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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
This is about the death of the author's toddler and their grief. I read the first half and it was so touching, but the next day, I found the later half really maudlin. I get the artistic choice of rough lines and lots of black ink and pages, and lots of space. It's a sad topic and grief is a very personal response. It just meanders and they try to find meaning in everything. Just not my cup of tea on such a deep and personal topic. That makes me feel like an insensitive jerk, but that's may just be who I am.
Wow! By far the best, most heartbreaking book I've read this year, and maybe ever. It is painful to read, but so worth it.
Uff da, indeed. I received this book via Goodreads Giveaways - sent from the publisher (St. Martin's Press). Let me first make it clear that I do not have children. I put my name in for this as someone working in the mental health field who felt like it would give me some insight, clarity and understanding of the depths. I hoped it would help my empathy. Also, I could think of someone who I might send it to afterwards.
As a person who enjoys graphic novels this was profoundly different and the same. The ability to tell a story in some boxes and black and grey and white spaces is amazing. This does not disappoint at all. In places where I found myself confused by chronology or where it was going -- had to remind myself that it didn't matter. This is Tom and Leela's story. It's their experience and grief through a sudden loss of a child has NO rhyme or reason. I was along for the ride and that was perfectly okay.
Grief is not linear or sensical; just as death of a child is not. My heart ached and pounded for this family and, in the end, I was utterly grateful for their sharing of this experience with the rest of us mere mortals.
As a person who enjoys graphic novels this was profoundly different and the same. The ability to tell a story in some boxes and black and grey and white spaces is amazing. This does not disappoint at all. In places where I found myself confused by chronology or where it was going -- had to remind myself that it didn't matter. This is Tom and Leela's story. It's their experience and grief through a sudden loss of a child has NO rhyme or reason. I was along for the ride and that was perfectly okay.
Grief is not linear or sensical; just as death of a child is not. My heart ached and pounded for this family and, in the end, I was utterly grateful for their sharing of this experience with the rest of us mere mortals.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Beautiful, heartbroken walk in grief. I read this slowly to let the abstractions of grief was over me. Thank you for sharing your Rosalie with us, tom <3
Three and a half stars. I think you would need to have a heart of stone to be unaffected by this story; losing one's child is, as Hart says, everyone's "worst case scenario." However, I felt strangely detached while reading most of this. Perhaps it's because I have yet to become a parent? Or maybe it's just that Hart's approach itself was more clinical/distanced? I'm not sure. In any case, I do admire the storytelling and exploration of grief in this memoir.
A graphic memoir about a couple’s experience of their daughter’s unexpected death as a toddler, while also dealing with unnecessary bureaucracy around selling an apartment. I have personal experience that has a lot of parallels with this, and I’m sure that affects how I view this book (I felt a lot of kinship with the author).
Sometimes it was a bit of a slog to read and difficult to follow, but I actually felt like that was a representation of what grief (especially early grief - that brain fog!) can be like. I enjoyed the visual symbolism he used, and felt it was very effective in adding another layer to the representation of early grief. I also loved hearing his descriptions of details about his daughter - something that I’m sure some people might find boring - but I felt honoured to have her life shared with me.
Sometimes it was a bit of a slog to read and difficult to follow, but I actually felt like that was a representation of what grief (especially early grief - that brain fog!) can be like. I enjoyed the visual symbolism he used, and felt it was very effective in adding another layer to the representation of early grief. I also loved hearing his descriptions of details about his daughter - something that I’m sure some people might find boring - but I felt honoured to have her life shared with me.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
There's no way to do a proper review-y review of this book. At least for me. But I will say, I admire the artistry and courage and openness on display here. It left me incredibly moved.