Thoreau at Walden by John Porcellino

This is a graphic novel, which depicts Thoreau’s time at Walden using only Thoreau’s words. The afterword describes it by saying “Thoreau at Walden is, like Walden itself, not a definitive or chronological account of Thoreau’s stay at the pond, but rather an impression of his experience there, and the philosophy that both brought him to its shores and resulted from his time there.”

I liked that this book took a fantastic piece of literature and succeeded in putting it in a very new format. It really works as a graphic novel because you can visually see Thoreau experiencing the world around him. It also compresses what can be a tedious read, especially for a teen, into a very simple and enjoyable one, yet at the same time it does do a good job of getting the major ideas behind Walden across. I also really enjoyed the very simplistic art style that Porcellino uses. The biggest down side for me is that I just don’t see there being that much interest in it for teens, or anyone for that matter. Walden appeals to certain people, but there are a lot of people who just don’t have an interest in reading it and I see that being the same for this book. Also, while I liked it, there is nothing truly exceptional about it. So, I am somewhat undecided but I would probably vote No for now.