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pawact 's review for:
Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness
by Kristen Radtke
Fascinating, melancholy graphic novel that is a combination of personal memoir and examination of the concept and effects of loneliness (human and otherwise). Chock full of scientific studies and experiments coupled with heartbreaking illustrations, Seek You is as unique as they come. Radtke gives us a tour of the loneliness that suffused her life and, it seems, the life of her father, zeroing in on certain periods. In her twenties, she curated her apartment quite particularly to show of her personality, though she rarely invited anyone to her place. That one hit particularly close to home.
Towards the end of the book, there is a fascinating section on Harry Harlow, the scientist who, using baby monkeys, did groundbreaking work on the idea that we need cuddling and comfort as infants and withholding of that comfort can be emotionally scarring. It seems obvious but for quite a while, the going philosophy was to withhold physical touch as much as possible. Not just because you wanted your children to be tough, but also because, pre vaccines, physical touch and closeness to a child could easily become deadly. The fascinating thing is Harlow, who essentially how much human company and love is necessary, was a self absorbed alcoholic who had little time for his wife and his children. As the children left and the wives were divorced, his experiments on the monkeys became harsher and more severe and proved his thesis more convincingly. The way that Radtke enters the mind of the monkeys and Harlow through her images is rather extraordinary.
For a book that takes on loneliness as a subject, it has the paradox of making one feel less alone.
Towards the end of the book, there is a fascinating section on Harry Harlow, the scientist who, using baby monkeys, did groundbreaking work on the idea that we need cuddling and comfort as infants and withholding of that comfort can be emotionally scarring. It seems obvious but for quite a while, the going philosophy was to withhold physical touch as much as possible. Not just because you wanted your children to be tough, but also because, pre vaccines, physical touch and closeness to a child could easily become deadly. The fascinating thing is Harlow, who essentially how much human company and love is necessary, was a self absorbed alcoholic who had little time for his wife and his children. As the children left and the wives were divorced, his experiments on the monkeys became harsher and more severe and proved his thesis more convincingly. The way that Radtke enters the mind of the monkeys and Harlow through her images is rather extraordinary.
For a book that takes on loneliness as a subject, it has the paradox of making one feel less alone.