Tree of Love is volume three of Patrick Atangan’s series of graphic novels adapting folktales from around the world. This volume adapts an Indian story of love and loss, about a prince who falls in love with a peasant girl, a flower peddler who is able to change into a tree. The prince loses the girl, only to find her much later. The story is told in one panel per page, 48 panels in all, telling the story in a way that evokes Indian art and fashion.
This is an interesting book. The background of each page is a colorful geometric pattern, much like wallpaper, and it looks very nice. The art in each panel is very attractive in its classical way, which gives the reader a real feel for the story. This is a well presented and interesting book if you care for the subject matter, but for anyone who doesn’t have a passing interest in the legend, there’s just not a lot here. More to the point, this book seems awfully slight at $12.95 for 48 pages, even in a nice hardcover volume. Maybe there’s a market out there that I’m not aware of, but to me, it’s hard to justify the price point for this book.
If you are in the market for a volume of Indian folklore and don’t mind the price, this is the book for you.