Blankets
by Craig Thompson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Craig ThompsonEdition: Paperback
Published: 2003-08-06
ISBN: 1891830430
Number of pages: 592
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Book Reviews of Blankets
Book Review: Nice Coming of Age Story
Summary: 4 Stars
Craig Thompson produces a powerful coming of age story in Blankets, and a lengthy one too: it weighs in at almost 600 pages. Growing up in a fundamentalist Christian household in rural Wisconsin, the semi-autobiographical character named Craig must share a bed with his little brother. He grows up in a cultural environment that I know all too well. There are signs on the road that proclaim `Jesus is the only fire insurance,' and the boys are forced to attend a church in which even questioning things in good faith is strongly discouraged and dismissed.
At a winter church camp, Craig just doesn't see how so many people can actually all be on the same page in regards to their worshipping of Jesus, much less be able to jointly carry out any kind of cohesive policy in the world. But at this camp he meets a somewhat kindred spirit named Raina, and most of the remainder of the novel follows their relationship.
Thompson exploits the graphic form quite well. The snowy landscapes provide a sense of otherworldliness, and all adult authority figures are presented as giants, towering over the young boys and filing them with fear and intimidation. Though he is questioning his faith to some degree, Craig is fairly devout and Thompson presents a war between his desires and the Bible graphically. As he is told about Hell for the first time, the young Craig's imagination shows people in agony in a style that is much more traditionally gothic than the typical style of the primary narrative. And upon learning that the book of Ecclesiastes had been revised and added to many years after it original composition, the artist presents the more hopeful additions with cartoonish pigs, contrasting the presentation of the darker statements, which reflect a surrealist type of horror.
Though the love story between Raina and Craig worked quite well and was very believable to me, I was more affected by Craig's stifling religious environment because it reminded me of my own as a boy. When questioning his pastor about the changes made to Ecclesiastes, the minister dismisses him by saying that even if some additions were made as the translations took place across the centuries, one shouldn't let that fact dissuade them from God's holy word.
In the last chapter of the book, Craig as a young adult returns home and has a conversation about leaving Christianity behind with his brother. He adds that he doesn't feel he can ever tell their parents because they would think of nothing else but saving his immortal soul. And this is precisely how I feel as well. After years of hearing that the answer to my questions was God, but then being forbidden from asking questions in God's church has left me feeling like Craig: apart from my family, yet overwhelmingly confident that I am on the right side.
As one would expect, there is a blanket motif throughout Blankets, and towards the end of the novel Craig notes as he walks through snow how `satisfying it is to leave a mark on a blank surface.' Thomson would be happy to know that no only were his marks satisfying to make, but they were very satisfying to read as well.
Summary of Blankets
At 592 pages, Blankets may well be the single largest graphic novel ever published without being serialized first. Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of playfulness and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith. A profound and utterly beautiful work from Craig Thompson. The New Printing corrects 3 small typos, widening the spine graphics, but otherwise is identical to the first printing.Biographies & Memoirs Books
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