Well Audrey Niffenegger is quite unique not merely in her craft of acquaintance, as a well established writer but she is able to contrive a world of magical realism with unparalleled simplicity yet deeply personal., since her illustrations depict an out-of our own world, perhaps an inner world which is hidden by our peers. Still when one finds himself in a ~dead-end street~ it springs forth unbound. My take on this work is that iτ's probably a "stitch" of creative ideas by an artist that feels e...

Strange book.At best I can describe it as a fairy tale for adults. Reading it restores that feeling of "wtf" I would get while attempting to read way ahead of my ability as a child, into a strange world of monsters and unfathomable sadness... way beyond Jack and Jill. But other that that sense of dislocation, I didn't bring anything forth with me when the book was finished. I even had to re-read it when someone asked how it ended; I couldn't remember. I suspect a week from now I won't remember a...

Ok, so I’ve read this graphic novel probably more than ten times but I re-read it to my friend who was in town in January and it’s one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors so thought I would include it on this blog.This graphic novel is strange and wonderful and the only tattoo I have is actually from this book; a picture of two women embracing who are topless but wearing long black skirts and long opera gloves. The tattoo represents self love, my astrological sign, Gemini, and als...

An unbelievably interesting and odd tale that I loved every second of.

Beautifully illustrated. She gives birth to a cat! How cool is that?!

The Adventuress is the first book by American author and artist, Audrey Niffenegger. It was created when Niffenegger was a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, developing from a series of drawings. The original books were hand printed: a limited edition of ten copies. The drawings are aquatints, featuring a young woman in a skirt and long gloves, created by an alchemist. After the woman is kidnapped by a Baron, the story takes some bizarre turns, including transformation into a...

This picture book was originally put together as a class project in college; be warned that it does not show any of the story telling prowess Niffenegger later exhibited in The Time Traveler's Wife. I ran across the book because it was shelved next to a copy of The Time Traveler's Wife, and its large format caught my eye.If you "read" this book, I recommend going through it the first time looking only at the pictures. Don't look at the words at all, or at least not until your second time through...

Nine times out of ten I think graphic novels are entirely forgettable, but this one made me want to buy it. Spare, poetic, haunting. I love it.I also loved Niffenegger's comments on the book's process of creation, which were included at the end. It surprised me that the whole thing was originally completed between 1983 and 1985, when the author was in art school. The style of The Adventuress feels entirely postmodern, and fits right in with the current taste. So...way ahead of its time?Like a bl...

Very strange without the context, and with the context, not much more than a curiosity. The afterword explains that the story was built around a couple random sketches. The technique for the art sounds cool, but it doesn't make for a good read.

What a weird little story.

A beautiful piece of art and a gloriously otherworldly tale.

A woman captured by an avaricious lord. A metamorphosis into a moth. A union with Napoleon. A cat born from a woman. A betrayal. A death. Spirit travelling. This is basically the story of Audrey Niffenegger's picture story The Adventuress. Fascinating artwork strung together with single sentences or labels to construct something of a mystical fairy tale. The story is second after the art as Niffenegger says in the afterword. She created the pictures as they came to her in a dream-like state and

The edition I read (Abrams, ISBN 081097052X) is physically lush. The spine is done up in something resembling green suede and the pages are thick like good cheese. I can see where some people might be turned off. I won't be sharing this story with kids under 14 because of the ambiguous "wedding night" scene. But, I liked the bizarre, dreamy, and inexplicable twists the story took (It reminded me of Robert Altman's "Three Women."). I don't know how she just up and left Maurice, but in both books

So I checked this book out of the library at the same as Niffenegger's other illustrated novel The Three Incestuous Sisters. I read The Adventuress second, and I found myself flipping through it much faster than I had with the other visual novel. As Niffenegger explains in what amounts to The Afterword, she created this book in two years while she was studying art in Chicago. In comparison, it is clear that The Three Incestuous Sisters was a labor of love over the course of many, many years. The...

After reading two novels by Niffenegger (Time Traveler's Wife which I loved at the end of my teens and Her Fearful Symmetry which amused and disturbed me in my 20s) I decided to see Niffenegger's art. I should also say that I saw an interview with Niffenegger and Steven King where Niffenegger was awkward and aloof while Steven King charmed the sun from the sky. I think the personality of the author matters, whether or not you like their writing...Overall a choppy, odd graphic novel literally bui...

Evan told me to read this book; it is an adult book categorized as a "novel in pictures." It's even more interesting to me now that I am taking a printmaking class (the illustrations are aquatints and I'm learning that technique!). The story itself is bizarre and surreal (woman gives birth to a cat) -- yet another interesting twist on visual storytelling (see also: The Arrival; Principles of Uncertainty; The Invention of Hugo Cabret). I haven't yet read "The Time Traveller's Wife," but if it's a...

I purchased this in NYC while attending Audrey's reading of Her Fearful Symmetry. Audrey is a visual artist as well as a fantastic author, and here we see the two mediums come together. Illustrating the story with a unique art technique called Aquatints, Audrey introduces us to a woman created through Alchemy, and the trials and tribulations she endures. Sometimes creepy and disturbing, always beautiful, her artwork grows in detail as the written words begin to diminish.. allowing the pictures

Ooooh, this is pretty. Sparse text, next to spare aquatint prints. Very nice. Something between Anke Feuchtenberger and Edward Gorey (perhaps like a comic written and drawn by the former, redrawn and packaged by the latter), but still with its own identity. An allegorical, dream-like story, with a female protagonist - I don't want to say more so as not to give too much away, but if that sounds at all appealing then I'd advise you to read this. I took it out from the library, but it's a book I'd

Young Niffenegger began the Adventuress as sketches with no aim in mind. She never found one.There was no harmony between the minimalist text and pictures. The 2 or 3 words printed with each picture were on the opposite page which upsets me -- all that wasted space! All that paper wasted! It never would have been published without the success of The Time Traveller's Wife.This book is a product of ego. What a shitty book!

The story itself is simple and the art is beautiful. I'm a fan of Niffenegger's novels so it was cool to see a piece of her visual art set to story. I enjoyed learning about the process it took to make the pictures - sounds intense and involves a nitric acid bath.I'd probably suggest this book as a library borrow, as opposed to a purchase.

I don't really know how to describe this - experimental and really really weird? Some of the illustrations were really interesting (I especially liked the theme of hands and eyes), others I didn't like much. I think in the end it was an interesting way of telling a story, the way she went about it and the content itself, but it wasn't really for me.

I don't think I really understood this. I certainly didn't appreciate it for what it should be appreciated for. I found the illustrations off-putting. The story wasn't beautiful/poetic enough to make up for that.

I feel a bit strange after reading this.The illustrations are amazing.But the storyline... I need more time to think about it.

Why is she topless? Such a dark & somber un-adventure.

This reminded me so much of the work of Edward Gorey, which is a high compliment indeed. Each pair of pages contain a pity sentence or two to move the story along and a corresponding piece of wonderful art.The story; well, it's a creative adventure which I'll hide below due to spoilers.(view spoiler)[ The Adventuress is created, forced into marriage, escapes, is imprisoned, cocoons herself and changes into a moth, meets and falls in love with Napoleon, gives birth to a cat, get betrayed, gets re...

Wow, what a beautiful book!I really enjoyed this. Although Audrey Niffenegger is an already established author, this was my first read from her, and I picked it up completely by accident with no intention of reading it in the first place. I'm glad I did.The Adventuress reads like a wonderfully illustrated mature fairy tale. It's enchanting, artsy, and short, but it has a lot to offer. The story was interesting, but it took the backseat to the artwork for me, which I felt could tell the story on

If anyone thinks The Time-Traveler's Wife is a perfect example of Audrey Niffenegger, they've just read that book. This is more along the lines of what I think of when I think about her. It's strange, very unique, and just a bit surreal and spooky. I never know what to expect, and that's exactly what I like about it.

This book felt like a little kid telling a story: first she was made, and then she was stolen, and then she burned a house down, AND THEN she turned into a moth, and then, and then... It has a bit of child like wonder with bizarre adult art and storytelling to drive you to the finish of this tale. I especially loved the cocoon art

Yeah. Good. Thought it was going to be more of a graphic novel than a picture book, and it was obvious it was very early work (a degree project) but it was enjoyable enough.

Very strange. Weird. Sad.A strange, weird fairy tale for sad adults. So just my kind of thing!