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The Book of Leviathan Paperback – Bargain Price, June 24, 2008

by Peter Blegvad (Author)

4.6 27 ratings

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In a dazzling work of graphic fiction, a surreal journey through a wonderland eerily like real life, The Book of Leviathan chronicles an infant's investigations into life's great mysteries. Endowed with a preternatural interest in metaphysics and philosophy, yet as confused as any innocent by the vagaries of adult behavior, little Levi bears the added burden of living in a world that can literally change at the stroke of a pen.

Aided by a wise pet ("Cat") and a favorite toy ("Bunny"), Levi encounters a frothing ectoplasmic Hegel and a woefully off-the-mark Freud. In less heady adventures, Levi contemplates why his parents disappear at night (and whether he is wholeheartedly pleased when they return each morning); the regrettable liberties taken with the English language; and the relationship between Bennetton and Pablo Neruda.

Peter Blegvad's The Book of Leviathan assembles the cream from Levi and Cat's adventures, published in The Independent on Sunday newspaper in the twilight years of the old Millennium. Quirky and referential, dark and droll by turn, it follows the faceless baby Levi's journeys into and out of the world. They are escapes, but as some sage once observed, only a jailer would consider the term "escapist" pejorative.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Peter Blegvad's comic strip is one of the greatest, weirdest things I've ever stared at. Give me Leviathan or give me death." -- Matt Groening

"Whenever I'm asked for proof that literature, art and poetry can exist in comic form, I point to Peter Blegvad." -- Ben Katchor, author of The Jew of New York

"Blegvad has opened up the crib-fenced world that precedes words and filled it to the brim with deadpan poetry and gnomic chatter." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"Funny, enigmatic and beautifully limned- what more could one ask?" -- Glen Baxter, The Observer, Book of the Year

"The greatest, weirdest thing." -- Times Literary Supplement

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001VNBA7M
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Overlook TP (June 24, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.84 x 0.65 x 10.3 inches

Customer Reviews:
4.6 27 ratings

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Larry L. Looney

A WONDERFUL JOURNEY INTO STRANGENESS...

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2004

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I've been aware of the depth and breadth of the mind of Peter Blegvad for many years now, through his musical endeavors (with Slapp Happy, as well as his solo work) - his creations have always been stimulating, bringing with them smiles and incentives for further thought and intellectual and contemplative explorations. I had heard about his comic strip `Leviathan' (which appeared regularly in THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY in Britain), but until I purchased a copy of this collection, I had never actually experienced it firsthand. I'm sorry I waited so long - this is a treasure.
Matt Groening (creator of `The Simpsons' and `Life in Hell') is widely recognized as a purveyor of twisted and useful reflections of real life, is quoted on the back of this volume: `Peter Blegvad's comic strip is one of the greatest, weirdest things I've ever stared at.' I heartily concur. Blegvad combines his senses of humor and irony with his intellectual strengths and his amazing artistic abilities into `Leviathan', giving his readers an opportunity to take one of the wildest rides they're liable to experience. The episodes in this book range from purely humorous takes on a baby's view of the world he inhabits to visual illustrations of puns to hallucinogenic explorations of the conscious and subconscious to sublime meditations on everything from the most seemingly insignificant daily occurrences to the meaning of life and death. Quite a range, right? Blegvad pulls it off beautifully. Perhaps I'm a little prejudiced by already being a huge fan of his music, but none of his outings collected here come across as shallow or pretentious in any way. The subtleties are many, the layers of wit are as innumerable as those in a chunk of mica - each reading reveals something missed the time before.
Leviathan himself - `Levi', as he is called - is a visual as well as a philosophical enigma. He's drawn without facial features, which allows the reader to project his/her own personality/outlook more readily onto the narrator. His parents and his older sister appear in some episodes, but for the most part he's accompanied and guided through the mazes of life (in all its dimensions) by the family cat, who gently imparts wisdom while at times openly expressing amazement that humans manage to survive without caretakers. The artist's hand appears from time to time, allowing him to more directly interact with the characters and events depicted in the strip - and on a couple of occasions, the characters themselves make attempts to escape the bounds of the graphic territory.
I read this book in a couple of sittings - but I've revisited it often and at great length and leisure, with new rewards each time. In his introduction, Rafi Zabor admits that he has encountered a few `intelligent, literate, artistically sophisticated people' who just don't get it - and I suppose that's inevitable in any artistic undertaking. It resonated within me at the deepest level - I can't recommend it highly enough.

11 people found this helpful

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Jeffrey Hays

A comic that's clever, beautiful and intellectual

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2013

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Leviathan is certainty one of the weirdest, most intriguing and ingenious comics I've ever come across. It's highly referential (with nods to art, literature and poetry on every page) and playful, as the characters are often aware that they're in a comic (and at one point, try to escape the page). Peter Blevgard's art is a fascinating exercise in styles, shifting from black-and-and white crosshatching to watercolor wash, using color sparingly but powerfully. Every page comes as a complete surprise- Leviathan is directionless and infinitely inventive.

2 people found this helpful

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Bitsy Bogs

An amazing journey that I still go back to after years of re-reading it.

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2014

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This little graphic novel has many layers to it, but the 1st layer consists of a baby without facial features and a cat. They go through many adventures, often very metaphorical, seen through the babies perspective. Philosophers will find things to laugh at that some might not appreciate. This is a book you will keep forever, because you can always get something else out of the storyline.

2 people found this helpful

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number7graceSt.

Best

Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2013

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you will just have to read and see this surreal comic strip... But if you cannot see for whatever reason, then this book gives you the best collection in your hand.

Why did you come here?

One person found this helpful

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JPhil

Weird one

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2013

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I got it more for nostalgic reasons, from when I worked in the book department of a museum store. If you're looking for something different, this is definitely different.

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2012

I had never heard of Peter Blegvad or Leviathan when I picked this book off the shelf of a city bookstore many years ago. As a fan of comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes and Krazy Kat I was prepared to give it a go and so I started reading it on the train and I read it all the way home, about an hour, and then as soon as I got home I went to my room and didn't come out until I finished it. More surreal than Calvin and more intellectual than Krazy it is nevertheless a pure delight. Levi the baby of the title grapples with the existential horror of life outside the womb, his parents are well meaning but ineffectual while his sister is a source or constant torment. To help him through life's struggle he is aided by Cat a mercurial shape shifting trickster, the ghost of Hegel, Beelzebub himself and of course Bunny who's rough edges and patina are proof of Levi's love.

This is a classic and one of the books I would need to save if the house was on fire.

It's not what you expected it's the opposite!

2 people found this helpful

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dorothyb

Fantastical Absurdity on Paper

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2003

Dep!*
*(WOWZA!!)
I was sold when I heard Matt Groening's review, but if that's not enough for ya here's my own...
I read this book in one sitting--how often can you call a comic anthology a "page-turner"? Levi is a literal tabula rasa, Cat is the perfect nonhuman-but-more-adult companion, and let us all stop a moment and ask ourselves... what IS the opposite of bunny?
Confused yet?
This book is a strange "Being John Malkovich" escape into the brilliant mind of Peter Blegvad, who I hope to be seeing much more from in the near future. It stimulates the mind, rewards the intellect, and may even teach you a thing or two. Blegvad somehow weaves together philosophy, literature, myth, and the innocence of childhood in a corrupt world, wrapped in wordplay and inserted into a comic medium it continually makes fun of.
"Leviathan" reminds me of Groening's "Life in Hell," but "Leviathan" is much more, with so much intellectual and visual appeal it leaves Groening's cartoon far behind. Plus, Leviathan plays upon so many levels I'm sure I'll get something new out of each reading.
Occasionally the punning gets a little too blatant, but it's always forgiven before the end of the next comic.
Don't pass this one up. Your brain deserves it!

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2016

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The book kinda fell apart..

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Top reviews from other countries

TripF

A one-off masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 11, 2019

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This is a book I can never tire of reading. It's a collection of the best of the strips artists, musician and general renaissance man Peter Blegvad did for The Independent on Sunday between 1992 and 1999. Leviathan balances the slanted worldview of Krazy Kat with deep philosophy, terrible puns and trompe l'oeil Road Runner gags, all in the company of a faceless baby and his cat companion. If that sounds like your kind of thing, dive right in. It's smart Alec-y and pleased with itself, but has every right to be. I'd love the complete collection.

Simon Turner

Cartoons for adult thinkers that are funny, philosophical, linear-thinking and original

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2017

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Brilliant stuff. Cartoons for adult thinkers that graced the Independent newspaper through the '90s. Blegvad is funny, philosophical, linear-thinking and original. The last third of the book is weaker but the other two-thirds have highlight after highlight after highlight.

Raf

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2015

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A very well made book with excellent illustrations and funny insightful dialogue