Book to Movie: V for Vendetta Review

Category: Apple Blossom-a story that seduces you

Genre: Graphic Novel

“Remember, remember the fifth of November, the gunpowder, treason, and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot!”

Immortal words on an immortal date by an immortal graphic novel spun into an immortal movie! The books that seduce me are all shades of grey. There is hope—there must always be growth and with it the chance for something to change for the better—but Apple Blossom books showcase the demons within us. The miscommunications, the defensive mechanisms, the vulnerabilities, the jealousies, the shame, the guilt, the anger, the betrayal that occurs when all we want is triumph, success, love, hope. I think that Apple Blossom books showcase what it means to be human and through it, connect us to each other and allow us to investigate our shortcomings and be more human. Rather than continue to fall prey to the demons on our shoulder, the monsters under our bed, the inner critic driving us to fail, books like these teach us another path. A path through the pain. Force us to stand in the discomfort and thereby release it. As V says, “Noise is relative to the silence preceding it. The more absolute the hush, the more shocking the thunderclap. Our masters have not heard the people’s voice for generations.”

If you’ve read George Orwell’s 1984, then you’ll be familiar with the dystopic world of V for Vendetta. Regardless, this graphic novel is illuminating. There really is no better time to be looking at the conditions of freedom and justice. To look at our society and see the price we pay for unity of thought. What we pay for our sense of safety. To put it more accurately, it’s time we look at who pays and who has been silenced. As V says, “The ending is nearer than you think, and it is already written. All that we have left to choose is the correct moment to begin.”

Begin by picking up a copy of this graphic novel at your local, independent bookstore, Crawford’s Books. Notice your discomfort at the violence. Notice how you cluck at the people on the pages, following orders that are so clearly unjust. Notice how V seems a monster and a savior. If you need convincing to see the movie, watch a review at A-Town Reviews. Then ask yourself, “How can I begin?”