Title: Mirrormask
Authors: Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2005
ISBN: 0060821094
Pages: 80
Price: $17
Rating: 8
Synopsis:
Most kids want to run away to join the circus, but Helena wants to run away and join "real life." Ms. Helena Campbell has a life most girls dream of (well, at least I do): performing in her family's travelling circus, living in her own camper, drawing day in and day out. But, she yearns for a "real life." You know, the kind that doesn't move from town to town.
When she inadvertently wishes illness upon her mother, Helena gets the chance to have a "real life," only it doesn't stay as rooted in reality as she'd hoped it would.
Review:
Helena initially thinks she is in a dream so nothing can hurt her because nothing is real, but it slowly becomes apparent that this is no dream! The world she gets sucked into is as much a dream as The Neverending Story was just a book.
The duality of Helena's world and the world of the mirror mask is intriguing. It is suggested that there are multiple Helena's, multiple mothers, a light and a dark side for everything in existence and numerous variations between the two extremes singularly existing in seperate worlds.
I haven't watched the movie yet, and I'm now afraid to. Gaiman offers such a personal look into Helena's mind that I'm afraid that without his walking us through her internal monologues, her character might come off as a caricture of a teenage girl when she is in fact very three dimensional. If I wanted to read more into the story than is really there, I would say this was an analogy for the craziness that comes with a girls coming of age. The rejection of Self, feeling like you're a different person, watching yourself from a distance as you alienate those around you.
McKean sumptuously tethers reality to fantasy and merges movie clips from the <i>Mirrormask</i> motion picture seamlessly into the rest of the book. His graphic design is impeccable as always. Somehow his books always come out looking grungey yet elegant, improvised yet deliberate, which I think suits the dual nature of Mirrormask beautifully.
I got my copy from the Bookmobile, and no doubt you will be able to secure one from your library as well. Defiinitely a worthy read for both males and females of all ages.
Related links:
The book's site. It's really quite nice.
Gaiman's site (iddn't he cute?)
McKean's site
