Stitches by David Small
In the continuing quest to break myself out of my reading funk, I found this graphic novel on the shelves at my local library. Being a small branch it doesn't have a lot to offer. Mostly I have to know what I'm looking for and then request it from another branch. I know libraries need to purge occasionally, but it would be nice if they wouldn't purge the first volumes of series. However, maybe it makes it possible to have these standalone novels, so like with everything in life, compromise is the key.
This is the story of a young boy. When he was born he was sickly, but his dad was a doctor. Apparently at the time, the medical community thought that x-rays were some sort of cure-all for many diseases, so dad treated his son in what was, at the time, the proscribed treatment. No one knew the consequences. Years later he suddenly develops a growth on his neck. They leave it for years, thinking it's just a cyst and that it would go away. Eventually he underwent two surgeries, the last of which had the doctors removing part of his vocal cords. Suddenly he was essentially mute, without really knowing why. It wasn't until many years later that his father finally confessed that the operation had been to remove, not a cyst, but a tumor, and that cancer was possibly the result of all those x-ray treatments.
His family had always been reticent and cold. Now he was cursed with even more silence.
This and other experiences in his life are documented in this novel. The art is stark - told only in black and white with minimal dialogue. It's as silent as it's author, revealing life through small vignettes. With practice, he eventually finds his voice. With this novel, he finds a different way to speak.
This is the story of a young boy. When he was born he was sickly, but his dad was a doctor. Apparently at the time, the medical community thought that x-rays were some sort of cure-all for many diseases, so dad treated his son in what was, at the time, the proscribed treatment. No one knew the consequences. Years later he suddenly develops a growth on his neck. They leave it for years, thinking it's just a cyst and that it would go away. Eventually he underwent two surgeries, the last of which had the doctors removing part of his vocal cords. Suddenly he was essentially mute, without really knowing why. It wasn't until many years later that his father finally confessed that the operation had been to remove, not a cyst, but a tumor, and that cancer was possibly the result of all those x-ray treatments.
His family had always been reticent and cold. Now he was cursed with even more silence.
This and other experiences in his life are documented in this novel. The art is stark - told only in black and white with minimal dialogue. It's as silent as it's author, revealing life through small vignettes. With practice, he eventually finds his voice. With this novel, he finds a different way to speak.
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