Anna

by Mia Oberländer

Mia Oberländer erzählt in Anna von drei Generationen aussergewöhnlich grosser Frauen. Mit ihrer Andersartigkeit gehen die drei Annas unterschiedlich um, was auch ihre Beziehungen untereinander prägt. In virtuosen Bildern und mit subtilem Humor erzählt Mia Oberländer vom Gross- und Anderssein in unserer kleinkarierten Welt.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Feminism, Humor

220 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 2021

Reviews

[April Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll get this out of the way first: this is not a tale for everyone. It won't click with all brains, but my neurodivergent brain really enjoyed it. If you've ever been othered for things that are beyond your control, it will likely click with you.
The story is set in a small town in a valley surrounded by tall mountains, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, and conformity is the unspoken rule. We meet a tall woman, Anna 1, who has a child with a tall man. Now, Anna 1 is *acceptably* tall, and well-liked for her beauty and figure - she meets societal beauty standards. However, her child, Anna 2, is unusually tall, very noticeably tall in fact, and while the townspeople get used to her, she's treated as an outsider, most of all by her own mother, who doesn't hide her disappointment in Anna 2's differences. Once Anna 2 grows up, she goes to the city for a while, where she meets a short man and has a child with him, the child being Anna 3, who also turns out to be very tall Anna 2 returns home to live with her mother, Anna 1, who continues the generational trauma of othering by telling her granddaughter a fairy tale every night about a very tall little girl being born in a small town and bringing such misfortune to the residents that they finally ran the girl out of the town, and everywhere she went, the girl spread misfortune. How messed up is that? Anna 2 finally breaks one day, and climbs to the top of the highest mountain and releases her anger in shouts, yells, screams... that part was so cathartic, not gonna lie. As Anna 2 climbs back down the mountain, Anna 3 is climbing up with a young man who she's fallen in love with, and who has fallen in love with her. She looks down on the small town that has looked down on her for so long, but she's able to look beyond the town and sees how big the outside world is, and how much room there is out there for her. We're left with the hope that she'll be able to move beyond the generational trauma and be happy. All of this is how I interpreted the story; others may find a different interpretation.
The story isn't told in a completely linear fashion; this is slice of life, featuring events in each of the Anna's lives, and the timeline does skip around a bit. I enjoyed the art once I got into the story, it suits the tale well, emphasizing the otherness of Annas 2 and 3, and to me, it showed the exaggerated self-view of the Annas. As I said before, this isn't a story everyone will connect with, but I feel anyone who has ever felt like an outsider will "get" this. Recommended to my fellow odd ducks!

#Anna #NetGalley

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was painful. The font was hard to read, the illustrations were primitive, and not, as I originally thought, as a reflection of the town's small-mindedness. There is nothing to hold on to here.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was bad. I'll admit that I requested it simply because my name is Anna but I'd like to not a single thing about this book. I usually try not to critique illustration style and artwork for graphic novels because I think that art is subjective But the illustrations in this were just not good. Half the time they looked like they were out of a children's drawing. The fonts they chose for the words were hard to read and there were these weird bright and neon text boxes every once in awhile. I'm not sure if that's because this was a arc or what but I was not a fan. It's supposed to be some great feminist fairy tale story but I did not get any of that.

[Meli F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Fantagraphics books for providing me with an early digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book introduces us to a lineage of towering women named Anna, set against the backdrop of rural Germany. The story unfolds through a series of vignettes, offering glimpses into their lives and their challenges in asserting their identity and place in society.

The graphic novel goes into themes of female empowerment and inter-generational trauma.
With a minimalist comic book style, the artwork of 'Anna' evokes a sense of charm and isolation, at the same time. My favourite moment is the chapter depicting the women's collective fury atop a mountain peak.

While the social criticism undertones may not resonate universally and some readers may find the font choice less than ideal for readability, its engaging narrative and visually captivating artwork make it worth reading. It offers an intriguing exploration of resilience and defiance in the face of societal norms.

Overall, I'd give 'Anna' four stars. It's an interesting read with bold, provocative illustrations. It offers an intriguing exploration of resilience and defiance in the face of societal norms. Definitely worth checking out if you're into stories about breaking the mold.

[Tatiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recommended in many places as one of the best graphic novels of the year, but I think it’s pretty terrible. The art is, if not good, at least unique, but the story is just nonsense.

[Granit Hysiqi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a single "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" reference but still good :)

[Adrienne Blaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful juxtaposition of extremes: tall/short, round/sharp, tough/tender.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

m’ha encantat tot: la gamma cromatica, la senzillesa tan del dibuix com de les metafores textuals, l’ordre de la narrtiva i el ritme…

novel·la grafica senzilla i bonica

[Estibaliz · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

I don't think this graphic novel deserves the hate that it gets some times. I will agree that it is pretty quirky, and the art is an acquired taste, but I would never define it as childish (there's actually some really good illustrations here and there, and the use of color is commendable).

The whole thing is a pseudo feminist metaphor for discrimination and a critique of the demands of society, and it doesn't really have a cohesive narrative, but it looks more like a collection of anecdotes around the main theme. But, still, it was pretty funny at times, and one could say the reading experience was unique.

So, not something that I would recommend to everyone, but not really THAT bad.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a strange, strange graphic novel. The book is about a family of tall women and why it is so difficult to be tall. The book had almost no plot and at times it bordered on being completely nonsensical. The artwork wasn't particular good either; it looked like it was drawn by a young child. I also didn't like the font that the author chose; it was very difficult to read!

[andrea ✿ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me sorprende haber leído a tanta gente a quienes no les ha gustado… Me ha parecido dulcísimo y lleno de poesía, me ha gustado mucho <3

[Kasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreamy, surreal, beautiful illustration and colour work.

[BAM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a clever read! My biggest gripe was the font - difficult to read in several places.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely tall woman struggles with social ostracism and expectations in this unique, surrealist graphic novel.

[Lucille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forgot to add this one, will make review later. This book was delightful, like a fable. Comedic.

[Rachel Troiano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the art in this book. The use of color was phenomenal. Tall women shouting about the frustrations of being told they are taking up too much space from the top of a tall mountain. Go off!

[Lucie Coppin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dessins enfantins, qui montrent de nombreux préjugés et tout ce qui va avec, comme les discriminations.
BD allemande qui raconte l’histoire de 3 femmes, 3 Anna de la même famille, toutes les 3 très grandes. Leurs jambes prennent toute la place dans la vignette ; histoire mignonne, à laquelle je n’ai malheureusement pas accroché.

[Soseum · Rating 4 out of 5]

C’est absurde et très beau. Bravo !

[Ellie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anna by Mia Oberländer is a modern day fairytale in graphic novel form which was originally written in German and then translated into English by Nika Knight. Anna follows generations of Annas in the German country side who are extremely tall. while this modern day fairytale was intended to have empowering, feminist undertones, it ultimately fell flat for me.

the art style was weird, the font was weird, and the story itself was weird. I typically don’t mind weird things, but this really didn’t hit for me.
—1) Art Style. the comics looked like they had been drawn with crayons? and not in a good way? there were also hot pink boxes over some of the images and text, which was very out of place for the color scheme. I assume this was due to my copy being an advanced review copy, but given that this book comes out this month, I would think this would’ve been fixed by now.
—2) Font. the font was this odd cursive font that felt really out of place, and it wasn’t the easiest to read.
—3) Plot. the plot was just not cohesive. every once in a while there was some imagery that felt significant, but the overall tone and incoherence of the plot caused these images to fall flat. ultimately, I didn’t feel like the story had its intended effect.

notably, at the end of the graphic novel, Oberländer says that this comic was originally part of her bachelor’s thesis, which makes me wonder: 1) if I would’ve understood this graphic novel better alongside her dissertation, and 2) if this comic was meant to be read alongside a dissertation, and was never adjusted accordingly to be read as a standalone book.

nonetheless, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

{I received an advanced review copy from Fantagraphics Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review}

[Anna M (readwithanna) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up entirely because my name is Anna. I didn’t mind the art style as much as other reviews seem too and I don’t know the correct words to describe the art style. It has minimal colors and simple lines, rather like children’s drawings and leans towards the absurd. It reminds me a lot of things my grandmother had from Germany - which makes sense because this was originally published in Germany. The author even lives in Hamburg, where my grandmother was from!

This is marketed as a modern fairy tale about being too tall in a small mountain town. There is not a huge amount of plot but does cover three generations of women (all named Anna) and jumps between all of their stories. I felt like I just didn’t get the end of the book - and that might just be on me, and not the author.

The font was very hard to read. There was a line along the words written in cursive (like handwriting exercises for children) which hindered my ability to read it. This was also created as part of the author’s dissertation and I wonder if it would make more sense with whatever was written to go along with the graphic novel.

I just don’t think this was necessarily for me but I would be interested in other comics from this author.

[bettina blocksberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend lent me her copy of this book and as I always trust her graphic novel/comic recommendations, I got straight to reading it. I really appreciated the art style. The author Mia Oberländer won a prize for this book and I can see why. "Anna" spans 3 generations of women, thier bodies, norms, and their place in the world.

[Curious Madra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for granting my wish to read this graphic novel for free!

Unfortunately I didn’t really understand it and felt the art was rather meh. I know it’s suppose to be sending a message on feminism but at the same time, I just felt it just wasn’t really for me unfortunately….

[Chanel Chapters · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tall chicks complaining about being tall and hoping one of their parakeets would die so the other one would love her.
Also, a dog is murdered, the font is awful and the illustration style did nothing for me.

Read if you like tall whiny women and drawings in primary colours.

[Aurelia Littlepage · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not dislike this book. The art style was compelling and definitely my favorite part. The story had almost no cohesive narrative, and I think it would have been a lot more meaningful in German. I felt something but I’m not sure what.

[Flavescente · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roman graphique à l'humour absurde. Le graphisme ne m'a pas touchée et le fil de l'histoire m'a paru trop décousu, mais l'ensemble reste assez sympa.

[Sarah Mosher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book I found at the library about awkwardly tall women in a family. It made me laugh.

[Scout Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

first graphic novel ive read and it was awesome!!!

[Arushi]

Intriguing

[Ana Camastro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny, clever with a great message maybe perhaps a tad too absurd for me but overall quite enjoyable.

[Liv Pritchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read. A liiiiittle bit absurd. Still can't get into graphic novels so I suppose that hinders my ability to fully appreciate a story. Nice illustrations nonetheless!