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brnineworms's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was excited to read Enigma and it didn’t disappoint. At first I wasn’t a fan of the scratchy art style but over the course of the story the artwork became more refined. I assumed that this shift was intended to parallel the protagonist’s arc of self-discovery, but in reality it was simply a result of the artist’s skills developing over time. I wasn’t the only one to think it was a deliberate stylistic choice, however. It became something of a myth that even some of the people who worked on the graphic novel bought into. A fiction being accepted as fact and displacing the truth – how very Enigma!
The writing has the edginess and attitude the 1990s are known for, but in the midst off all that there’s a strangely sweet queer romance. I wasn’t expecting such a genuinely tender moment of two men in love holding each other. The characterisation is strong, Michael being a young man paradoxically afraid to confront the unknown yet eager to learn more about the mysterious Enigma, and Enigma himself adopting “parameters” in order to build an identity and cope with an overwhelming world.
I could talk at length about the themes of the story – sexuality, identity, selfhood, reality, truth, and so on – but I think I’ll have to rein it in before I start gushing.
Enigma is a good book. It’s not perfect, but I must admit I like it both in spite of its flaws and because of them. I’ll definitely revisit it at some point. I recommend you give it a read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Animal death, Cursing, Medical content, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Excrement, Grief, Xenophobia, Addiction, Cancer, Cannibalism, Child abuse, and Drug use
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