Stitches

Reading this book was like spending an evening with a close friend, getting gradually wasted and just existing. It was healing to read this. Thank you, David.

I found this book to be quite the page turner even though it's nothing close to an action or thriller comic I found the format and set up of all the panels to be well maintaining of the eye's interest which encourages readers to keep on reading. I'm more than happy to have bought this book so that I can keep coming back and appreciate its work!

Do not let the fact that this is a graphic novel turn you off. It's not comic book/Watchman type art, this is pen and ink drawings. This is a complete story, and, I'm not exaggerating, this is one of the best autobiographies I've ever read. Most of it is told unflinchingly from the standpoint of David Small as a child, starting at age 6. His was not a happy household and the story includes a grandma, who, at one point, descends into physical abuse. I had, up to that point in the story, no sympathy with Small's mother. If she protected him from that point on from his grandmother, it isn't told. But her reaction when David said he was afraid of his grandma, because she was crazy, made me sit up and acknowledge something - David's mother's coldness didn't just spring out of nothing. There was something or somethings that helped shaped her that way. Near the end of the story, we learn that there was more than one thing that shaped her unhappiness. David acknowledges on the last pages, his later "maturity, reflection and some family research" helps him at least understand his mother. It's not an excuse for not loving your own son, but it helps. It's not an excuse for his father enabling his mother, either. But read the story and make up your own mind. There is no whining; there is no using the past as a crutch. The story starts, I think, in the 50's, and medical knowledge and sociological acceptance were much different than they are now. Notice, I'm trying not to give too much away - I don't want to spoil it for you when you pick up this book. Finally, I'd like to mention that David's imagination, which oftentimes plagued him as a child, also allowed him to write and illustrate this memoir, which may have been cathartic. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the "Stitches" did not result from abuse. At least, not the stitches in his body. Much recommended.

Don't be misled because this book is a graphic novel. It is sophisticated in a literary sense and is definitely not a sweet little story for children nor even for some adults. If your bedtime reading influences your dreams, you may prefer to read this novel in the morning. The black ink drawings with layered washes on white paper provide the strong contrast needed to illustrate an utterly terrifying story of a childhood in which most all adults are a menace. Many of the graphics are difficult to forget, such as the white Z of light from the crack of a door that breaks off the edge of a dark page or the smoke that frequently drifts across them. The author quickly and literally draws you into to the world of this little boy and you see it from his viewpoint and suffer the events as he does. The text is used sparingly, mostly as dialogue, or as the first-person voice of the little boy, letting the sketches carry the weight of telling the story. There can be a full range of emotion in the face of a character in the frames of one spread or there can be one well-done change of scenery filling a page. Sometimes it seems as if the boy's fantasies and dreams are more frightening than the world in which he lives but no, the real world in the story is worse *because* it is real. And it's not just real in the book; the story is true, a memoir, an autobiography, so you must ponder that the events did happen and were perceived as revealed to you. There are bits of dark humor throughout but it is difficult to laugh at them. Technically, the book is as easy to follow from frame to frame as falling into a rabbit-hole, without any arrows or backtracking needed to find your way. That's not always the case with the layout of even well-drawn graphic novels and this speaks highly of the skill and care displayed here. Stitches is not a memoir for everyone to enjoy but those who will like it, will like it very, very much.

For fans of David Small's great illustrations (childrens' books, the New Yorker) this book is long overdue and undeniably seductive. Small's intriguing point of view, his genius use of black ink, and his deftly sardonic references are in full form here. His brave and honest telling of a challenging childhood will surely serve to endear his many childrens' book fans. What a treat to be able to wallow in a full-length David Small odyssey. Stop reading this review and go order your copies now. Great holiday gifts for the angry young men, relieved older men, fans of Detroit and anyone else you know.