The artwork of Mazzucchelli adds another dimension to the story, and is able to portray emotion and mood very effectively despite often being highly abstract. A good example of this, and also one of my favorite scenes, was the "speech" given by the young Peter Stillman. A tic-tac-toe game, an inkwell and an acoustic guitar are only a few of the things from which Peter's word balloons come from. I thought this worked very well considering the Peter's mysterious nature and use of words that did not make sense. In some way, it really added to his character by making him seem even more removed from reality. There are so many more panels that I could talk about, because each was unique. Another set I enjoyed were the ones spelling out "tower of babel" in Quinn's notebook. I also really liked the full page panel with the detailed realistic map of New York, featuring Quinn walking on top of it. I think Mazzucchelli really captured the essence of Auster's work in his depiction, in fact, I think he even managed to elevate it!
Quinn is the character that I felt I got to know the most about, and felt so much sympathy for. You can't help but feel his loneliness radiate off of the page. I also found the elder Peter Stillman fascinating, though not much is told about him beyond his visions and what he had done to his son. It left me wondering what his ultimate goal was before he killed himself. I enjoyed the character of Paul Auster as well, especially because it made the book seem even more like a metafiction. He played a more prominent role that I thought he would. But who is the overall narrarator? That is what really got me in the end!
I only just read City of Glass today, but I feel like I should read it again...and again.