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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Only This" by Kristin Radtke is a cute book and I have about 100 more pages left, it is honestly not something I would avidly recommend. The poem-esque graphic novel/memoir opens up into the world of loss, discovery, exploration and more and yet, it seems to be missing something essential to all books : a plot. The idea of the book is it's supposed to loosely follow author Kristin Radtke's years in her adult life but it doesn't really feel as if you are learning anything at all. With fear of sounding hateful of the book, very little storyline or plot is offered to the reader, leaving random characters and random story events to occur without an actual explanation. Perhaps I missed the boat or something like that but with all of the negatives, positives prove hard to point out, leaving me to rate this book a max of 1 star out of 5
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
I appreciate the author sharing her experience, but this felt grim and nihilistic and didn't seem like it said much of anything. I walked away from it feeling a little numb and existential dread-y, which isn't what I want in a book.
Efter att ha hört om Radtkes 'urban loneliness'-projekt via Spanarna bestämde jag mig för att läsa den här. Melankolisk och fin.
I have mixed feelings about this one. I read Radtke’s Seek You sometime early last year and loved it. So when I came across Imagine Wanting Only This in a secondhand book store, I immediately scooped it up.
I feel confused by narrative choices here, but really just conflicted about Radtke the character. I feel confused about the inclusion of Seth Thomas and his death as a narrative piece, and the choice to bring him up repeatedly as if there is some grander, universal connection Radtke may share with him.
This book really just left me confused. I’m not sure I know what she was trying to say here.
I feel confused by narrative choices here, but really just conflicted about Radtke the character. I feel confused about the inclusion of Seth Thomas and his death as a narrative piece, and the choice to bring him up repeatedly as if there is some grander, universal connection Radtke may share with him.
This book really just left me confused. I’m not sure I know what she was trying to say here.
Weird, but not in a good way. This is the story of a disconnected artist who is obsessed with the death of a beloved uncle and with the death of a young photographer she has never met. The former is a understandable, but over emotional and the later is just odd. I didn't feel much empathy for any of the characters and it is a uninteresting commentary on the drifting, aimless possibilities of modern life.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Kristen Radtke has a way with threading so many themes so seamlessly. Her story really needed to be told through the graphic novel format. Her voice and overall tone gives so much life for a story that is filled with the lack. I was hoping for some kind of resolution in the end, but I do kind of like the void she created in place of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Medical content
Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Grief, War
Minor: Self harm, Fire/Fire injury