As would hopefully be obvious from literally everything about this book: it's not Calvin and Hobbes. It's not funny, or light. Here we meet Watterson dealing less with imagination and grappling more with the demons that haunt you as you begin to lose things that you love.
The book offers a parable - a seemingly simple story with deeper implications for how we should think about our world. It defines the boundaries between fear, curiosity, and complacency that ultimately remove us from our greater surroundings.
I expect this book rewards multiple rereadings and contemplation. It's a beautiful and simple meditative tome placed well in today's age. Whether it's "The Archer" or the "Tao Te Ching" or the "Bible," a set of well crafted, spiritually enriching texts is a boon for anyone.
Finally, dismissing something offhand that a great artist and a great writer have spent - literally - years of their life working on because you don't get it in five minutes feels short sighted. Watterson was notoriously an artist who spent years both innovating and respecting the integrity of his medium. Why should we not grant him the creative freedom to work on what he believes is important.
Give it a chance - pick it up a few times. You may find yourself surprised at what you see.
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From the Publisher
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| The Complete Calvin and Hobbes | The Calvin and Hobbes Portable Compendium Set 1 | The Calvin and Hobbes Portable Compendium Set 2 | Calvin and Hobbes (Volume 1) | |
| Customer Reviews |
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3,538
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| Price | $67.66 | $12.29 | $18.60 | $9.99 |
| More from Bill Watterson: | Box Set | Box Set | Box Set | Paperback |
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Reviews with images
Not Calvin, Not Hobbes, Yet Wholly Watterson
If you're looking for more Calvin and Hobbes, you'll likely be disappointed. This isn't an extension of that universe, nor does it claim to be.But, if you enjoy visually striking books with stories that also make you think, you may like this one.I went in with low expectations and was not disappointed. Would I have liked a longer story? Sure.But the promotional materials don't make the book out to be anything more than what it is - a fable for grown-ups, created in a much different style than the authors' prior works.The style of the book reminds me of "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick," by Chris Van Allsburg. That book presented the reader with compelling visuals and let them imagine for themself what the story and implications were. I loved that book as a kid and felt nostalgic reading Watterson and Kascht's "The Mysteries."Like others have noted, this book was a fast read, but I've already read it a second time. It's a book with subtle and not-so-subtle themes and questions worth reflecting on, many of which align with past interviews Bill Watterson has given on his views. Here's some that I noticed:Humans are naturally afraid of what they don't understand. Once they understand a given mystery, it's no longer necessarily something to fear.At the same time, as a species, we've risen from the dark ages to technological heights by solving mysteries of the universe. Things our ancestors would look at in wonder are now commonplace to us. This commonplaceness leads to a lack of awe at the uncovered mysteries underlying these discoveries. It also leads to complacency about further discoveries.Also, our cumulative discoveries have given us a false sense of security that everything is within our control. It isn't.Further, just because we uncover answers to mysteries, doesn't mean we'll act appropriately on the knowledge. There's plenty of information available on "better" living, but many of us don't follow it and don't care.Lastly, humanity is merely a blip in the span of time and the vastness of our ever-expanding universe. The mysteries were here before we existed, and they'll likely exist long after we're gone.This also raises the question of whether all of the noise and strife and fighting of our past, present, and future eras really matter in the scheme of things. Given our lack of cosmic significance are there better ways we could spend our brief span of existence?Lastly, art appreciation is subjective. I hope for Bill Watterson and John Kascht that the experience of creating this work was 5-stars. Neither one of them owes us anything, so I'm grateful they decided to share this with us.I hope they're encouraged to share more creative works with us in the future.
Top reviews from other countries
Wolfdietrich
not quite what I expected but interesting.
Reviewed in Germany on March 29, 2024