![]() More shockingly, the story ends much earlier, at about the novel’s halfway point. The most surprising changes for me shouldn’t have been, because my colleague at the Shelf did warn me, but I’d forgotten: the story is somewhat gentled, with (as the reviewer says) a lowered body count, but please note that The Jungle gentled is still a hard, hard ride. The narrative is pared down and reduced mostly to dialog. Kristina Gehrmann’s illustrations are chiefly done in black and white, with occasional red ink for emphasis: the meat-packing industry offers lots of possibilities for red ink, but it is used sparingly and in perhaps unexpected ways here. It is a dense and extremely grim story, well-served by the visual form. I think The Jungle was probably an excellent candidate for this treatment. ![]() So, you understand that I was excited to see a new graphic adaptation offered and positively reviewed at the Shelf. ![]() I treasure my parents’ copy (and here as well is the painting I did from it, in case it’s not clear that I’m a fan). I know it has a reputation in some quarters for being dry and polemical, and that perspective is valid, but I find it a gripping and affecting novel. A little preface to say that I first read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle as a young person – before high school, certainly – off my parents’ shelf, and it made a serious impression I’ve read it several times over the years, and I still marvel at it. ![]()
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