Ghost World by Daniel Clowes

Ghost World
Written and Illustrated by Daniel Clowes
ISBN 1-56097-427-3
80 pages
Fantagraphics, 1998

Genre: Graphic Novel; Adult Crossover

Readers Annotation
The summer after their graduation from high school, two teenage girls criticize the mundane and celebrate the bizarre in their town.

Plot Summary
Enid and Becky just graduated from high school and spend their days drifting aimlessly through their decaying town. They take pleasure in making fun of everything mercilessly; no one and nothing lives up to their demanding standards. Becky likes watching sordid television shows, while Enid finds strange people around town. At the diner she hangs out at, she meets John Ellis, who defends child pornography and serial killers for shock value, and spies on a middle-aged couple she deems the Satanists.

Enid and Becky meet Josh, who is rightly wary of them--he correctly suspects that they try to make him feel uncomfortable so they can make fun of him--but he's also interested enough in the girls that he lets themselves be persuaded by them to accompany them on some of their adventures. Enid convinces him to take her to a porn shop, and Becky and Enid also get him to drive them to a '50s diner to spy on the writer of a personal ad they have pranked into showing up.  They begin to show some remorse in some of their antics; after openly mocking the waiter and the restaurant, Enid returns to leave him a big tip.

Enid's father wants her to apply to a competitive college. Becky at first sees this as a betrayal, but then plans to follow Enid to college. Enid's negative reaction forms a crack in their friendship. So does Becky's burgeoning relationship with Josh, whom Enid is also interested in. By the time the fall rolls around, the girls' lives have moved in separate directions.

Critical Evaluation
This is a funny and smartly observed comic about adolescence. Becky and Enid both portray themselves as tragically hip, as too cool to care about anything, while the reader can see that they both care about things desperately, that their coolness is an act put up to protect themselves against the pain they've both suffered in their lives. Enid's gone through a series of stepmothers and spends the latter half of the novel trying to recapture the happiness she experienced as a young girl, first by listening to her favorite childhood record and then returning to an amusement park she visited as a child.

Enid and Becky's treatment of other people is realistically callous. They treat others as objects of their own amusement. Though never as mean as they were, the work stirred up memories of similar comments and superior opinions I held as a teen.

There are many hints throughout the novel that Enid and Becky's friendship will not last. Often, they appear to be talking about different things. Enid makes fun of things that Becky likes and rightfully--though cruelly--accuses Becky of having no ambition for her own life and following Enid around.  Becky ends up choosing a more conventional path, taking a job at a bagel shop and starting a real friendship or relationship with Josh. Enid is left alone and aimless; the ending of the story is ambiguous and sad. Some interpret it to mean that Enid commits suicide, while others believe that Enid has decided to leave her old life behind and start it as a completely new person, as she admits that she has fantasized about.

Clowes' blue-toned pen and ink illustrations are detailed and evocative. While Becky remains visually the same throughout the series, Enid tries on a series of looks, mirroring her desire to try on a series of alternate identities. Clowes portrays the "freaks" and "losers" Enid and Becky make fun of compassionately, showing both why they attract the girls' attention but also treating them with compassion and dignity. (It's important to note that Clowes gives himself the same treatment in the novel, as the comic artist that Enid loves, but dismisses as an "old perv").

About the Author
Daniel Clowes is a graphic novelist closely associated with Generation X and the underground comics movement. Most of his work has been published in Eightball, his own comics anthology, though the New York Times published one of his novels in serial formats. He's best known for Ghost World, which he also helped turn into a critically acclaimed feature film. His screenplay for that film was nominated for an Academy Award.

Curriculum Ties
The book is not particularly well suited for use in a school curriculum, though many have compared it favorably to the freshman year English classic, The Catcher in the Rye. A teacher who was trying to inspire modern teens might assign the graphic novel in conjunction with Catcher and ask students to compare Enid and Holden.

Booktalking Ideas
1. Talk about Enid and Becky's ironic attitudes and the types of things and people they love to hate.
2. Are Enid and Becky "frenemies"? Talk about how they may be outgrowing their friendship.
3. Talk about the novel's strange and wonderful supporting cast of characters.

Reading Interest/Level
While intended for an adult audience, the novel has a big young adult following. However, it is appropriate for high schoolers and above.

Challenge Issues
There is some nudity in the book; Enid tells the story of how she lost her virginity. Enid and Becky discuss sex, jokingly saying they "want to do" some of the oddballs they meet. They also discuss masturbation and the fact that they might be lesbians. Enid and Josh go to a porn store, where Enid picks up a giant dildo.

Should the book be challenged, the librarian should ideally read it. If not able to, s/he should read professional reviews of the book and descriptions of its potentially controversial content on a site like Common Sense Media. The librarian could point to its popularity, including being named an ALA Popular Paperback, and its general critical acclaim, as proof of its worth.

Selection Criteria
I wanted to read some graphic novels for this project. I was aware of Ghost World from the movie but had never read the book. I thought its subject matter (the lives of teenage girls) made it a perfect pick for this project.