Asterios Polyp Review

Asterios Polyp is a graphic novel created by David Mazzucchelli.

This graphic novel is amazing.

Plot: The novel is told from the perspective of Asterios's dead twin, Ignastio, as we follow the life of Asterios. We see him fall in love and deal with the separation of his wife. The plot can be confusing at times if you were just to glance and read through quickly. When you slow down you see all the small details that Mazzucchelli put into it.

Characters: Asterios is a very arrogant and rude character. His character development through the novel is remarkable. Hana's character is very meek yet strong. She usually brushes Asterios's rudeness off or don't acknowledge it, but she will stand up for herself and others when he goes too far.

Writing Style: I very much enjoyed Mazzucchelli's writing. He can be very direct in what he wants to  say, yet he can also be philosophical / metaphorical where you really need to think about what he is saying and how he is saying it. I very much enjoyed his writing style.

Composition: The composition of his artwork is stunning. He uses different color pallets to show different people or emotions that they are feeling. When there are no current emotions being displayed Asterios and Hana are purplish in color. When Asterios and Hana are fighting Asterios turns blue and is drawn as very geometrical while Hana is red with whispy and cross stitching lines.

Here is an example:

Overall: I give this novel 5/5 stars on goodreads. The only thing that I did not like was the ending. To me it seemed very rushed and didn't follow the flow as the rest of the story.