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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
Ennui, figuring out how to grow up, loss, cities as transitional objects, decay. Quick and worth it.
The illustrations were great, but the content was disappointing. Radtke conveyed well her love for her uncle, and a general sense of despondency and ennui. I almost feel as though she started this project just to give herself something to do. The art is there, the emotion is there, but the story isn't. She attempted to connect some themes that, in the end, don't really seem to be connected: Her family has a history of heart problems. Her uncle died. She's depressed about more than her uncle's death. She likes to travel and feels restless. She's very interested in ruins/ghost towns.
There are times when her prose is beautiful and emotionally powerful, but there are also times when it's awkward and difficult to understand. An example of poorly written text from page 251: "It was hard to know sleep or when or how much."
Sometimes her transitions were poorly executed. I would turn a page and the content would be so out of context that I would assume I'd skipped a page (I hadn't). This perhaps is partially a result of the way her themes sometimes failed to connect.
I really liked her depiction of her own insomnia on page 241: it was powerful and effective, and it resonated with me.
There are times when her prose is beautiful and emotionally powerful, but there are also times when it's awkward and difficult to understand. An example of poorly written text from page 251: "It was hard to know sleep or when or how much."
Sometimes her transitions were poorly executed. I would turn a page and the content would be so out of context that I would assume I'd skipped a page (I hadn't). This perhaps is partially a result of the way her themes sometimes failed to connect.
I really liked her depiction of her own insomnia on page 241: it was powerful and effective, and it resonated with me.
While I liked it, it lacked focus for me. Maybe that was the point.
Not really sure what happened in this book. Did learn like 1 page of info though.
Spoiler
Also I feel so smart for predicting the breakup.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
I appreciated the beauty and mood of this graphic memoir - the theme of abandoned buildings and towns, lingering guilt over all kinds of things. But in some ways it left me wanting more, threads of her story begun but then lost (most notably her familial heart condition). Would still recommend.
UGH I really resonated with portions of this book touching on grief and rot and empty space but after reading a review from Seth’s mother here on Goodreads, I’m really disappointed in the author’s actions. There are many ways to respectfully handle the retelling of a tragic story that is NOT your own - starting with gaining permission from the affected loved ones. This should have been approached with an overall respect for not just her own grief, art, and healing- but that of those around her as well. Won’t be recommending this :(
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
I'd so looked forward to reading this book, but it's just a mess of pretentiousness. Yurk.