Scan barcode
saidtheraina's review against another edition
3.0
Made me cry, of course.
It's a beautifully designed book, and the story is inevitably heart-breaking.
It chronicles the relationship of the author with his significant other, who died while they were still engaged*.
Letters chronicling their travels, photographs of their adventures, drawings of her in the hospital, postcards from one to the other. It's a bit of a mishmash, a jumble, a potpourri of memories. There's a beauty in the mixed-bag feeling.
I never got the sense of who either of these people really were, though. I don't even know what she did as a career. And I didn't get the sense that she was particularly likable.
I wonder what is missing from the apparently-longer original paperback version.
That doesn't make it any less affecting, though.
My favorite parts where the traditionally paneled graphic novel sections - about their hijinks getting to France and of her funeral. Makes me really hope he does some autobio work in the future.
*I guess that's a spoiler, but really, you should know what you're getting into.
It's a beautifully designed book, and the story is inevitably heart-breaking.
It chronicles the relationship of the author with his significant other, who died while they were still engaged*.
Letters chronicling their travels, photographs of their adventures, drawings of her in the hospital, postcards from one to the other. It's a bit of a mishmash, a jumble, a potpourri of memories. There's a beauty in the mixed-bag feeling.
I never got the sense of who either of these people really were, though. I don't even know what she did as a career. And I didn't get the sense that she was particularly likable.
I wonder what is missing from the apparently-longer original paperback version.
That doesn't make it any less affecting, though.
My favorite parts where the traditionally paneled graphic novel sections - about their hijinks getting to France and of her funeral. Makes me really hope he does some autobio work in the future.
*I guess that's a spoiler, but really, you should know what you're getting into.
sebarose's review against another edition
4.0
A great, small book. All the write-ups that recommend this book do too much to recommend it. It was a great read, but I wish I dicsovered this book accidentally or had a friend push it on me without knowing anything about it instead of reading reviews about it (for the most part, the reviews are longer than to book, btw).
kricketa's review against another edition
4.0
beautiful and heart-rending but never overwrought. i wanted it to be longer.
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
5.0
Note: I do appreciate that this was out of the press' usual genre of graphic novels and more a favor for a friend not up to self-publishing a book originally intended for family and friends. However, I wish there had been alt text of the images of handwritten letters due to these being difficult to decipher on my screen.
baroque's review against another edition
5.0
How do you write a review about a book like this? Anders shares with us a few key memories about the love of his life, Cheryl Weaver.
If I have one valid criticism, I suppose it's that I wish the book was longer. But I figure it's rude to even ask for that-- he's let us pry into this private part of his life for long enough. This book, in its sparseness, makes you want to meet her, want to know her as he does, so perhaps this criticism is also a strength.
Possibly written as a tribute to her, to help conclude (in the vaguest sense of the word) his own feelings, and/or an attempt to help others who have faced similar tragedy-- this is a beautiful little attempt to immortalized her and let the world know that it lost a good person to a horrid illness.
I met Anders very briefly once, and I'm certain I came off as a bumbling idiot (I think I said something to the effect of "I understand comic paneling"). "Big Questions" is one of my favorite, probably my absolute favorite, graphic novel, so I was naturally a bit nervous. I hadn't read this book yet, but I had bought it, knowing what it was about and already blown away by the gorgeously tragic title. I handed Anders a stack of books to sign; "Don't Go Where I Can't Follow" was one of them. I barely thought twice about asking him to sign it; half-heartedly, I figured that if he was open enough about it to publish the book, he wouldn't be affected by signing it. That was an ill considered thought.
He signed it, kindly, with a drawing of Cheryl's glasses, without a negative word about it. Now, having read the book, I've read and obviously realized that he's had reservations about publishing this private look into his life; this should've been obvious. So, I'm sorry, Anders. Publishing this book to memorialize her and to help others doesn't mean you should have to sign it for ill-considered strangers like me.
Famous writers have often said that writers write to expel demons, to deal with the problems and questions in our own lives. This is why I write fiction, this is why I wrote this review, this is why Anders Nilsen wrote "Don't Go Where I Can't Follow," and why I hope he'll continue to write intelligent, yet emotionally-sensitive graphic narrative for years to come.
If I have one valid criticism, I suppose it's that I wish the book was longer. But I figure it's rude to even ask for that-- he's let us pry into this private part of his life for long enough. This book, in its sparseness, makes you want to meet her, want to know her as he does, so perhaps this criticism is also a strength.
Possibly written as a tribute to her, to help conclude (in the vaguest sense of the word) his own feelings, and/or an attempt to help others who have faced similar tragedy-- this is a beautiful little attempt to immortalized her and let the world know that it lost a good person to a horrid illness.
I met Anders very briefly once, and I'm certain I came off as a bumbling idiot (I think I said something to the effect of "I understand comic paneling"). "Big Questions" is one of my favorite, probably my absolute favorite, graphic novel, so I was naturally a bit nervous. I hadn't read this book yet, but I had bought it, knowing what it was about and already blown away by the gorgeously tragic title. I handed Anders a stack of books to sign; "Don't Go Where I Can't Follow" was one of them. I barely thought twice about asking him to sign it; half-heartedly, I figured that if he was open enough about it to publish the book, he wouldn't be affected by signing it. That was an ill considered thought.
He signed it, kindly, with a drawing of Cheryl's glasses, without a negative word about it. Now, having read the book, I've read and obviously realized that he's had reservations about publishing this private look into his life; this should've been obvious. So, I'm sorry, Anders. Publishing this book to memorialize her and to help others doesn't mean you should have to sign it for ill-considered strangers like me.
Famous writers have often said that writers write to expel demons, to deal with the problems and questions in our own lives. This is why I write fiction, this is why I wrote this review, this is why Anders Nilsen wrote "Don't Go Where I Can't Follow," and why I hope he'll continue to write intelligent, yet emotionally-sensitive graphic narrative for years to come.
solitarysoul's review against another edition
4.0
Pure laziness brought me to this --- my book was on the table at the opposite side of the couch and I had a cat on my lap so instead I reached to my partner's bookshelf and grabbed this. Packed an unexpected punch.
janedallaway's review against another edition
5.0
"It's just love and loss. And everyone, for better or worse, can relate to that" is what it says in the afterword. And it's true. I found this incredibly moving and had tears running down my face by the time I finished.