Robot Dreams: 10/12/09

Robot Dreams by Sara Varon is a graphic novel about a dog and a robot and their tenuous relationship. Things fall apart after a trip to the beach on the Labor Day weekend when the water rusts the robot to immobility. He ends up stuck on the beach for the majority of the novel.

The novel is like an adult Boy, Dog and Frog book. It is heavy on the illustrations and light on the text. That doesn't make the story any less moving. Goofy as the set up is of a dog building a robot from a kit I was a little teary at the bittersweet ending.

From a friend's description of Happy Days by Samuel Beckett, I jokingly compared it to Robot Dreams. In all fairness to the dog, though, he does not intentionally strand the robot on the beach but he doesn't do enough to get the robot back in working order.

The graphic novel also reminds me of "The Godfella" Futurama Season 4, episode 8) where Bender ends up adrift in space. While out there he becomes the home to a miniature world where he plays god. Now the Robot in Robot Dreams doesn't have life forms growing on him but he does have time to dream of exotic adventures including flying.

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