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A review by kell_xavi
The Shiatsung Project by Brigitte Archambault
funny
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Weird graphic novel about a woman who has lived her whole life in a house boxed in by walls, with no idea who or what is outside her property, why or how she came to be there. She has a few episodes of curiosity and difficulty as she explores the small world around her and how she might expand it.
I liked Archambault’s art style, minimalist scenes with clean black outlines and boxy text. She plays with affect and bodily functions through the narrator’s expression; body position; the physicality of her eating, showering, and using the bathroom; and the knowledge of her childhood and growth within the same physical space. There’s a fairly neutral tone to her narration, but anger, humour, desire, care, sadness and desperation play out in the images. Her features change in dramatic moments, effectively showing emotions take over (through the body).
There were a few continuity questions I had (how was the lawn mown outside the house boxes? why is the narrator’s language so varied and precise—how does she know words for things she’s never encountered? couldn’t she see the surveillance towers from inside her wall?) that briefly took me out of the experience, and the ending felt somewhat unsure to me. Overall though, an intriguing concept and reading experience.
I liked Archambault’s art style, minimalist scenes with clean black outlines and boxy text. She plays with affect and bodily functions through the narrator’s expression; body position; the physicality of her eating, showering, and using the bathroom; and the knowledge of her childhood and growth within the same physical space. There’s a fairly neutral tone to her narration, but anger, humour, desire, care, sadness and desperation play out in the images. Her features change in dramatic moments, effectively showing emotions take over (through the body).
There were a few continuity questions I had (how was the lawn mown outside the house boxes? why is the narrator’s language so varied and precise—how does she know words for things she’s never encountered? couldn’t she see the surveillance towers from inside her wall?) that briefly took me out of the experience, and the ending felt somewhat unsure to me. Overall though, an intriguing concept and reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Excrement, Abandonment, Sexual content, and Pregnancy