Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Andre the Giant: Life and Legend

18465496From Goodreads:    Andre Roussimoff is known as both the lovable giant in The Princess Bride and a heroic pro-wrestling figure. He was a normal guy who'd been dealt an extraordinary hand in life. At his peak, he weighed 500 pounds and stood nearly seven and a half feet tall. But the huge stature that made his fame also signed his death warrant.

Box Brown brings his great talents as a cartoonist and biographer to this phenomenal new graphic novel. Drawing from historical records about Andre's life as well as a wealth of anecdotes from his colleagues in the wrestling world, including Hulk Hogan, and his film co-stars (Billy Crystal, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, etc), Brown has created in Andre the Giant, the first substantive biography of one of the twentieth century's most recognizable figures.


My Thoughts:

-    I was really disappointed with this book. 

-    I was hoping for more of Andre's life and him dealing with his physical condition. Instead the story is about Andre's career as a wrestler and the wresting world. 

-    I wanted more on his role in The Princess Bride. The movie only got a couple pages, and it didn't go into detail on anything. It was just a few fun panels.

-    I didn't like how Andre was portrayed. Cary Elwes describes him as a very kind and gentle soul. He only had high praise for Andre, and this graphic novel paints him in a darker light with very little to no mention of his kinder side.

-    There is a lot of F-bombs. It was a bit ridiculous how often that word showed up. 

-    Overall, I wouldn't recommend this. If you want to know about Andre, read As You Wish.

3 comments:

  1. It’s too bad that this turned out so disappointing. I’d be interested in reading a book that delves more into his life. I’ll have to pick up As You Wish sometime.

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  2. Good to know not that I was going to read it. But, that's sad that this book didn't talk about his gentler side.

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