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I read the first chapter of Daytripper and was completely taken aback. I was in the mood for some graphic novels and I had just grabbed whatever looked promising at my local library. I had never heard of this book and I didn’t read the synopsis too closely but it still caught my eye. When the main character was murdered at the end of the first chapter, I didn’t know what to think. *blinkblink* *blinkblink* “Well, maybe the rest of the book is about his life before the murder?” I thought to myself. But no. He dies in a completely different way and much earlier in his life at the end of the second chapter. “Okay. This has got to be going somewhere.”
And go somewhere it did. I was so excited as I got closer to the end and finally realized what Moon and Bá were telling me (I freely admit I can be dense at times; this was one of those times). I knew that if the authors got the end right, this graphic novel would be beyond awesome. They pulled it off. I finished it and sat back just completely and utterly satisfied in a way that I rarely am at the end of a book. Daytripper rocked my world almost as deeply as Maus did but in a very different way. I don’t make the comparison lightly.
It’s hard to even say what the book is about, much less what I took away from it. It’s a book that on the surface is all about the myriad ways that we can die. But beneath that superficial layer is a profound statement about life and living and wringing everything that we can out of the time we have. I have a feeling that everyone takes something a little different away from this book, but that’s the best way I can word how it affected me. Any of us can go at any time. What are you going to do with your time? Are you happy with the path your life is following? If not, what are you going to do about it?
Daytripper will leave you pondering these questions and more. I highly recommend it.
Read an excerpt.
Find authors Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá on their blog. Find Gabriel on Facebook and Twitter. Find Fábio on Facebook and Twitter.
Read more reviews at Good Ok Bad and Bart’s Bookshelf.
If you liked Daytripper, you might also like Maus by Art Spiegelman, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and The Arrival by Shaun Tan.
Buy Daytripper at Malaprop’s Bookstore in beautiful Asheville, NC.
