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Three Paradoxes
An intricate, complex autobiographical comic blending multiple threads of reality and fantasy, each drawn in a different style, coming together as one story questioning change, progress, and worth in the author's life.
80 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2006
5 people are currently reading
417 people want to read
About the author
Paul Hornschemeier
22 books64 followersPaul Hornschemeier was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1977 and raised in nearby rural Georgetown, Ohio. As a child he liked to draw, dreaming that he might publish his own comic books one day. While majoring in philosophy and psychology at The Ohio State University, Hornschemeier was introduced to the graphic novel Ghost World by Daniel Clowes and began exploring underground and literary comics. He saw that comics could be a venue for exploring issues from his studies and other interests, and within a year he began publishing his own black and white comics, under the banner "Sequential". Those early experimental works have since been compiled by AdHouse Books under the title The Collected Sequential. After graduation from college, Hornschemeier began using colors in his comics. In 2001, after moving to Chicago, he self-published the final issue of "Sequential," and began publishing the full-color comics series "Forlorn Funnies" with (now defunct) Absence of Ink Press. In 2003, Dark Horse Comics published his first graphic novel titled Mother, Come Home.
In 2007 Hornschemeier colored the Marvel mini-series Omega The Unknown.
Hornschemeier also sang and played guitar for the now defunct band Arks.
In 2007 Hornschemeier colored the Marvel mini-series Omega The Unknown.
Hornschemeier also sang and played guitar for the now defunct band Arks.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
February 9, 2012
The book tells the simple story of a hometown visit for the artist of the book to his parents, along the way reminiscing about his childhood and incorporating daydreams and tangents that crop up during a conversation with his father. The drawing styles change with each story from the polished and clean look of the main story to the draft style of a story involving the artist, a monster, and the wise man in the sky, to a four colour style for flashbacks to his youth, to cutesy Manga-esque art for a story on the Greek philosopher Zeno.
The book would be dull without the changing styles as it's not really a story, but then I think the book is more of an artistic experiment rather than a fully formed book. With the title and the inclusion of Zeno explaining his paradoxes theory (a failed idea where he posits that essentially nothing changes because nothing can change), Hornschemeier seems to be saying that despite the three stories (one about wanting to change, one about someone who was changed, and one about immediate change), he is still feels unchanged, still the same person. I think that's what he's trying to say with the stories and I'll give him credit for taking an original and interesting approach to the book.
Overall though it feels slight, as if its less than the sum of its parts. I like Paul Hornschemeier, I think he's clearly a talented artist, but as a storyteller he needs more development. "The Three Paradoxes" is an interesting novella (comivella?) but the art overwhelms the story, leaving pretty pictures in place of anything more substantial. Hornschemeier looks like he'll produce something brilliant one day but "Paradoxes" is not that.
The book would be dull without the changing styles as it's not really a story, but then I think the book is more of an artistic experiment rather than a fully formed book. With the title and the inclusion of Zeno explaining his paradoxes theory (a failed idea where he posits that essentially nothing changes because nothing can change), Hornschemeier seems to be saying that despite the three stories (one about wanting to change, one about someone who was changed, and one about immediate change), he is still feels unchanged, still the same person. I think that's what he's trying to say with the stories and I'll give him credit for taking an original and interesting approach to the book.
Overall though it feels slight, as if its less than the sum of its parts. I like Paul Hornschemeier, I think he's clearly a talented artist, but as a storyteller he needs more development. "The Three Paradoxes" is an interesting novella (comivella?) but the art overwhelms the story, leaving pretty pictures in place of anything more substantial. Hornschemeier looks like he'll produce something brilliant one day but "Paradoxes" is not that.
August 11, 2007
An interesting rumination on the concept of change and how it relates to the act of creation. Hornschemeier, on a walk with his father, mixes his observations of his old neighborhood with his struggles to finish a comic strip about youth, all the while indulging in memory and whimsy. Encounters with other people, stray bits of conversation, everything inspires some kind of mental tangent, what could be new fictional ideas, false memories, or something truly remembered. In one panel, Paul's young self passes on the street behind his current self, suggesting we are here now and we are here then, and we are always the same, like the three Zeno paradoxes of the title pulled through Vonnegut. (In another sequence of panels, do we break point of view and go into the head of Paul's father? If we do, for shame--but it could also be more mental meandering by Paul.) All the while, The Three Paradoxes is expertly drawn, shifting from a precise Tomine-esque style to parodies of old comic books for the backstory, as well as sublime little glimpses at the blue-pencilled pages Paul is working on. Still, by the end, even with all the heaviness of design, the book is a tad slight. Again, maybe by intention? Because it certainly does linger, like one of its narrator's memories, playing on the brain even as the book is reshelved.
October 1, 2020
This book fluctuates between a father and son (presumably our author) and the cartoons he draws, and some of his childhood memories.
It isn’t all wrapped up in a neat little package, but life rarely is, and it resonated with me for this reason. We have a guy who likes his life and his art, but still has regrets and thinks a lot about uncertainties.
At the same time, it provides a bit of an escape from my life. Everyone is pretty comfortably situated, and the problems in the book are superficial. They walk through the suburbs or a smaller town, and everything seems sort of polished and charming.
I’d also read this again some day.
It isn’t all wrapped up in a neat little package, but life rarely is, and it resonated with me for this reason. We have a guy who likes his life and his art, but still has regrets and thinks a lot about uncertainties.
At the same time, it provides a bit of an escape from my life. Everyone is pretty comfortably situated, and the problems in the book are superficial. They walk through the suburbs or a smaller town, and everything seems sort of polished and charming.
I’d also read this again some day.
Read
April 26, 2009I'm not going to comment about this very closely, it was sufficiently understated that I didn't come away with much of an impression, even after reading it twice. It had nice-looking art, very clever use of image, background surface, and comics-making techniques to differentiate the imaginary and the "realistic". For example, he's working on a new story in rough blue pencil outline as he tries to work out his artistic demons on paper. His real life is darkly colored and relatively realistic, while his vision of philosophical dilemmas is rendered as a yellowed children's comic with despondent Greek thinkers who look like Playskool characters. (It looks better than it sounds.)
My dislike for Ambiguous Realist Fiction (see my whiny review of Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds) is starting to get in the way of my ability to decide whether a book was any good or not. "Oo, an ambiguous ending about a boring middle class person's life, how captivating!" I guess the really clever and well-done comics crafting can't stand up all that well to the thin story: a guy takes a walk with his dad and wonders what it will be like when he meets the girl he's been writing to on the Internet. The screenplay just writes itself!
Or maybe there's a sort of cold, Midwestern understatement that goes over my head, a sort of middle American haiku form. Ex-northern European immigrants who don't like loud expressiveness leave most things to the imagination. It is up to the monk-like reader to try to grasp the hidden meaning of the silent, morose gazes of the characters. Maybe, but I'm just conjecturing here.
It feels more like a short story than a book. Which is a terrible thing to say, because it's clear that a book's worth of comics-making went into the project, but only a few overlapping vignettes drive the story.
Funny how the color scheme of the realistic portions reminds me of Chris Ware's stuff. I guess the landscapes of Ohio and other parts of the Midwest are likely to look similar.
My dislike for Ambiguous Realist Fiction (see my whiny review of Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds) is starting to get in the way of my ability to decide whether a book was any good or not. "Oo, an ambiguous ending about a boring middle class person's life, how captivating!" I guess the really clever and well-done comics crafting can't stand up all that well to the thin story: a guy takes a walk with his dad and wonders what it will be like when he meets the girl he's been writing to on the Internet. The screenplay just writes itself!
Or maybe there's a sort of cold, Midwestern understatement that goes over my head, a sort of middle American haiku form. Ex-northern European immigrants who don't like loud expressiveness leave most things to the imagination. It is up to the monk-like reader to try to grasp the hidden meaning of the silent, morose gazes of the characters. Maybe, but I'm just conjecturing here.
It feels more like a short story than a book. Which is a terrible thing to say, because it's clear that a book's worth of comics-making went into the project, but only a few overlapping vignettes drive the story.
Funny how the color scheme of the realistic portions reminds me of Chris Ware's stuff. I guess the landscapes of Ohio and other parts of the Midwest are likely to look similar.
May 16, 2010
A beautiful book to behold, but lacking a story that left any real impression on me. I like how Hornschemeier depicted the four separate story strands in completely different styles and color schemes, but I found the connections between them tenuous and not very interesting. Also, I am sick of reading semi-autobiographical comics about nerdy, socially awkward young white dudes who were bullied as kids and have difficulty relating to women.
August 2, 2013
2.5 stars rounded up to 3. Minor Hornschemeier. There are multiple narratives with clever transitions, using different drawing styles to move between the present, the past, and creative imaginings. But for all the neat pomo transitions, there isn't much happening on each plane. Paul the Author worries about finishing a comic and being a writer while hanging out with his father, and also remembering a moment from childhood. This book is technically well done, but narratively thin.
April 15, 2009
I really liked the way the creator uses various illustration styles to communicate various sources for the story/memories/etc. But I'm not sure I "got" it, and I never connected emotionally with the story in any way. I did enjoy the depiction of the parents and the long-distance relationship - that rang very true.
December 26, 2016
Mother, Come Home sounded so good that as i waited for it to be delivered to my lieberry, i plucked this one from the shelves because it sounded good. Alas, i merely enjoyed it as a visual experience. The ideas conveyed via The Word never cohered for me.
October 5, 2020
One of those slow, melancholy, autobiographical comics. Like a Clowes, or a Tomine, or even Essex County-style Lemire. There's humor, but it's not a laugher, there's a kind of sadness, but it's definitely not a crier. It's just kind of moody and uncertain and slightly hollow. I appreciate it, but I don't love it.
August 16, 2007
This is the book where Paul Hornschemeier finally pulls together all his experimenting in style and form and wraps it into one seemless narrative. Like most good comics or graphic novels, the 80 pages seem like a lot more, and warrant repeated readings. Funny and thoughtful.
August 16, 2007
By far Horschen-whatevers best book that I've read.
Sad, sweet walks around town with his dad, reminisces on childhood in a different drawing style, and Zeno's paradox.
Woot.
Sad, sweet walks around town with his dad, reminisces on childhood in a different drawing style, and Zeno's paradox.
Woot.
August 31, 2025
the dream sequences look like they were storyboarded by someone who just woke up from a nap. 'underwhelming' is generous.
August 7, 2025
Good book, if you’re looking to waste your time.
There is a cool blend of memory, daily (often dissapointing) life, and fantasy, but ultimately leads nowhere, the story never seems to really begin.
There is a cool blend of memory, daily (often dissapointing) life, and fantasy, but ultimately leads nowhere, the story never seems to really begin.
June 20, 2025
The Three Paradoxes by Paul Hornschemeier – you can read this at https://archive.org/details/threepara... which works as a huge, wonderful library, where you seem to find anything
9 out of 10
The Three Paradoxes is included on The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list, which makes sense, albeit, if you google for it, you do not find a Wikipedia page, and then another compilation has it among the Greatest Books, only placed on the 7546th place, or near there, which depends on being a merit finder or fault finder
Also, on the Goodreads site – where I am proud to be at number two, for my realm, in terms of work done (not so much the quality of that, which could be reflected in the number 19th place I hold on most liked rankings) as in I try and write, with the hope that this will get better – there are only 88 reviews for this
Now 89…and we can only hope that the number one in my land has not decided to put his foot into it – this is a gory tale, for this guy just cheated, posted hundreds of ‘reviews’ per day, as in in copied and pasted a couple of lines, and voila, there are your notes, enough to claim he has read many thousands of works, and is telling you about it
Just like a sort of Chili Palmer https://realini.blogspot.com/2020/04/... without that immense charm, who says ‘ I am the one telling you how it is’ in the magnificent Get Shorty, first in the splendid Elmore Leonard novel, and then in the adaptation, where magical John Travolta plays the loan shark
TIME said that ‘if other comics are easy chairs, this is the psychiatrist couch’ and then in the opening pages, we also have ‘if you can’t believe what you read in a comic book, then what can you believe’, finally, one other argument for reading this comes from The Economist, which praises the slim work, in the latest issue
Indeed, you can finish one in a day, with this satisfaction of being better read, at the end of that time frame, you see what happens at the end, the writing is clear, direct, it could not be otherwise, in order to occupy only so few pages, and there is more, but this is what I think I remember from that journalist – thank you for this!
Comics are not my thing, but this, and the other three that I have found on the aforementioned 1,000 novels we all need to read list, is different from what I think most comics look like – it could well be one of those fallacies, maybe the big majority are just as relevant, deep, and they qualify for the Malcolm Bradbury quote
The link for To The Hermitage is in the standard ending that I copy at the end of my tailored reviews, but it is so paramount, that here it is https://realini.blogspot.com/2022/09/... the characters in good novels are so much deeper, more interesting that what we find in real life
The plots are challenging, smart, and it is the case for this very short comic book – I have made the connection recently with another great idea “The person who doesn’t read lives only one life. The reader lives 5,000. Reading is immortality backwards.” Which comes from Umberto Eco, and think if we put the two together
It means that readers (you and me, if you are still here, if not, I mean, if this is just me, alone, talking about this, then I am the god damn privileged fella) who get into the magnum opera do not just get 5k, but many more, potentially an infinity of lives, because if the real ones are dull so often, with those fictional people, you have an exponential function
‘The Wise guy in the sky’ is the Almighty, who appears a few times, we have a visit to a monastery, a father who does chanting…God says ‘you must find the answer yourself’, in one or a couple of drawings,
Words to that effect maybe, and we learn about being between two states, which could refer to faith, and/or atheism, maybe agnosticism…
There is also the confusion regarding the memories from childhood, which is what some drawings with kids, confrontations, exchanges may mean, though I am not sure about that, just like in the case where we have the hero and his father entering a shop, where the cashier man appears to be a familiar figure, who had been through a trauma
Or is it, the protagonist, who has had this brother, they play a game, run, and the latter falls on the road, where he is hit by a car, the driver is shocked, the woman next to him is questioning him, and he is overwhelmed, tells the boy to run to his home, and take his mother to the county hospital, making him repeat that
They are not sure if this was the right thing, the woman is skeptical, the driver says what could I do, we have this boy in the back, maybe he will die there, I had to rush, at the hospital, we see the mother and the doctor, the medical man has good and bad news, first, the boy will survive, second, they do not know what comes next
He may be unable to speak again, it will have to be therapy, intensive, learn to pronounce words again – this reminds me of The Silent Duchess – trailer, this note is coming soon, I have about two hours of reading for it – who had lost her ability to speak, only in her case it was a different trauma, she had been raped by her uncle, when she was five, and at the age of twelve, she was made to…marry the same guy, can you believe it, and then they would have children together, and we will read about him as ‘uncle husband’
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
9 out of 10
The Three Paradoxes is included on The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list, which makes sense, albeit, if you google for it, you do not find a Wikipedia page, and then another compilation has it among the Greatest Books, only placed on the 7546th place, or near there, which depends on being a merit finder or fault finder
Also, on the Goodreads site – where I am proud to be at number two, for my realm, in terms of work done (not so much the quality of that, which could be reflected in the number 19th place I hold on most liked rankings) as in I try and write, with the hope that this will get better – there are only 88 reviews for this
Now 89…and we can only hope that the number one in my land has not decided to put his foot into it – this is a gory tale, for this guy just cheated, posted hundreds of ‘reviews’ per day, as in in copied and pasted a couple of lines, and voila, there are your notes, enough to claim he has read many thousands of works, and is telling you about it
Just like a sort of Chili Palmer https://realini.blogspot.com/2020/04/... without that immense charm, who says ‘ I am the one telling you how it is’ in the magnificent Get Shorty, first in the splendid Elmore Leonard novel, and then in the adaptation, where magical John Travolta plays the loan shark
TIME said that ‘if other comics are easy chairs, this is the psychiatrist couch’ and then in the opening pages, we also have ‘if you can’t believe what you read in a comic book, then what can you believe’, finally, one other argument for reading this comes from The Economist, which praises the slim work, in the latest issue
Indeed, you can finish one in a day, with this satisfaction of being better read, at the end of that time frame, you see what happens at the end, the writing is clear, direct, it could not be otherwise, in order to occupy only so few pages, and there is more, but this is what I think I remember from that journalist – thank you for this!
Comics are not my thing, but this, and the other three that I have found on the aforementioned 1,000 novels we all need to read list, is different from what I think most comics look like – it could well be one of those fallacies, maybe the big majority are just as relevant, deep, and they qualify for the Malcolm Bradbury quote
The link for To The Hermitage is in the standard ending that I copy at the end of my tailored reviews, but it is so paramount, that here it is https://realini.blogspot.com/2022/09/... the characters in good novels are so much deeper, more interesting that what we find in real life
The plots are challenging, smart, and it is the case for this very short comic book – I have made the connection recently with another great idea “The person who doesn’t read lives only one life. The reader lives 5,000. Reading is immortality backwards.” Which comes from Umberto Eco, and think if we put the two together
It means that readers (you and me, if you are still here, if not, I mean, if this is just me, alone, talking about this, then I am the god damn privileged fella) who get into the magnum opera do not just get 5k, but many more, potentially an infinity of lives, because if the real ones are dull so often, with those fictional people, you have an exponential function
‘The Wise guy in the sky’ is the Almighty, who appears a few times, we have a visit to a monastery, a father who does chanting…God says ‘you must find the answer yourself’, in one or a couple of drawings,
Words to that effect maybe, and we learn about being between two states, which could refer to faith, and/or atheism, maybe agnosticism…
There is also the confusion regarding the memories from childhood, which is what some drawings with kids, confrontations, exchanges may mean, though I am not sure about that, just like in the case where we have the hero and his father entering a shop, where the cashier man appears to be a familiar figure, who had been through a trauma
Or is it, the protagonist, who has had this brother, they play a game, run, and the latter falls on the road, where he is hit by a car, the driver is shocked, the woman next to him is questioning him, and he is overwhelmed, tells the boy to run to his home, and take his mother to the county hospital, making him repeat that
They are not sure if this was the right thing, the woman is skeptical, the driver says what could I do, we have this boy in the back, maybe he will die there, I had to rush, at the hospital, we see the mother and the doctor, the medical man has good and bad news, first, the boy will survive, second, they do not know what comes next
He may be unable to speak again, it will have to be therapy, intensive, learn to pronounce words again – this reminds me of The Silent Duchess – trailer, this note is coming soon, I have about two hours of reading for it – who had lost her ability to speak, only in her case it was a different trauma, she had been raped by her uncle, when she was five, and at the age of twelve, she was made to…marry the same guy, can you believe it, and then they would have children together, and we will read about him as ‘uncle husband’
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
March 17, 2008
I fear that this book may turn the next generation off to graphic novels. I left this at my parents' house and my 14 year-old brother tried to read it. He put it down pretty quickly because it was, in his words, "boring and pointless." Out of the mouth of babes, they say...
Well, I'm not going to spend much time arguing with my brother. Ok, so I get what this book is supposed to be about. Introspection, the past, loss, uncertainty about the future, hope, etc, etc. Yeah, I get it. But Jesus, quit brooding and trying to force your mood on us. The book just doesn't feel very sincere, and none of the big ideas that are understood to be present are ever really explored. Basically, the entire book is a conversation the author has with his dad on the way to a gas station to buy a bag of chips. A large portion of this conversation is made up of monosyllabic word bubbles, which the author deems necessary to give their own panels. This graphic novel took me less than 20 minutes to read, and that's only because I took my time. And a cover price of $15 bucks? I'm gonna need a much better return on my investment. [Luckily I got it from my local library]
The positives: the main story is interspersed with a few little vignettes, each of which is drawn in its own style. The contrast is visually pleasing. Also, most of the illustration is of low-detail cartoony figures, but one panel stands out amazingly. The main character is driving past a fiery car crash and takes a look at one of the drivers. We are presented with a close up of a worn, haggard, desperate man. The juxtaposition of his detailed face with the overall simple cartooniness of the rest of the panels is magnificent.
But that one panel does not make this book worth reading, in my opinion. If a graphic novel/comic book doesn't have action-packed super hero stories, it at least needs to have some big ideas. And no, trying to convince the reader than one day in your life has the same impact as an entire Greek philosophy does not count. This book just plods along ho-hum. I'm sure the events meant something to the writer, but they're entirely lost on the reader.
Well, I'm not going to spend much time arguing with my brother. Ok, so I get what this book is supposed to be about. Introspection, the past, loss, uncertainty about the future, hope, etc, etc. Yeah, I get it. But Jesus, quit brooding and trying to force your mood on us. The book just doesn't feel very sincere, and none of the big ideas that are understood to be present are ever really explored. Basically, the entire book is a conversation the author has with his dad on the way to a gas station to buy a bag of chips. A large portion of this conversation is made up of monosyllabic word bubbles, which the author deems necessary to give their own panels. This graphic novel took me less than 20 minutes to read, and that's only because I took my time. And a cover price of $15 bucks? I'm gonna need a much better return on my investment. [Luckily I got it from my local library]
The positives: the main story is interspersed with a few little vignettes, each of which is drawn in its own style. The contrast is visually pleasing. Also, most of the illustration is of low-detail cartoony figures, but one panel stands out amazingly. The main character is driving past a fiery car crash and takes a look at one of the drivers. We are presented with a close up of a worn, haggard, desperate man. The juxtaposition of his detailed face with the overall simple cartooniness of the rest of the panels is magnificent.
But that one panel does not make this book worth reading, in my opinion. If a graphic novel/comic book doesn't have action-packed super hero stories, it at least needs to have some big ideas. And no, trying to convince the reader than one day in your life has the same impact as an entire Greek philosophy does not count. This book just plods along ho-hum. I'm sure the events meant something to the writer, but they're entirely lost on the reader.
February 19, 2008
Paul Hornschemeier, The Three Paradoxes (Fantagraphics, 2007)
So, the underlying question of Hornschemeier's graphic novel asks us: was Zeno, in fact, right? Even when we reach our destination, have we really reached our destination? We are here given five linked (some more firmly than others) stories: the main story details a visit from our protagonist (Paul, natch) to his parents. The one most firmly linked is a memory Paul has while walking through town with his father of a childhood memory; a second involves a comic the adult Paul is trying to draw that focuses on what we must surmise is an idealized form of his childhood self- radically different from the child we get to see; a third involves a car accident, which may or may not have happened to Paul (I couldn't tell, and no other review of the book I've read trying to figure it out touches on this); the fourth is a comic-book retelling of Zeno presenting his paradoxes (and being rebuffed by Socrates).
I didn't have nearly as much of a problem with the caesura motif as a lot of reviewers seem to have; it picks up on the paradox of the arrow in flight, and the traversing of each half-distance, never reaching the target. Every time Paul wants to say something, it has to travel half the distance from brain to mouth, then half that distance, then etc., which usually ends up with him blurting out something that bears little, if any, resemblance to what he's actually thinking. I can buy that. But then, on the same level, the thing I did have the most problem with here works in exactly the same way, and it still bugged me (the conclusion to the main storyline is absent-- because, of course, if Zeno was right, we can never reach our destination, see?). A paradox in itself, I guess. What we do get, on the other hand, is very well done, and deeply felt; I just wanted more of it. That, however, would have derailed the entire novel. What's the answer? There isn't one. Another paradox! ***
So, the underlying question of Hornschemeier's graphic novel asks us: was Zeno, in fact, right? Even when we reach our destination, have we really reached our destination? We are here given five linked (some more firmly than others) stories: the main story details a visit from our protagonist (Paul, natch) to his parents. The one most firmly linked is a memory Paul has while walking through town with his father of a childhood memory; a second involves a comic the adult Paul is trying to draw that focuses on what we must surmise is an idealized form of his childhood self- radically different from the child we get to see; a third involves a car accident, which may or may not have happened to Paul (I couldn't tell, and no other review of the book I've read trying to figure it out touches on this); the fourth is a comic-book retelling of Zeno presenting his paradoxes (and being rebuffed by Socrates).
I didn't have nearly as much of a problem with the caesura motif as a lot of reviewers seem to have; it picks up on the paradox of the arrow in flight, and the traversing of each half-distance, never reaching the target. Every time Paul wants to say something, it has to travel half the distance from brain to mouth, then half that distance, then etc., which usually ends up with him blurting out something that bears little, if any, resemblance to what he's actually thinking. I can buy that. But then, on the same level, the thing I did have the most problem with here works in exactly the same way, and it still bugged me (the conclusion to the main storyline is absent-- because, of course, if Zeno was right, we can never reach our destination, see?). A paradox in itself, I guess. What we do get, on the other hand, is very well done, and deeply felt; I just wanted more of it. That, however, would have derailed the entire novel. What's the answer? There isn't one. Another paradox! ***
Read
January 22, 2008well, this was my friend's library book. it's a quick read. it had a different feel from mother, come home, but it still left me wanting more. mostly there are flashbacks of sorts from the character paul visiting his hometown. there are different drawing styles employed throughout and i do like when stories weave together. it seems like this could be a chapter of a longer work.
i wouldn't recommend this to everyone. it may have a draw for cartoonists for the frustration portrayed in the comics-making process and the mentality of a cartoonist. kinda like an inside joke (but who is laughing?) and i thought having the story within looking like the non-photo blue was clever, even though i wasn't particularly fond of that portion.
the snippets i liked best were the guy at the convenience store and the zeno parts. the scenes of him as a kid were a little hard for me in both style and content
i wouldn't recommend this to everyone. it may have a draw for cartoonists for the frustration portrayed in the comics-making process and the mentality of a cartoonist. kinda like an inside joke (but who is laughing?) and i thought having the story within looking like the non-photo blue was clever, even though i wasn't particularly fond of that portion.
the snippets i liked best were the guy at the convenience store and the zeno parts. the scenes of him as a kid were a little hard for me in both style and content
April 20, 2021
I especially liked the shifts in graphic style when transitioning between story lines. The author (too much work to actually spell his name) portrays himself as obsessive and self-centered in both the walk with his father to turn of the lights at the office and in his childhood bullying story. Easily my favorite section is the comic book version of Zeno presenting his 3 paradoxes to the Athenians. I love that there was actually a fourth paradox about a stadium, now lost to history because Paramenides convinces him it isn't strong enough. The presentation of ancient sages as characters in a comic book is genius. The pages have ragged edges and tears from having been torn out. This is an example of graphic novels dealing with significant human issues while being easy to read and enjoyable. Well done.
January 12, 2009
Interesting graphic novel. It was fun to go back and forth across various timelines and perspectives, with the artwork shifting along with you.
But you were still stuck with a bit of a meh story. I think I've finally reached the point where the insecurities of a 20-something post-collegiate urbanite fail to make for a compelling narrative.
This was too much about process (including the process of insecurity). Which could be interesting if that process uncovers deeper truths or goes somewhere or actually makes you feel for the characters involved in some way.
Oh well - At least the process was pretty.
But you were still stuck with a bit of a meh story. I think I've finally reached the point where the insecurities of a 20-something post-collegiate urbanite fail to make for a compelling narrative.
This was too much about process (including the process of insecurity). Which could be interesting if that process uncovers deeper truths or goes somewhere or actually makes you feel for the characters involved in some way.
Oh well - At least the process was pretty.
October 20, 2007
A step back from Mother, Come Home, I think.
Hornshemeier excels at blending different comic styles, and uses them here to mix a narrative with the lead character's daydreams and location-triggered memories. His art is still great, and there are some good bits of dialogue (especially the last line, "you're less blurry in person"), but the side stories are far too long and often distracting from the main story.
Hornshemeier excels at blending different comic styles, and uses them here to mix a narrative with the lead character's daydreams and location-triggered memories. His art is still great, and there are some good bits of dialogue (especially the last line, "you're less blurry in person"), but the side stories are far too long and often distracting from the main story.
October 24, 2007
Not as disappointing a follow-up to Mother, Come Home as some reviews have suggested.
Not nearly as good as I wanted it to be.
Some really, really interesting ideas coupled with some lovely art. Just didn't have quite the emotional punch as some of Hornschemeier's other work.
[edit: I just read it again and added another star to my previous review. I think this is a work that might need a little bit of time to sink in. Like an album that grows on you the more times you play it.]
Not nearly as good as I wanted it to be.
Some really, really interesting ideas coupled with some lovely art. Just didn't have quite the emotional punch as some of Hornschemeier's other work.
[edit: I just read it again and added another star to my previous review. I think this is a work that might need a little bit of time to sink in. Like an album that grows on you the more times you play it.]
September 11, 2010
This book broke my heart again and again, and I could not put it down. Stories within stories about the relationship of a cartoonist with his father, about the persistence of the past in the present and of the present in the future, and about the impossibility and inevitability of change. Many of the images--usually those without text--in this book convey such rich, nuanced experiences and emotions that they truly are worth thousands of words. This is one of the more moving graphic novels that I have read.
February 4, 2008
Calm, detached, mysterious. Four different styles for telling four different stories, which don't often interweave but interrupt and comment on each other. It doesn’t take the reader in as deep as “Mother” but neither does it subject one to such abject nihilism. There’s hope in this one, if a rather cloudy kind. Favorite bit is the “Lil’ Philosophers” comic that casts the aspirations of philosophy against the impending sorrow of death. And Socrates says, “fuck.”
April 6, 2008
Clever. There are some things in this that couldn't be done in any other medium as effectively, which is a demonstration of the medium's power. If it's still just a comic book, comic books can do things prose novels and movies can't. Hornschemeier's style is quite similar to Daniel Clowes, a graphic novelist I like even better, whose recent New York Times serialized "Mister Wonderful" is available in full at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/mag....
October 18, 2009
I didn't think this graphic novel deserved 4 stars when i first read it, but the more reviews I read, the more I understood it. It really is genuis. His memories and his current self intermingle as if to prove one of the paradoxes correct (same now as in past & future). Even the lack of a good ending (which is why I didn't like it at first) supports the idea of the arrow in flight paradox (has to travel 1/2 distance of whole and thus never reaching the target, aka, the end of the story).
July 5, 2013
Still processing this one, therefore my rating is just first reaction. Actually I'd have given it three and a half stars. It really is a dense and poignant novel. A very honest and convicting picture of our generation in Paul's (semi-autobiographical?) main character juxtaposed with the father. His use of Zeno's paradoxes is genius (more thoughts to come on that). Reading it through a second time now.
May 31, 2015
Paul Hornschemeier is still one of my favorite graphic artists, but this book was difficult. It's short, but packs in a lot about change and growth and the difficulty of doing both. It sort of non-liner, jumping between past and present, and on second thought though quite poignant. In one unforgettable section a (non-Hornschemeier) boy tries very hard to restore his life after an accident but doesn't get very far. I'm going to read this book again and I'm increasing from three to four stars.
Want to read
July 17, 2016* 1000 novels everyone must read: the definitive list: Family and Self
Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges, this list includes only novels – no memoirs, no short stories, no long poems – from any decade and in any language. Originally published in thematic supplements – love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel – they appear here for the first time.
Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges, this list includes only novels – no memoirs, no short stories, no long poems – from any decade and in any language. Originally published in thematic supplements – love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel – they appear here for the first time.
November 5, 2018
I'm still chewing on this one, to be honest. It's about change, or lack of change, or the impossibility of change, or the inevitability of change despite the appearance of impossibility. It contains stories in five distinct styles branching off from a common narrative. It's kind of maddeningly inscrutable as a whole, yet I was completely taken in by most of the individual pieces. It's worth spending an hour with.
December 1, 2007
Wasn't the kicked-in-the-stomach, emotionally wrenching experience like "Mother, Come Home" was, but this little novel is still a unique gift from an extremely talented artist. There's a sense of loss and sadness throughout, but the artist doesn't delve deep enough. It's far too short. I can't wait to read more from him - he's quickly becoming my favorite graphic novelist.
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