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A review by erebus53
The Book of Forks by Rob Davis
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.0
I'm not sure if it's more foolhardy to pick up a book and realise part way in that it's books #3, or to stick it out and complete the book just because you can. At no point did I assume that this graphic novel was weird because I had missed the previous 2, but more because it's really absurd.
The art is evocative and stark. The characters are British, and of diverse ethnicity. As a book about a book that is being written, we get to see its contents peppered through the story as it unfolds. There is no question that the mind of the character/author is chaotic. There are some brilliant puns. As a dystopian future reality there are remnants of modern society that have evolved or been misconstrued (in a similar was to some of the relics in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines books). Terms like "summery executions", and opposites to modern clichés like "death days" are explored and unfold into completely new meanings.
The main character is pathologised for having a brain that works differently, for not being passive, and for thinking deeply and coming up with explanations to things. Although he is seemingly quite mad, he also uses his unfettered observations of the world to comprehend things that other people don't even question.
The art is evocative and stark. The characters are British, and of diverse ethnicity. As a book about a book that is being written, we get to see its contents peppered through the story as it unfolds. There is no question that the mind of the character/author is chaotic. There are some brilliant puns. As a dystopian future reality there are remnants of modern society that have evolved or been misconstrued (in a similar was to some of the relics in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines books). Terms like "summery executions", and opposites to modern clichés like "death days" are explored and unfold into completely new meanings.
The main character is pathologised for having a brain that works differently, for not being passive, and for thinking deeply and coming up with explanations to things. Although he is seemingly quite mad, he also uses his unfettered observations of the world to comprehend things that other people don't even question.
People accept whatever absurdity surrounds them as reality.
And yet, to question that absurdity is to become absurd. As was my fate...
This book is chaotic and absurd. Perhaps I would have made more sense of it if I had read the previous two books, but I didn't find them, and I was on holiday for a limited time so I wasn't at liberty to wait around for the library to order them in. I feel like this book has just enough of a thread of continuity to keep the plot coherent. It's hard work making sense of the chaos, but it's more of an emotional journey than a plot. Quite cool though, and had me rolling my eyes and giggling like a twit at some of the humour.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and War
Minor: Self harm