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brogan7's review
challenging
slow-paced
1.5
Well....I can go with experimental, but in the end it has to hang together in some kind of a way...otherwise why?
The story is about a woman who lives in a futuristic scenario where she never leaves her compound, and all her needs are provided for by a nebulous, computer-like entity she interacts with over a screen on her wall. But she figures out she has a neighbour, and that she can dig a tiny hole in the concrete wall between them, so she can see that neighbour...
Honestly, it feels like the author just threw out a bunch of random ideas, never thinking about the internal logic of this world. Why does the Shiatsung want to keep all people separated? How is it worth it in terms of energy use to provide all food, objects from the outside (somewhere), without these individuals having to do anything? And then the story with the neighbour...ok if you had no human contact since childhood you would be feral, first of all, you might have trouble relating to anyone at all...so to imagine ???? the scenes with her and the neighbour, it's just sort of cringy, actually.
The story is about a woman who lives in a futuristic scenario where she never leaves her compound, and all her needs are provided for by a nebulous, computer-like entity she interacts with over a screen on her wall. But she figures out she has a neighbour, and that she can dig a tiny hole in the concrete wall between them, so she can see that neighbour...
Honestly, it feels like the author just threw out a bunch of random ideas, never thinking about the internal logic of this world. Why does the Shiatsung want to keep all people separated? How is it worth it in terms of energy use to provide all food, objects from the outside (somewhere), without these individuals having to do anything? And then the story with the neighbour...ok if you had no human contact since childhood you would be feral, first of all, you might have trouble relating to anyone at all...so to imagine ???? the scenes with her and the neighbour, it's just sort of cringy, actually.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
TW: isolationiantaylor's review
3.0
I can’t say that I fully understand the point (for lack of a better term), however this did make me feel like I was in a 2008 point-and-click game in the very best way.
ian_se's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
whitecat5000's review
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
This was a weird story with an open ending. I have so many questions. This felt like a prequel to me and I want more.
wxddo's review
3.0
I read this book from cover to cover in one sitting, engrossed by the beginning and middle but ultimately disappointed by the end. The Shiatsung Project poses some interesting questions, but fails to meaningfully answer them.
phlakey's review
3.0
Still thinking on how to rate this one. Did inspire me to create a new bookshelf title, but probably not the most bizarre thing I’ve read.
kell_xavi's review
funny
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Weird graphic novel about a woman who has lived her whole life in a house boxed in by walls, with no idea who or what is outside her property, why or how she came to be there. She has a few episodes of curiosity and difficulty as she explores the small world around her and how she might expand it.
I liked Archambault’s art style, minimalist scenes with clean black outlines and boxy text. She plays with affect and bodily functions through the narrator’s expression; body position; the physicality of her eating, showering, and using the bathroom; and the knowledge of her childhood and growth within the same physical space. There’s a fairly neutral tone to her narration, but anger, humour, desire, care, sadness and desperation play out in the images. Her features change in dramatic moments, effectively showing emotions take over (through the body).
There were a few continuity questions I had (how was the lawn mown outside the house boxes? why is the narrator’s language so varied and precise—how does she know words for things she’s never encountered? couldn’t she see the surveillance towers from inside her wall?) that briefly took me out of the experience, and the ending felt somewhat unsure to me. Overall though, an intriguing concept and reading experience.
I liked Archambault’s art style, minimalist scenes with clean black outlines and boxy text. She plays with affect and bodily functions through the narrator’s expression; body position; the physicality of her eating, showering, and using the bathroom; and the knowledge of her childhood and growth within the same physical space. There’s a fairly neutral tone to her narration, but anger, humour, desire, care, sadness and desperation play out in the images. Her features change in dramatic moments, effectively showing emotions take over (through the body).
There were a few continuity questions I had (how was the lawn mown outside the house boxes? why is the narrator’s language so varied and precise—how does she know words for things she’s never encountered? couldn’t she see the surveillance towers from inside her wall?) that briefly took me out of the experience, and the ending felt somewhat unsure to me. Overall though, an intriguing concept and reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Excrement, Abandonment, Sexual content, and Pregnancy