Sorry, we are not able to source the book you are looking for right now.
We did a search for other books with a similar title, however there were no matches. You can try selecting from a similar category, click on the author's name, or use the search box above to find your book.
Marco Polo joins his father and his uncle--travellers and merchants--on a perilous transformative journey to the Mongol empire of Kublai Khan. Marco Polo: Dangers and Visions meets Marco Polo as an adult prisoner of war and then traces his coming of age story along the Silk Road.
- New take on a famous historical subject
- Striking, thoughtful, and inventive use of the graphic novel form
- With a Marco Polo series on Netflix, Polo is having a cultural moment
Industry Reviews
Italian cartoonist Tabilio and translator Schwandt breathe some new life into Marco Polo and his travels in this debut graphic novel. Using Polo's Il Milione as a launching pad, this fictional biography explores the Venetian traveler as much as it does his travels. Captured and imprisoned by the Genoese after the Battle of Korcula, an injured Polo awaits the negotiation of his release and meets Pisan writer Rustichello. When Polo's fluency in the language of Cathay (a medieval name for China) sparks his curiosity, Rustichello convinces Polo to share the story that would eventually become Il Milione, with an added focus on Polo's coming-of-age. The chronicle of Polo's daunting travels and perilous adventures with his father and uncle takes on fantastic proportions as it intertwines with dreams, visions, and Tabilio's transporting illustrations that are as complex in content as they are simple in style. Although it seeks to humanize the nearly mythic figure of Marco Polo, the narrative does not offer a challenge to its source material's Western, Christian worldview, and the resulting perspective on Asia's myriad cultures and history is awash in colonial exoticism. However, small anachronisms and metafictive comments from Rustichello invoke the many centuries of debate around Marco Polo's travelogue, situating readers to question where his perspective might depart from truth. Complex even for history buffs, this one requires and merits a second read.--Kirkus Reviews
-- "Journal"After leading a ship against the rival Genovese, Marco Polo, the son of a Venetian traveling merchant, finds himself in prison and begins to recount his own amazing adventures to his cellmate, who writes them down. Little do they realize that this elaborate narrative will become the world's most celebrated (real) travelogue--The Travels of Marco Polo--detailing Polo's long career and many adventures in the service of the emperor Kublai Khan. In this graphic novel, Tabilio distills the essence of the story, capturing all of its wonder and exoticism without losing its grand sweeping nature. The illustrations balance the intimate with the epic by alternating between unpaneled full-page illustrations or double-page spreads (some very busy, others using generous amounts of white or black space) and tight layouts with six to twelve rectangular panels per page. The sketchlike style, with thin lines, minimal details, and a limited color palette of cool, pastel tones, leaves lots of room for the reader's imagination. An author's note and glossary are appended.--The Horn Book Magazine
-- "Journal"At the beginning of the 14th century, the Venetian Marco Polo accompanied his father and uncle through Jerusalem, Baghdad, and Persia to the court of the Great Khan. They returned to Venice, then set out again for the Khan's court, where Marco served for nearly 20 years. Based on the Travels of Marco Polo, Italian illustrator Tabilio's acccount doubles back and forth in time through Marco's life, peopling his graphic novel with thinly outlined, empty-eyed figures and writing in blunt prose ('Venice is a salty hole, ' Marco tells a Mongol courtier). Panel sequences follow Marco on sea voyages and desert treks, through battles and privations ('When there is nothing to eat, ' Marco says about the Mongols, 'a warrior opens the vein of his horse and drinks the blood'). Renaissance-style maps accentuate the strangeness of unfamiliar lands with flat perspective. Followed in the book from boyhood to old age, Marco is tender, steely, ready for battle, and open to love. Though dense and sometimes hard to follow, the resulting epic casts a spell; readers won't soon forget Marco's kaleidoscopic journey--or the miracle that he survived to tell his story.--Publishers Weekly
-- "Journal"Few kids escape middle school without learning about Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who, with his merchant father and uncle, made his adventurous way to Cathay (China), became a favorite in the court of Emperor Kublai Khan, and told his tale to a cellmate in prison back in Italy. The story, told and retold since the fourteenth century, was and continues to be greeted with equal parts wishful credulity and utter skepticism. In this lush graphic novel import, Tabilio makes a virtue of uncertainty as he weaves in and out of Polo's narration to prisoner Rustichello, hinting at ways that braggadocio and fever, narrative skill and hunger for fame may have influenced the story so many have come to know. The format is the perfect vehicle for this kind of literary investigation, and graphic novel readers accustomed to nonlinear, image-dependent storytelling will be right at home puzzling out the boundaries between imagination and reality and reveling in Tabilio's intricate faux-antique maps, which comment cunningly on the world views of the players in the Polo drama. Polo's empty eyes and eccentric topknot are strongly reminiscent of fictional adventurer Tintin, inviting readers to muse on the nature of fictionalization as they fill in the blanks of an incomplete historical record and draw their own conclusions concerning the veracity of the Polo story. And therein lie many delights.--starred, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
-- "Journal"Framed by the story of how Marco Polo and Rustichello da Pisa wrote the famed travelogue while they were imprisoned in Genoa, this title is the latest take on the oft-adapted Il Milione, or The Travels of Marco Polo. A teenage Marco joins his merchant father and uncle, Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, as they traverse the Silk Road on a three-year journey to Khanbaliq (known today as Beijing). Once there, Marco befriends Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan) and serves a variety of roles at the Great Khan's court for nearly 20 years before returning to a much-changed Europe. This book is a historical record, a coming-of-age tale, and a musing on storytelling and storytellers. Rustichello's writing process is an apt vehicle for that commentary; he considers Marco his protagonist and is shown adding a three-headed dragon to the narrative while Marco is feverish, as that is what the European audience would expect from a work about the Far East. Tabilio's dynamic illustrations have a distinctly medieval style and include the occasional grotesque image, e.g., skeletal monsters or a detailed map of the divisions of the Mongol empire in the shape of Genghis Khan's dismantled body. However, these painstakingly intricate visuals, though attractive, may be hard on the eye. Many readers will find it difficult to become immersed in this volume, but it's an effective introduction to the explorer, especially compared with more typical biographies. Back matter includes a straightforward account of Marco Polo's life and a glossary of terms. VERDICT Useful as a supplemental text in art, history, geography, or literature classrooms, and recommended as an additional purchase for large graphic novel collections.--School Library Journal
-- "Journal"Marco Tabilio's gorgeous graphic novel Marco Polo vividly relates the story of the famed explorer. This graphic biography encompasses Polo's whole life, showing not just his time in the court of Kublai Khan but also the influences of his family on his chosen path as a traveling merchant. It sheds light on the lesser-known events of his later days as well, including time spent as a captain in the Venetian fleet and, following the defeat of those forces, his time spent in jail. From his cell, Polo narrates the story of his travels to Rustichello, a fellow prisoner and the eventual coauthor of The Travels of Marco Polo. As Rustichello tells Marco, 'You have the story. I have the pen. You talk. I'll write. It will be a fantastic tale.' It is. As portrayed through Tabilio's hand, Marco Polo is a vividly rendered, humanized figure, full of doubts and fears, loves and aspirations. Tabilio's art is highly stylized. Characters have blank eyes reminiscent of Little Orphan Annie; most pages are colored in monochrome, with different hues used to indicate different locations or time periods; and there are several elaborate, hand-drawn maps. Yet the storytelling is always clear, and the tale itself is grounded in Polo's actual accounts. Marco Polo: Dangers and Visions captures the excitement and spirit of exploration that have kept Polo's name and stories relevant, even as the world seems to get smaller.--starred, Foreword Reviews
-- "Website"ISBN: 9781512430691
ISBN-10: 1512430692
Published: 1st March 2018
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number of Pages: 208
Audience: General Adult
For Ages: 12+ years old
For Grades: 9+
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Country of Publication: AU
Dimensions (cm): 14.5 x 8.5 x 2
Weight (kg): 0.32
Shipping
Standard Shipping | Express Shipping | |
---|---|---|
Metro postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
Regional postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
Rural postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
How to return your order
At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.
Additional postage charges may be applicable.
Defective items
If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.
For more info please visit our Help Centre.