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silverliningsandpages's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
B: A Year in Plagues and Pencils is a little gem of a book, and if you enjoyed Edward Carey’s award winning novel, Little, you’re bound to appreciate this.
When the pandemic hit in March 2020 and much of the world went into lockdown, the artist and author posted a sketch on Twitter. Thinking - like many of us - that lockdown would be over after a few weeks, he committed to doing this daily. It was his way of practicing self care in creatively channelling his deep worries and fears, and it became a powerful journal of social commentary. From George Floyd and Breanna Taylor, to plague doctors to stags and swallows and Stone Henge, his subjects are diverse and pertinent.
My favourite illustration is a vibrant Anne Frank, but I also love how Charlotte Brontë and Medusa appear on the same page! Edward Carey is a sensitive, eccentric and compassionate writer who eloquently expresses introspective, pandemic thoughts that resonate with me, but ultimately delivers hope.
“Certainly I saw it. A naked nose. I was collecting groceries and the msn who was delivering them had an I’ll-fitting mask that kept slipping down. Put that nose away. I winced each time I saw it. I told him I could see his nose and he apologised for nose-flashing and quickly put his nose away. But soon the mask slipped and there it was again: a nose. I mustn’t see your nose. Noses are forbidden. One day there will be noses outside again, but for now noses are private. It troubled me to see this young man’s nose. It disturbed me. One day noses will be permissible again. And then there will be mouths, too. And chins, likewise shall be popular.”
Thank you Gallic Books for the PR review copy of this charming book.
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