Cover Image: Brontë

Brontë

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Member Reviews

4,5 out of 5. It was very interesting read, a great start to those who want to know more about Bronte sisters.
This graphic novel tells us about the Bronte family: about sick old father, broken brother, and 3 sisters, who want to write. And we learn about how they become published authors, and their tragic fate.
You may be unsure about the art work, but it’s very suitable for this story

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I was drawn to this title because I tend to like graphic novels that appear to offer a new perspective on history or fiction. The Brontës are humanized and somewhat brought to life through these illustrated dialogues and conflicts. I'd hoped this would evoke empathy or antipathy towards some of the Brontës but it fell flat with me. Some of the panels were hard to resolve. The characters did not pop and there did not seem to be a new take on an old subject.

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Brontë, by Manuela Santoni in a biographical graphic novel of the Bronte siblings. The elegant lines on the cover immediately drew me in, and I just had to read the title to know this was a comic I had to read.

What is the story about?
This is a dark comic, gothic and melancholic and wild, exactly like I imagine those sisters would have liked. They were incredibly independent women of their time, so talented too and it’s so tragic to think they lost their lives so young. This is a forever running theme of the talented person not living beyond thirty and never able to fully accomplish giving what they could have to humanity. It is such a tragic fate. And it is so fitting to their style.
What I hadn’t foreseen was the importance of the brother in this tale. I didn’t know that much about the sisters except for their reputed strong personalities and early death. This book gave a very emotional view into their lives, highlighting the hardship and conflict and passion and ultimately their love for each other. They were very different the 3 of them. But they shared one amazing passion: the one of writing and that will to be more than what their time allowed is, to be liberated is what shines out of this book.

What about the illustrations?
They are simple energetic lines that manage a very elegant world. The Bronte sisters have strong chins, long eyes and high foreheads: They are determined, romantic and smart. There brother looks so much like Emily, the wildest, and we can see that the strongest bond could have been between them. I really loved the character design, but there is also a lot of poetry in the illustrations. Chapters are separated by large panels of breathing space where an almost elemental, ephemeral pause gives this gothic feel to the comic. There are crows, cold weather, whispers of scandal, fights, love and hate. And so much of the atmosphere of those brilliant writers has been drawn here.

This is really a work of love, a declaration to 3 amazing women. A lovely comic to read.

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The lives of three women stuck on Yorkshire's storm-tossed moorland, with an alcoholic brother who can't stop tupping his boss's wife while he's at work, and a dying father. Yup, these are the joyous days the Brontes lived through as they slowly worked up to renown for their novels – which of course included pretending to be blokes. I guess there is a bit of the Yorkshire storm about the art, which makes some unusual choices (a huge guttering between each paired half of a double-page spread, for example) but has a very free and easy, suitably coarse feel. That's not in keeping with the literature they produced – it looks more aligned with their brother's destitution – but this doesn't really begin to convey their writing, or convince us of the benefits of reading them. It kind of takes it for granted we know their place in the canon, and just gives us a very quick and easy (and quickly and easily read) reminder that it was by no means all roses while they worked. Three and a bit stars – a full half might imply I liked the visuals more than I actually did.

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Having read Wuthering Heights in high school, I was incredibly excited when I saw this graphic novel about the life of the Brontë sisters. I couldn't wait to start!

As I was reading, I noticed the storyline was hard to follow at some points. The story skipped some parts and because of this, it lacked any real character development. I would have preferred to see a clearer description of the character growth (since I know it's there) and a description of the length of the time jumps.

I can see why some other readers aren't a fan of the art style, but I believe it fits the story and the era of the Brontë sisters. Even after having read only one of their books, I just know a bright and colorful graphic novel wouldn't fit the story about their lives. The author made a good choice with the black and white art!

Despite its flaws, Brontë piques the interest of the readers. The graphic novel could definitely be used in English classes, as it's an enjoyable introduction into the lives of the Brontë sisters!

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This is a graphic novel that follows a brief period of time in the life of the famous Bronte sisters. I really enjoyed the art. I really thought it fit the gothic style of the story very much. As for the story itself, I really enjoyed it. I don’t know a lot about the sisters so it was interesting for me! I am not sure how super die hard fans of the sisters feel about it, but I thought it was great!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

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The books is a reconstruction of the biography of the famous sisters of the English literature - Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte - whose writing full of life and passion contrasts dramatically with the monotony of an existence centered mainly on disputes with their father and being their younger brother's nannies.

The drawings are faithful in respecting the historical truth and the atmosphere of the period and the black and white tone truly depicts the drama.

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Gothic in style and so imaginatively unique. I loved this.
I don't feel this would be enough for fervent Bronte fan, but there were a few titbits that I learnt and that made me go 'ooooh'
Solid and fun.

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I enjoyed the black and white messy art style. It seems very fitting for the dark and broody moors that played such an important role in the lives and stories of the Bronte sisters. This a brief but informative history of the life and literary contributions of these amazing women. It highlights how remarkable these sisters really were.

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Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bronte was a brief and interesting read about the Bronte family, most notably the sisters three famous sisters and their journey to be published. It’s a little confusing at first if you don’t know much about their lives before picking up the graphic novel, so I would recommend doing a little research or learning about the family some before picking it up. The art was very simple and neat and I also liked the character designs inspirations at the end. The author really did bring good personality to Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, but I found Bromwell to be a bit disturbing. I would recommend this graphic novel to fans of the Bronte sisters.

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Summary from publisher: “Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë—faced with an ailing father and an alcoholic brother—pursue independence through art in this graphic vision of the lives of three legendary writers.”

This was an interesting one. I really loved the minimalist art and the author’s explanation of inspiration and process for creating visuals for each character. The story is pretty straight forward, a historical look at the legendary writer sisters who had to endure sexism, pretending to be men, and a difficult brother and ailing father. I love the Bronte sisters, and their perseverance is admirable.

This one was a good choice for women’s history month, and I love that more histories are going graphic. I’d love to see more stories told through this medium. They make subjects more accessible to those who need it and to those who might otherwise not getting into reading. They are a great gateway medium.

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A slightly disappointing read. For anyone familiar with the Bronte sisters, the narrative in this graphic novel feels over simplified. The novel covers the personal story of the three Bronte authors - in attempting to clearly separate their personalities, the characters become caricatures of themselves. The sisterhood shines through, but the narrative is too black and white, which is further exacerbated by the style of the artwork. Having just read a couple of the other gorgeous graphic novels (including White all around on netgalley) this was a nothing special.

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This book was ok. I didn't find the drawings to be that interesting and the story felt disjointed. I did enjoy learning about the sisters and how they came to write their books. I liked the relationships between all of the siblings and that was a major part of the story.

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Bronte is the graphic novel story of the Bronte family. I personally did not know much about the sisters and their brother before reading this graphic novel but I greatly enjoyed reading about their past. The drawings as more sketch style which I greatly enjoyed. I appreciated the way the author changed the character's design as they continued through their life. The text was done very well and told the story of their lives in a very succinct way. The only thing I had a slight problem with was knowing who was who at times. Charlotte and Anne were very similar looking at times throughout the story and you had to have some knowledge of their lives to truly get a whole picture. Seeing as I didn't know much about them before this story, I was a little lost at times. Overall this was a very fun read and I definitely learned a lot!

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Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for access to this digital work in exchange for honest feedback. This review will be cross-posted to Goodreads.

I am a big fan of Emily Bronte, so when I saw this graphic novel available for review, I hoped I would be approved. That being said, I was not sure what to expect from this rendition. I think that the strengths are 1) the storyline and 2) the quickness of the read.

Improvements: adding more introduction to the characters. I believe to get anything from this book, you will need a preconception of who these women are, their lives (even though there is a timeline in the back I realize), and their impact on literature. Otherwise, it is a story about three women who write books under male names. That's fine and good, but I think that a stronger intro or something in the start to set up the women and who they are/where they are coming from at the beginning would really help drive home this book.

As stated, the strengths are in the storyline and the quickness of the comic-style panel reads. I am not usually a reader of graphic novels, so I don't know if anyone else feels like they are quick reads, but to me they are. As for the art, I think there were some panels that were way better than others. I particularly liked the full-page illustrations.

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I received an e-ARC from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Brontë is essentially historical fiction about the lives of the Brontë sisters and their family in graphic novel form. I was drawn to the cover, but unfortunately the entire story is illustrated in black and white inside, and frankly, I could barely tell one character from another. I really think it would have been more successful had it been in full-colour.
Aside from this, I thought it was a decent, if quite simplified narrative of the women's lives.
This just wasn't the book for me. However, if you vibe with the art style, this is a great introduction to the lives of some of the most fascinating British female authors/poets in history.

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I love the graphic novel style for a classic novel, it brings a modern writing form to something that's gone a little dusty with time.

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I am always fascinated by this story of the short-lived life of three great writers. I enjoyed this retelling of the Bronte sisters. Everything known about the three sisters is covered in the book. However, I would have liked, if there was more depth in the storytelling. It seemed more like linear flow. I am skeptical if someone who is not very familiar with the Bronte sisters would understand or enjoy the story with the full scope.

I would have enjoyed a little more detail and depth in the characters. The illustrations are appealing, and they stood out for me in the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Manuela Santoni for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Overall 2.5 Stars.

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Bronte tells the story of the three Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, and how they became some of the greatest writers of the 19th century. Their story was heartbreaking and this is an excellent medium for younger readers to learn about the Bronte sisters in a way that is compelling, although the content itself may be a little too dark or slightly disturbing for younger readers, At times it did get slightly confusing and there were points where I wasn't 100% sure what was going on. However, the graphics were beautiful, for me that is what really stood out about this book.

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Unfortunately, Brontë was not my favourite retelling of the Brontë’s. It covered all the key points of their short lives but that’s about it. There was nothing unique about this book to set it apart from the others like it that already exist. The illustrations seemed sloppy in my opinion. I’m a devout Brontë fan and did not find enjoyment from this retelling nor the illustrative style of the graphic novel. I would recommend several other graphic novels about the Brontë’s over this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group / Graphic Universe for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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