AUTHOR: Pep Brocal, based on the original work by Ramon Llull
PUBLISHER: Bang
GENRE: Graphic Novel
READER’S NAME: Brendan Riley
DATE: August 21st, 2023
Storyline and Style of Writing: This is a retelling in Spanish of the medieval text by Ramón Llull. The style is the fable, in this case many different fables nested one within another. That makes for a lively and fast-paced reading experience as many of the animal characters get their chance to narrate a cautionary morality tale about the perils of ambition and political power. The graphic novel format and style and design effectively reflect the contents: serious stories communicated through a whimsical bestiary; the artwork is also an interesting, arresting hybrid of fine design and more spontaneous, freehanded style. The color palette of the pages is very interesting and attractive: muted tones and hues, eschewing primary colors yet very colorful, seemingly dimple but very detailed and expressive. It is a style that at first glance may seem too whimsical and childlike for "serious" readers but which because of its effective draughtsmanship is likely to grow on the reader.
Whether the subject matter will travel well in the U.S.A. I am not sure how well the medieval European setting and scenario of kings and servants will resonate with today's youthful readers, though the political lessons are clear, immediate, and potent. Many of the scenarios are appropriate for readers of any age but a few episodes are mature and startling, including a rape and, later, a murder, and in the accompanying illustrations are strong. Though what is presented herein is really a "game of thrones" as the different animals, from the lion king down to the rooster vie for the shares of power they can obtain—this concept seems to have a timeless appeal—most of them ending up eliminated rather violently (nothing new or unusual there). Viewers and readers of popular culture attracted by the elimination game scenarios will find themselves in familiar territory. The book's allegorical character, while familiar to anyone who had read Aesop's Fables or the modern Animal Farm by George Orwell will understand the common theme of power games and struggles, ambition, deceit, and treachery. What's possibly different with El Libro de las Bestias is the richness of the multilayered stories, nested within one another, in a way that recalls the Metamorphoses of Ovid. That work is legendary for the seamless transitions between one myth or fable and the next, and how each story sets up and cues the subsequent one. El Libro de las Bestias operates in a similar, satisfying way.
Dialogue: the dialogue is allegorical, and it is mixed with omniscient narration. The reader who accepts the allegorical genre is unlikely to take exception to the storybook style dialogue or voice.
Suitability for Translation: This book could find a niche audience in the USA. Would it be worth the cost and effort of a translation? The edition I read is a hardback book. That would be expensive to produce and market. A paperback edition in translation might have a better chance of selling in the U.S. market. Very young readers might be drawn to the striking illustrations and storybook quality but some of the lessons proffered are violent and unsettling, and yet the format might strike some older youthful readers as too young for them. This is indeed a worthy book but might struggle to find a wide audience in the USA. How would it be marketed? As a medieval classic? Possibly. A smaller, tablet-size format might help it to gain readers. With the right handling it could gain an audience in the world of readers of MAUS or Persepolis, though those books have benefitted from their strong, direct connection to the tragedies of the twentieth century. El Libro de las Bestias exists more purely in the world of fable. But its combination of words and images is potent and attractive and while a first time reader might speed through the text they might also be drawn back to revisit certain pages and episodes because the images certainly live on in the mind once the book is closed.
