In The Flesh - complete review

I already started a post about In The Flesh, however, that was before I read it. Here's the full write-up.




In The Flesh
Koren Shadmi
ISBN: 978-0345508713

To Sum: A collection of short stories that deals with relationships, love, lust, and passion and the different sides of those things. A very trippy collection. Some of the stories are much more "normal" with a twist - a boy loves a girl and it's slowly killing him because she's radioactive - while others are creepy - a Grandfather with a camera (old fashion film Minolta) for a head. Some of these stories have stayed with me for several days as I work through them - like how the Grandpa Minolta one puts a twist on real life situations.

What to Watch Out For: Well, it deals with love, lust, passion, and does it with pictures. Some have called it erotica, but I don't think it ever goes THAT far. However, it does show states of disrobe, it talks about sexual situations, and it does show people is those situations. It will show everything leading up to, but not the actual event. Just flipping through this book, I was worried that I had ordered something that violated library policy. Taken out of context, yes, those scenes are shocking. However, when read with the story, it works. These are not for children, nor teens. This is something for adults who have had to deal with relationships that don't work, one night stands and more.

Where to shelve: Without question, this is an adult graphic novel. The intended audience is adults, the situations are things most adults can relate to, and the content is adult. That being said, I do think it's a good addition to a library as it does explore some themes, and it does have a lot of thought into it.

How I heard of it: This one came highly recommended through a spotlight on graphic novels issue of a catalog/journal.

Other reviews:

http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/3707
http://www.anthemmagazine.com/story/1318
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345508713
http://pageandstage.blogspot.com/2009/04/koren-shadmis-in-flesh.html
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/5/32_5_zf_graphic_artist.html
http://www.powells.com/biblio/9780345508713?&PID=32442
http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2009/02/spotlight-graphic-novels-of-february.html