cstefko 's review for:

Imagine Wanting Only This by Kristen Radtke

3.0

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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The core thrust of this graphic memoir is intriguing, and Radtke's reflections are often quite poignant, but it's hard to overlook the ethical misjudgment around the photos stolen from Seth Thomas' memorial. I think the book would have functioned better without that storyline, not to mention that it makes Radtke seem extremely callous and self-absorbed. It's a shame, because the exploration of her grief around her uncle's death and her uncertainty around her own potential health issues is a strong enough story on its own to sustain a book-length project, especially when tied into the aesthetic concern of the ruins and abandoned towns. Radtke's writing about loneliness was particularly relatable (although I think she's being a little harsh on Louisville, which I have always found to be a remarkably friendly and relaxed city).

It was so easy to give in to time there—or, perhaps more accurately, to give up on it. To think:  'This is this and it will always be this.'

I'm still curious to read her next book, which delves more narrowly into loneliness, but I hope her conscience did some maturing in between this book and that one.

I will also say that the art style didn't really wow me.