A book a day: Grace Ellis & Hannah Templer: on another planet

Original Language: English

Títutulu Original: Flung out of Space

Year of publication: 2022

Translation: Esther Cruz Santaella

Valoración: Recommended and, above all, for fans

Once again, it is advisable to go to the subtitle of this book to find out what is going … well, he says: Patricia Highsmith’s indecent adventures. Actually, with this it would be enough to give the review or at least two thirds of it. The rest would be my opinion (“I liked it a lot, blah, blah, blah“), advise your reading (“Do not miss it and even less who are fans of this writer, blah blah blah“), charge my succulent fees And pa ‘house … But go, one is a prestigious professional from the world of reviews and you deserve something a little more elaborate And besides, if not, they throw me out of this barso here is the one of this graphic biography? Graphic biographical fiction? Whatever, but graphic? Well, no matter the taxonomy we apply to this work; The fact is that it is a recreation of the youth era of the great writer Patricia Highsmith, just at the previous moment -it really, to begin to publish novels, when he dedicated himself, for his despair, to write scripts for comics, something that was quite degrading -and very funny to the authors of this other comic, since they insist quite a lot in it. Literary of Ebundia: the novels Stranges on a train y Carol (which was first called, then it was published as The price of saltsigned with a pseudonym, and in 1989 it was again Carol, already with the declared authorship of Highsmith). Complicated moments for this writer, in the first place for the care of any writer or writer who tries to publish her first book (unless she is a television presenter, influencer, Tiktoker or any other cracks in style), but also – at least it is about what the authors of this comi … novel … graphic biography or whatever they are Forced to hide -he also also -but creates a strong feeling of guilt and drives him to seek psychological help and even follow what we call “conversion therapies.” This situation may seem today a nonsense (and rightly) to the people of good, but remember that the story is set in the late 40s of the last century, no matter how much in New York, a great city where it was expected to find a little more tolerance. Even so, homosexuality was considered a disease that should be treated by psychologists and therapists, something to which even a personality as indomitable as that of Patricia Highsmith could not resist.

This book is largely focused on this circumstance of Highsmith’s life not only for the “human interest” that may have, but because The price of the salt/carol became an emblematic novel for the collective homosexual LGTBIQ+, at least in the US Stranges on a trainnovel that, by the way, was not less successful, with cinematographic adaptation directed by Hitchcock, etc. From these first two novels, the career and life of Patricia Highsmith would change forever, allowing her success to leave the world of comics -ation, by the way, to the appearance of a young Stan Lee- who abhorred so much. Now, no one thinks we are facing a kind of hagiographic fiction about one of the icons of the LG+ collective or something. Not at all, since the authors of this book have not intended at any time hiding the “defects” of its protagonist; Namely: a quite accentuated ederío -this was predictable, given his fame of Arisca -and, worse, rooted prejudices against certain ethnic groups or religions -basically the Jews; The reason for this is not explained, but remember that this writer was raised by her grandmother in the Texas of the 30s, which I suspect was not the best place for those who were not white, Anglo -Saxon and Protestant … Precisely, in the preliminary note to the graphic novel (we are going to call her like this) the scriptwriter of the same, Grace Ellis includes these words in this regard:

“The history of humanity is full of complicated and destructive human beings. I think it is important that let’s not forget that. Not all influential or relevant figures deserve to be put on a pedestal, which includes women and people LGBTQ. Simplified hagiographies have their objectives, but I consider that, ultimately, they make us a skinny favor by showing real people reduced to simple heroes and villains, when the truth is almost always richer and more complex (…)”

I cannot agree more, although it is also possible to ask what happens so that the author of a book about another real writer, in this case, has to include this note as a prologue to avoid hurting susceptibilities and, ultimately, putting the bandage before the wound, in case the flies … I do not know, it would almost be said that the reading public (not to mention the public viewer or user of the social networks) Complexity of the world, of the variety of humanities and human behaviors and of the interactions between people, but by pre-pubers unable to understand things in a non-binary way: good/bad; I like/I don’t like it; salvation/eternal condemnation in the fires of hell (I say it to say, huh?, that I know that it is not so and we all move in the subtlety, ambiguity and tolerance as fish in the water).

For aiming something about the graphic aspect of the book, the work of Hannah Templer seems magnificent to me, from the approach of each page and the use of a great diversity of plans -for the same way, very effective and intelligent the resource to repeat the final vignettes of some pages in the next retailer. In addition to the North American classic comic (that of superheroes, for understanding ourselves), to me, that I am already a manure of those, it has reminded me of that of French and Italian cartoonists of the 80-90, like Vittorio Giardino and even, when it comes to women, A … Ahem, Milo Manara. But no, I must be wrong … how will it be a reference for a story where the protagonist lies with a good number of Massy Gentile congeners throughout it (sorry for the spoilerif it is) an uncle who drew them wonderfully, for the solace of the left of half Europe? And let it know that I only read his comics for the scripts …

A lot of title of (not on) Doña Patricia Highsmith reviewed: here