Malachai

The book was incredible. As not to ruin it for anyone interested, I will not disclose what happened in the end but it was amazing. In fact, the book turned out to be far better than the movie. Additionally the fact that it was a graphic novel added incrdibly to the story. What I will say is that V’s identity is never revealed. In fact, it is insignificant. The face that lies under the mask diminishes everthing that it truly stands for. In the book, we never know who V truly is. It is what V creates in the end that is the focus. Through his destruction, V birthed anarchy. In its ruins he set up foundations that helped to lead the people of London to freedom. This book left me with a better understanding of facism. While it is not something I long to know to a familiar degree, I still found the future government to be fascinating. V managed to take the rights of the government and give them to the people to do with as they pleased. This book managed to adress the problems of certain governments as well as outline an idea that should be true everywhere. That governments should be ruled by the people.

In the aftermath of this book, I find myself wishing to read more on the gunpowder plot. This book did not deal directly with the famous terrorist act itself, but rather it dealt with the ideas that drove the act. V stood for the same thing as did Guy Fawkes- that people should be governed by themselves, not by others. One of the minor characters was in fact the catalyst of the book. While he was seemingly irrelevant, Edward Finch is one of the more important characters. He is the one explaining how the public feels. And as one could imagine, they want their freedom. Every one.