Blankets: An Illustrated Novel | 
so-soLet me begin by saying I really appreciated this story being told. It‘s a perspective that I‘ve never seen in a graphic narrative, that of a boy growing into young adulthood and navigating his faith, all while dealing with abuse, bullying, and essentially a rather traumatic childhood. It‘s a vital story, however painful it is at times, one that I can see a lot of people connecting with, particularly those navigating their own conflict of faith. ⬇️
psalva In fact, I could see much of myself and my strict Catholic upbringing in the story. In addition, the epilogue, in which Thompson reflects back on his experience of romance, a main arc of the narrative, and his childhood, was stellar. I found his reflections and his changed perspective immensely valuable ⬇️ 2mo
psalva Nonetheless, I had some problems with this. There were a few panels which aged poorly, namely those relating to Raina‘s sister. Even ignoring these, I found the confessional nature of the narrative a bit uncomfortable, particularly because, due to the nature of the story being one-sided, we don‘t know what becomes of Raina‘s family. Now, this is reasonable I realize. An autobiographical narrative can‘t be omniscient of everyone‘s ending ⬇️ 2mo
psalva Still, it just made me too uncomfortable not knowing whether Raina was okay. There is just a lot of unresolved pain throughout. And it‘s fair to note the humanness of that, and also the value of seeing these stories. It was just not a story that I enjoyed experiencing. ⬇️ 2mo
psalva In the end, I‘m glad I read it. I can appreciate it, but I will most likely not be revisiting it. 13/100 for this list: https://www.npr.org/2017/07/12/533862948/lets-get-graphic-100-favorite-comics-an... 2mo
20 likes4 comments
bailed
