Publisher: Abrams
Release Date: March 2016
Price: $24.95
Author: Nick Hayes
Format: 272 pgs., Sepia Tone, 8-1/4" x 8-1/4", Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1945-5
Age Rating: N/A
ICv2 Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
Woody Guthrie and his songs are widely known in the U.S., so it’s surprising that a British cartoonist created this graphic biography. Hayes took on the challenge of illustrating a large chunk of Woody’s life and creative process. The illustration style may not connect with some readers, but it mostly works well in setting the stage for the songs.
This book begins in Woody’s teen years, with flashbacks to his childhood, and makes no effort to sugar-coat his life and in his family’s background. The tragedy of his mother’s deterioration, eventually diagnosed as the same genetic defect that eventually killed Woody, is heartbreaking. On the other hand, Woody did himself and his family no favors, paying more attention to his music and his causes than to his wife and children in the early days. The book only covers the first of his three marriages.
Woody’s time in southern California may come as a surprise to some readers, but it is where he polished his craft and wrote many of his songs.
This book shows why Woody had a lot to sing about, and explains the sources for the concepts in his most famous song. One chapter is devoted to "This Land is Your Land," and to how bitter the rough draft of the song was. It was mellowed slightly by the rewriting of the refrain, but the full version of the song is still not a happy one.
The failed dreams of the various members of Woody’s family are shown as part of his life, but at the heart of it is the tale of a man who wanted to tell the stories of the working men, not just the heroes.
The book is mainly for adults, although some older teens might enjoy it.
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.
