinating true story of Tom Sukanen, an almost legendary figure who started to build a ship despite being nowhere near the sea. I won’t tell you what happens next because you ought to read the graphic novel to find out, but I will say that it was a moving story that was sad in places whilst simultaneously being inspiring. Plus the artwork was fantastic too, which means it pretty much ticks all of the boxes. I can’t think of a way to improve it.

 

Elaine Will

Elaine Will

 

Click here to buy Dust Ship Glory.

Elaine M. Will – Look Straight Ahead | Review

November 10, 2015
Authors U-Z (By Surname)Fiction

Title: Look Straight Ahead

Author: Elaine M. Will

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 256

Rating: 9/10

 

Elaine Will - Look Straight Ahead

Elaine Will – Look Straight Ahead

 

Look Straight Ahead is a fictionalised version of a true story – that of author Elaine Will’s struggles with mental illness. Indeed, the book is extremely realistic in my view, but then I have first-hand experience of a few of the issues that it covers and second-hand experience of a few more. Loosely speaking, it follows the story of 17-year-old Jeremy Knowles, an aspiring artist, as he suffers from a mental breakdown, and the book examines the way that society deals with him, and how he deals with society.

Will’s graphical style is pretty clean and mostly in black and white, although she does use colour for great effect – she’s also very good at evoking a mood by going a couple of pages without dialogue, reminding me of the mood boards that my colleagues sometimes use for graphic design projects. There’s not too much detail and not too little, and it’s interesting to see how the imagery reflects Jeremy’s state of mind throughout the story.

I sped through this in a day because I was hooked from start to finish, and I reckon I might just re-read it again in a couple of weeks. It’s one of those books – y’know, the kind you can re-read and re-read, without getting bored of it? And because it’s a graphic novel, you’ll see new things in the visuals as well as in the story line. Go get it!

 

Elaine Will

Elaine Will

 

Click here to buy Look Straight Ahead.