Caroline 's Reviews > Ghost World

Ghost World is the weirdest and worst graphic novel I’ve read to date. It has no plot and is instead a disjointed collection of scenes centered on two blasé teenagers, Enid and Becky, as they navigate their world. The operative word here is “disjointed.” This graphic novel doesn’t make sense. On the surface, the scenes are snapshots of a life full of superficial arbitrariness. However, I got the distinct impression that I was missing something, that I was too dumb to understand some greater intention. On the other hand, authors should never make their works so nebulous that readers can’t know for sure that they’ve missed something. I’m therefore reviewing Ghost World as is, without trying to puzzle out some deeper meaning, and as is, it’s boring and weird.

Ghost World is memorable for the character of Enid, a domineering, cynical protagonist—but unfortunately not the likable variety of cynical. Author Daniel Clowes’s failed effort to make her likable highlights the tricky nature of crafting such characters. For the reader to warm to them, cynical protagonists have to have some kind of charm or at least be relatable in some way. Enid is neither charming nor relatable (at least for this reader), so her constant unimpressed and snide observations just come off as rude and mean, and that soured me on the entire reading experience.

Clowes’s artistic style is somehow good and awful at the same time. Illustrated in black, white, and light blue, the images look garish. All the characters stand straight as boards and have exaggerated stiff mouths that stay closed despite the speech bubbles. For some reason most of the supporting characters are ugly, sometimes to the point of grotesque. On the positive side, Clowes’s style is precise and neat—and has such a strong signature look that it’s unlikely to ever be mistaken for someone else’s.

As a plotless work, Ghost World has an aimless feel, which I’m sure Clowes intended, but most readers enjoy cohesive stories that have an obvious point. I therefore doubt the average reader of graphic novels will enjoy Ghost World. Those who appreciate experimental work might. For me, unfortunately this was a waste of valuable reading time.