Ghost World

Bibliographic Information

Author: Daniel Clowes

Publisher: Fantagraphics Books

ISBN: 1560974273

Copyright Date: 1997

Genre

Graphic Novel, Realistic Fiction

Reason Book Chosen

I chose this book because I enjoyed it when I was a teenager and because it is a popular graphic novel, especially within the category of realistic fiction. Additionally, it won the 1998 Ignatz Award Winner, Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection.

About the Author

Daniel Clowes is an Academy Award-nominated author, screenwriter and cartoonist of alternative comic books. Most of his work appears, first, in his ongoing anthology Eightball, a collection of self-contained narratives and serialized graphic novels. Several of these narratives have been collected and published separately as graphic novels, most notably this one.

Reader’s Annotation

Two jaded hipster girls on the “outside”, harp on their suburban town and its outcasts, while trying to sort out their futures, their feelings, and their friendship.

Plot Summary

High School is ending and Enid Coleslaw and her best friend Rebecca don’t know what to do with themselves or what this really means. They spend most of their time making fun of and hating on all the pathetic people they come across in their suburban town, while on mini adventures. They visit diners, record stores, an x-rated adult store, have a garage sale, watch tv, and hang around. They rope their friend Josh into driving them around, and use other people to get little things they want. They play some mean pranks on people, adults included, whom they think are lame. In Enid and Rebecca’s world, everyone is lame or too wealthy, too pretentious, too geeky, too boring, too annoying, too anything, and everyone is trying too hard to be cool. Except Enid and Rebecca of course. Nothing matters because nothing is significant enough. They are so above everyone and so self aware, at least on the surface. At a closer look, though, we see them question their future, their sexuality, the strength of their friendship, and their feelings about growing up.

Critical Analysis

This graphic novel captures many of the emotions that teens cycle through constantly – sadness, anger, confusion, anxiety, alienation, boredom. It captures the bleak and cruel world of teen girls who want to be different and whom feel different from all other teens - yet they really aren’t that different at all. They face many of the same issues and ask themselves many of the same questions that other teens do. This book covers a vast amount of topics in a short span, mainly how a person (Enid) changes and grows and how her relationship with her friend and her outlook on community also changes. The artwork is bathed in a ghostly light blue, and this adds to the mood and setting. The dialogue is very real, the topics the girls discuss and they way they discuss them. There is a lot of ambiguity in this book (ex: is Enid or Rebecca actually gay? How does Enid really feel about Josh?) which may leave a reader frustrated or satisfied, depending on the reader.

Themes/Issues/Tags

High School, Insecurity, Hipster, Punk, Friendship, Sex, Virginity, Loneliness, Nostalgia, Suburbia, Angst, Boredom, Identity, Sexuality, Individuality, Conformity, Stereotypes, Aging, Change

Challenging Subject Matters

Homosexuality

Defense: It is not clear if Enid and Rebecca are gay. The point is to bring up the idea that teens question these things (i.e. their sexuality) and that this is sometimes normal (i.e. even if it turns out they are not actually gay).

Morality – Some of the things Enid and Rebecca do are cruel and mean and the book and characters don’t seem to have a conscious about it.

Defense – Teens can be cruel! Part of bonding is making fun of “the other” or others, in order to create a “we” (i.e. “we are special, we are different from them”). Underneath, the characters do have a conscience that can be seen.

Derogative Comments and Inappropriate Language – Enid and Rebecca make fun of Jews, Asians, etc.

Defense – Enid and Rebecca make fun of everyone. The book does not say that this is ok. The book ops to show life and its characters “as is” without making too much commentary, or pushing opinions about how we should feel about these characters.

Curriculum Ties

End of High School - Graduating Seniors

Reading Level

12+

Interest level

14-17