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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
I feel like this book was interesting, but the target that the author wanted me to hit was missed. Interesting art but I feel like the storytelling was very harshly separated and there's no closure.
2 1/2 stars. The illustrations were lovely. I really enjoyed that aspect. I haven't spent much time analyzing graphic novels and so I hope to read more to do it properly. The story was of a young woman finding herself, experiencing loss, abandon and love. But this part of her young life was so angsty and arty/pretentious that I could. Not. Get. Past. It. I guess I saw a smidge of myself at about 16 years old. I was embarrassed. I feel a bit harsh reviewing it this way. I have a hard time not being cynical when it seems like someone is trying too hard. I too came of age in Iowa City, so there was some shared nostalgia there I can appreciate.
If I could give half stars, I would give this a 3.5. This book is good and real. This memoir is about the authors experience of the the death of her uncle and the aftermath. She visits an abandon town and finds some pictures left behind. She takes the pictures and keeps them. Thus begins a journey of abandoned places. I love the idea of visiting abandoned places. I think that the way that Radtke tells her story along with the journey of abandoned places interesting. She has a way of telling her story in a very real and painful way. I can feel the sadness she is wearing like a jacket as I read.
2018 Read Harder Challenge: A comic that isn't published by Marvel, DC, or Image. Hmmmm. Very mixed feelings on this one.
While reading it, I identified strongly with Kristen's search for meaning and permanence, especially in one's early twenties, especially through the lens of art study. I learned some things I didn't know -- for instance, that Hitler designed his buildings for "ruin value," and that the Great Peshtigo Fire happened (it's amazing that this event isn't discussed more). I loved her depiction of insomnia on p. 241, and though her art lacked some kind of sizzle, I appreciated details like window reflections and phone format changes over time. Her writing was also incredibly poetic.
But I maintain a curmudgeonly feeling about art that's about how hard it is to do art, and graphic novel memoirs seem to be particularly guilty of this. "I have nothing to write about except how I have nothing to write about, BUT WAIT IT BECAME THIS BOOK, so nothing IS something, ha-HA!" is not a story, IMHO. And with Kristen, I felt like I was waiting for a transformation or revelation that never came. I wish she'd waited a few more years to write this, so she could offer some introspection: Did leaving her fiance teach her something about relationships? Did stealing and then losing a dead person's memorial (this part was awful) prompt her to do or learn anything at all? Did losing her uncle change her approach to her own health? Did traveling to ruins in other countries give her any perspective on her white American privilege? Did turning her experiences into art help in her search for meaning? Did she include sources for any of the research mentioned in the book? All of these answers seem to be "no." And while that may be ironically appropriate for an existential book (the point is, there is no point), I wanted more.
While reading it, I identified strongly with Kristen's search for meaning and permanence, especially in one's early twenties, especially through the lens of art study. I learned some things I didn't know -- for instance, that Hitler designed his buildings for "ruin value," and that the Great Peshtigo Fire happened (it's amazing that this event isn't discussed more). I loved her depiction of insomnia on p. 241, and though her art lacked some kind of sizzle, I appreciated details like window reflections and phone format changes over time. Her writing was also incredibly poetic.
But I maintain a curmudgeonly feeling about art that's about how hard it is to do art, and graphic novel memoirs seem to be particularly guilty of this. "I have nothing to write about except how I have nothing to write about, BUT WAIT IT BECAME THIS BOOK, so nothing IS something, ha-HA!" is not a story, IMHO. And with Kristen, I felt like I was waiting for a transformation or revelation that never came. I wish she'd waited a few more years to write this, so she could offer some introspection: Did leaving her fiance teach her something about relationships? Did stealing and then losing a dead person's memorial (this part was awful) prompt her to do or learn anything at all? Did losing her uncle change her approach to her own health? Did traveling to ruins in other countries give her any perspective on her white American privilege? Did turning her experiences into art help in her search for meaning? Did she include sources for any of the research mentioned in the book? All of these answers seem to be "no." And while that may be ironically appropriate for an existential book (the point is, there is no point), I wanted more.
My stars are based on the style of the drawing and the storytelling alone which were good overall. They both carried me to the end of the novel. However, I did have a hard time personally with the author's actions regarding those photos she stole from the memorial...and then never returned them! I kept waiting for her to reach out to Seth's family, but never did. This is my own bias, as I feel if you UE someplace, you take nothing but photos.
Kristin Radtke is one of my new favorite authors. She pulls apart the threads braiding our shared humanity and loneliness with exquisite perception.
A good read, but probably not the best choice to read during a global pandemic
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
I may have read this too fast to understand it all, but I did get a contact high from the existentialism.
tragic, beautiful but felt like I had to wade through some abstract non-fiction anecdotes to make sense of the personal narrative