Rate this book

Ojingogo (2009)

by Matthew Forsythe(Favorite Author)

3.88 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1897299699 (ISBN13: 9781897299692)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Drawn and Quarterly

review 1: Ojingogo is just your average, run of the mill story about a young girl, her pet squid, and a camera stolen by an Octopus which eventually returns as a giant man eating machine. I think that’s what happened, anyway, it’s really hard to say. This book left me absolutely confused and bewildered, and this is coming from a guy whose favourite film is Mulholland Drive by David Lynch. At least Lynch stories have dialogue. I mean, I get that we’re entering abstract territory here, but this was just a little too straight from the subconscious for me to handle.I’m trying to find a way to summarize the plot of this graphic novel, and it’s literally the most difficult task I’ve ever faced in my life. My dreams have a tighter narrative structure than what I endured in O... morejingogo. To be fair, I think the point of the story is that it is a dream, but again, I’m not sure.So, essentially, girl lives under water? on the moon? and is out taking pictures one day when her camera is kidnapped by a mean Octopus (I say kidnaped because her camera is a very sweet little creature, with its tiny little arms and legs). Our protagonist, a stout little anime girl, seems to be physically capable of battling monsters, and is ferociously protective of her gear, but fails to save the camera nonetheless. At least, I think this is what is happening, but who can really tell? Anyway, from there, I’m totally lost. Every panel seems to segue to some other completely random event, spawning more and more strange creatures, some of which appear huge relative to our protagonist, but they are immediately dwarfed by the even huger insects that swoop in to carry them away. There are also a bunch of little two dimensional square guys that run around, and at one point, they tie down the much larger and vicious cube monster, which I suppose is a good thing? Then some little Mummy like creatures appear from out of nowhere with over-sized cutlery, and they unsuccessfully attempt to eat the girl as she sleeps. They even brought a giant salt shaker for the feast!Aside from the intentionally inscrutable plot, I did enjoy the playfulness of the simple black and white illustrations. The characters themselves are undeniably charming, originally strange, and incredibly imaginative. Without words to guide you towards any possibly point the creator is attempting to make, I found myself interpreting the illustrations of the funny little creatures in my own way, and perhaps, that is the point. But again, I have no idea, really.Somehow, this was nominated for Eisner awards in 2004 and 2006. I’ll give it 3 stars, only because I can’t give it 2.5 on the Goodreads scale, and I did enjoy the illustrations, regardless if the “story” left me slightly perplexed for an afternoon. This book might not be ideal for kids under 13, not because it’s offensive in any way, but I just don’t think that they would find it very amusing or interesting. I’d definitely recommend this book to the nearest hipster, though.
review 2: Utterly surreal and slightly abstract, Ojingogo is, to me, exactly what a graphic novel should be: A story told not only in exactly the right visual exchange, but told in the only way possible. This book could not have been represented by words without becoming trite. It is a testament to the power of the graphic novel to convey, succinctly,that which cannot and should not be conveyed by writing. In the words of Depeche Mode: "Words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm". less

Download links for: Ojingogo

Advertising