La Perdida (Pantheon Graphic Library) Paperback – Illustrated, May 20, 2008

I don't write reviews often, but having recently bought a second copy as a gift, I couldn't help but see there do not seem to be many reviews of this really great graphic novel. Jessica Abel has created a work of art. She first masterfully brings you in to the Mexico City of a young U.S. expat, literally walking in the first pages through neighborhoods that she has captured magnificently, gradually coming into La Condesa and the Parque Mexico, the sights and sounds of Mexico City all around. Mexico City is a megacity, with millions of different stories and trajectories, and it has defeated many great writers. So right off the bat, hats off to Ms. Abel, who I really think nails one of the millions of slices in her first few pages as she draws you in. She uses the medium of the graphic novel, words and pictures, just wonderfully here, kind of a masterclass in how to do it. We start to get to know Carla, our protagonist, and no, I don't like Carla, but we are drawn into her story which ultimately crushes us along with her as reality, itself innocent enough, crashes against naive self-delusion and that fault of the young to conflate one's own search for identity with the way others may see and act toward us. The consequences of Carla's self-absorption and naivete are at first predictable, sometimes even charming, but ultimately devastating to her and those around her. While the actual events play off some unfortunate tropes of Mexico City, those tropes too are real, and even when they veer, we are already in Ms. Abel's world and there is no disconnect. Throughout, like any great novel, the story turns and moves and touches on all sorts of great contemporary and historical details, staying very true, at least to my experience, to place and time. Ms. Abel has gotten archetypal characters and an incredibly complex place right, mostly by a pretty sensitive and light touch, but she ends up, after taking us on a ride through sights, sounds, people and lives of Mexico City, delivering us a story that is not just entertaining, but carries wisdom and insight. And, its a great virtual visit to Mexico City. This is a book worth buying. If you are like me, you will enjoy reading it multiple times.

The book arrived on time as ordered. Reading through it is iffy. The artistry is good and the story appears interesting. However, I had to read the book for a college class and it's honestly just not that engrossing. I'm sure many people will like it, just not a page turner in my opinion. C4.

thnaks

Jessica Abel logra capturar el sentimiento de la Ciudad de México, y yo sentí como que conocía a todos sus personajes.Jessica Abel captures the feeling of Mexico City, and I felt as if I knew each one of her characters

Story was good but the switch back and forth between english and spanish sometimes threw a curveball in the story for me.

The theme is a young woman "Finding herself" in Mexico but for the most part she never really does - but decieves herself in the process. Equally though the key Mexico characters are also not part of the mainstream and living their own fantasies of revolution or getting ahead through the typical longshot capitalsit fantasies . Part of this is reflected in the discussion on and off of Frida Kahlo. In terms of reading it - the early segments are a bit of a slog and maybe way too long- the fianl third is gripping and suspenseful. I am not certain the lead chracter Carla ever really resolves anything. A bit of a mixed bag overall.

A unique look into mixed identities and borders between being mexican or a gringa. The illustrations are also great. The whole story does an amazing job at asking questions people are afraid to talk about.

I'd rate this a hate were it not for the graphics and language shifts; the problem is that they deliver this message: Chicanos are misogynist, parasites, and criminals posing as revolutionaries or more pointedly as legitimate critics of global capitalism. American expats also come in for criticism, but that hardly seems to be the message that the comic's American audience is likely to take away.

This Graphic Novel is difficult not to rave about. It's very thorough and well detailed as a story, which unfolds really well and the artwork is passable but also very cool. Recommended for it's exploration of Mexico and how an American sees the city but also interesting how Mexico as a place sees the central character and how people are affected by their arrival. It's a simple story but becomes deeper and deeper as it unfolds. Massively recommended as it seems at some point in the future it will become a movie because it's origins as a Graphic Novel are so inspiring.

Un buen rato leyendo una trama interesante, realista y natural.