Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

Short Review: 3 stars is probably a bit harsh. This really isn't a bad graphic novel adaptation. But the source material is one of the best novels I have read. It is nuanced and tragic and enlightening. Some of that nuance gets lost in the cuts that are necessary to move this from a 300 page novel to a 230 page graphic novel. There are some things that a graphic novel can show instead of tell. But traditional print novels are better at telling and some of the best parts of the novel Kindred are about the telling. Slavery was a horrible reality. It was horrible for slaves and Kindred does not at all minimize that horror.

But the novel also touches on how the very nature of a culture that enslaves people degrades all people involved, the owners as well as the slaves. And even those that are not either slaves owners or slaves. The most long lasting impact of slavery in the US has been the culture of white supremacy. Just yesterday there was another local politician recorded talking about how African Americans were genetically predisposed to drugs and crime. It is the reality of a culture of white supremacy that I think gets lost in the graphic novel adaptation.

My only slightly longer review of the graphic novel adaptation is http://bookwi.se/kindred/

My now several year old review of the novel http://bookwi.se/kindred-octavia-butler/