HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Things have been quite hectic this past holiday season, and it’s actually so crazy how quick the time has passed. As such, I’ve found myself with less time to do book reviews, so this will be a shorter and sort of more generalised one.

Turns out I did start something by fishing out mum’s old Calvin and Hobbes collection: because pretty soon everyone wanted to read them, too. Genuinely, memories of us all sitting around the living room this Christmas and sharing copies of Calvin and Hobbes, Tintin and Asterix and Obelix will be a memory I will hold dear to my heart for the rest of my life.

I’ve always loved reading about Tintin’s adventures with his sweet little dog, Snowy. When I was younger, I even wanted to grow up and become a reporter like him. It was my dream job, for a time. Traveling the world, meeting new people, making friends, solving cases and spreading positivity wherever I could was my one goal in life. I so wanted to do what Tintin did; and do it with my own four-legged best friend right there with me the whole way: a steady presence by my side. And although they wouldn’t have been able to talk, their company would have been enough. What did we ever do to deserve dogs?

By contrast, I’m still in my job hunt era. Though a girl can still dream!

Tintin is an easy and fun read and I was hit with such a strong nostalgia as I revisted all of the adventures of our intrepid young Belgian reporter. It felt like visiting old friends: especially seeing Captain Archibald Haddock, Thomson and Thompson, and Nestor, all brought to life on the page again.

I will say, reading our Tintin collection now, older than I was as a child, it’s hard to stomach the racism that came so naturally to people back then. It is particularly obvious when seeing depictions of native peoples; the representations are so disrespectful and problematic and, as someone who has travelled and been to some of the places portrayted, it felt like such a suckerpunch to the gut each time it happened.

As such, my faovurite Tintin adventure is the Secret of the Unicorn, particularly because there’s less racism present in this comic than that is found in the others. I’m also someone who loves pirate stories – and I also happen to love the open sea. On top of that, who doesn’t love a good old hunt-for-treasure-story, anyway?

Following an unexpected find at a market, Tintin and Captain Haddock are whirled away into a story about the Captain’s ancestory. One so full of suspense that, even being familiar with the story and how it ends, I found myself happily on the edge of my seat, like I was as a child again; as though reading this for the first time.

Truthfully, for how old the comic is, having first been published in 1943, the adventure and story hold up so well today. And, as with all the Tintin comics, there are thrills, twists and an unending excitement. It’s not the most out there story by far, either, because Tintin has gone to the moon! And in the end, who cares about the impossibility of it all, because Tintin is just fun.

Reading these books again, I was reminded of the spectacular animated adaptation by Steven Spielberg, The Adventures of Tintin, that was released in 2011. Ugh, I adored that film, and still do. I’m going to make the time to watch it again soon. This film was also based off of the Secret of the Unicorn comic, and it is looong overdue a sequel. I’d be straight to the cinema if they ever did get round to following it up. It was such a feel-good film!

Calvin and Hobbes and Tintin now done, I, despite Christmas long being over, am still taking my turn getting through what we have of Asterix and Obelix. Another childhood classic that I can’t get enough of.

So, until then! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year!