Overall, what did you think of Sailor Twain?

Overall, what did you think of Sailor Twain?

Well, I was so skeptical of this genre that I had to force myself to begin reading the book. How would I know it would become my "mermaid" so to speak, upon the second reading??? After I finished, I was annoyed at the ending and had to re-read to take it all in again. I was captivated by the plot as it was woven together by the threads of character experiences/perspectives. Now, I absolutely love the book! I'm not sure I would enjoy another graphic novel as well, since Siegel is so masterful with his art of graphic expression.

One of the things that drew me to this book to select was that it was set on the Hudson River. I was born there, lots of my family has lived in that area for years, family still lives there, my brother went to school there, we visit semi-often, and my husband and I were married there two years ago. With all these connections to the area, I wanted to read this novel because it felt like I already could "place" it there.

As I was reading, it was really exciting to see each "Chapter" begin with a dark gray page, featuring a map of where that section was taking place on the river. This was so much fun to "travel" with the ship, in a sense. It was even more fun to recognize city and town names along the way as places I know, have been to, or have a personal connection with.

As stated in another discussion question, I really liked that the book brought together the creativity of being an author + artist. I was first surprised by the length, but really loved how it was presented and unfolded.

I loved it overall. The pacing was great and I loved the mystery element to the whole thing.

I have been thinking about the book quite a lot- which makes me think the book was well written and though provoking. However, I find myself not so sure if I really enjoyed it or was more intrigued by it. I am glad that we are discussing the book because I think sometimes I like a book more when I talk to others about it.

This was my first graphic novel. While I didn't find it as satisfying as a regular novel;I was surprised at how involved I became in the story.

I enjoyed it overall! I am a fan of this genre and I love the illustrations in this one. The story line was interesting enough but it seemed sketchy in some places and left me feeling like I missed something. The ending was not what I had expected. I have recommended to a couple friends and my son who is in college read it while he was home on break. He said it was not what he expected but he liked it overall.

This was my first graphic novel and definitely not my favorite. I thought the storyline was interesting but found I spent most of my time looking at the drawings to see if I was missing anything.

After my experience with this book, I would like to try some other graphic novels to have more of a comparison. I think this book is very readable and I liked the characters, I just was not really crazy about the ending. I see that a few people have mentioned reading it more than once, which may be something that I will try. I just felt at the end that I was missing something, which may be clearer to me if I read it again.

This was my first graphic novel and I enjoyed the experience. The story was interesting and I was surprised how quickly the story drew me in. More depth and detail than I would have anticipated from a graphic novel. The author did a fine job using darkness in a mystical way. I enjoyed the art, but had a difficult time keeping up with the plot once characters began to "split".

I hadn't requested Sailor Twain when all the choices were available but when an email was sent that the book was still available I decided it sure wouldn't hurt to try something new. So this was my first graphic novel and I doubt if I'd go to the trouble and expense to buy another. I loved the drawings and they became more interesting to me after I saw the video of Mark Seigel explaining some of his book and the fact they were all charcoal. The expressional eyes gave a comical but so emphatic and truthful emotion so many times.

Being a big fan of Japanese Manga it was easy for me to 'get' this book. However, as I can appreciate from the many comments from other first-time-graphic-novel-readers, it isn't a style that is easy to pick up and 'read' mostly because there are supposed to be a lot of gaps and leaps and ...'s and that isn't necessarily intuitive. I love the 'zen' of graphic novels but they are definitely a style you need to be in the mood to peruse (as opposed to savor language) when you pick it up. Sailor Twain was an excellent effort but I found myself actually wanting a bit more 'mystery' and things-left-unsaid. As pennyp points out that she "spent most of [her] time looking at the drawings to see if [she] was missing anything" I think that is the deliciously contemplative part of a graphic novel---to lose yourself a bit in the visual daydream of the story and let the words go. It's a pretty big stretch for lovers of written language and wordplay but it is a nice kind of exercise that feels good to practice sometimes.

I had a mixed reaction and read it twice. At first, I was enchanted but gradually became really confused. Hence the 2nd reading. I decided that it was uneven in places and confusing in others. I enjoyed other graphic novels, memoirs more.

I was very quick to volunteer for this discussion as I, too, have never read a graphic novel before. In all honesty, it just wasn't for me. I found it very difficult to understand and ultimately I did not get the big picture. I did find the genre interesting. A second read would have been beneficial, I'm sure, but I just didn't want to work that hard for a book. I shouldn't have to read a book twice in order to capture its meaning. But I am glad to have tried the genre, if simply to try something out of the box and new for me.

Enjoyable overall, definitely a genre you have to like.

I loved the illustrations but did not enjoy the book and don't plan to read another like it.

I would have liked it more as a novel. I've read other graphic novels and liked them, but this was a little hard to follow.

It's very Noir -- the illustrations, the story, and the characters. Lovely in some aspects but all in all I found it to be a downer

I found it interesting however, that being said, I probably would not have chosen to read this book on my own and, to make matters worse, towards the end I could not get the phrase "never the twain shall meet" which truthfully, interfered with my final enjoyment.

Like Mystinamarie, I can personally relate to the book. I live in Poughkeepsie, ten minutes from the river, and liked seeing the places I know so well.
This is my first graphic novel and I am enjoying it a lot. I just can't imagine making all those charcoal strokes.

It was beautifully illustrated and I really enjoyed the story, but the ending was confusing. I don't mind ambiguity but this end left me feeling like I had missed something.

The art is wonderful. The story engaging. But the end left me feeling like there is a sequel....

I think darshells point of a possible sequel may explain the ambiguity of the ending.

I do not like ambiguous endings, they feel like cop outs. I have invested time to read the work and I think an author should invest the thought to end it.