Stitches A Memoir 9781448732890 Books
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Stitches A Memoir 9781448732890 Books
I tried with hesitation - thinking I would hate any graphic novel. Dumfounded when I discovered how absolutely incredible this book was. Such an honest straightforward portrayal of his experiences without any feelings of self pity. Was able to portray the innocense of a child dealing with events he doesn't at the time realize are not normal.Product details
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Tags : Stitches: A Memoir on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers.,Stitches: A Memoir,Paw Prints 2010-09-13,1448732891
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Stitches A Memoir 9781448732890 Books Reviews
I came upon this book completely unaware of its existence. I saw it in my library under new releases. As a knitter, I caught the word "stitches" and assumed it was right up my alley. Then I saw the author's name and realized I was altogether wrong. David Small (along with his wife Sarah Stewart) is one of my favorite children's authors/illustrators, not least because he happens to be a friend of my family. Still, even having met him on occasion and owning most of his work for children, I could not say I actually knew much about him.
And then I read Stitches A Memoir. Twice through. In the same sitting. Wow. All of the dark-humored, sweet, brilliantly illustrated pages are exactly what I would expect from David Small. Add the chilling storyline with its concise, non-self-pitying narrative, and this is an amazing coming-of-age story. (And he got the grandmother's Hoosier accent right on the nose.)
I agree with all of the other 5-star reviews. This is an excellent book.
I bought this book for my son, who is, like Small, a very talented graphic artist. But I took a peek into it before mailing it and I was hooked from the first page of strange, surrealistic black and white drawings of Detroit in the 1950s. I don't often buy "graphic" books - fiction or otherwise - as I have always thought of them as only a step above comic books. Well STITCHES is several steps up and then some. I wouldn't have thought a person could tell so much about a life using so few words, but Small does. His drawings - and I'm not really sure what to call them pictures, cartoons, sketches? - tell most of the story and tell it well. It's a very dark story, of an unhappy and painful childhood in still another of those "dysfunctional families," but Small was obviously a survivor - and not just of cancer, but of a cancerous kind of home life in an emotionally crippled family. My son will love the art work, I know, but I also know he will be moved by the story. It is easy to see why David Small has won so many awards for his art work. This book is a winner in so many ways. I salute this guy just for having grown up at all. Thanks for sharing, Mr. Small.
This is an absolutely phenomenal autobiographical story that is made even richer through the illustration of Mr. Small. Some of the most profound moments are expressed without words but through simple yet highly expressive images that allow the reader to literally view the story from Mr. Small's eyes. The play of light and dark in the black and white drawings is almost cinematic at times it's so well executed. While the story is quite shocking and often depressing the images bring it a sense of immediacy that is never overwhelming emotionally. When I first opened it, I expected to read for maybe ten minutes or so before a show I liked started. Instead, I found myself tearing through the book in one sitting, completely forgetting that the show I had planned on watching even existed. This is one of the few graphic novels that I've successfully gotten graphic novel haters to read and actually love. It truly transcends its genre in that regard. So if you're hesitant to read this because you don't want to read a 'comic book', please do yourself a favor and try this book out. Even if you never read another graphic novel in your life, this one is worth trying.
David Small tells the story of his unhappy childhood in this graphic memoir. About 50 years ago, when Mr. Small was 14, he underwent surgery that rendered him mute for all intents and purposes and also resulted in his thyroid gland being removed. He believed that a cyst was being removed, but it turned out that the "cyst" was a tumor that had begun to grow as the result of the x-ray treatments performed on David when David was just an infant by his own father (who was a radiologist). At the time that David was an infant, radiological treatments were used to cure sinus and breathing issues, which David had as a child. As a result of the insane amount of radiology used, David developed cancer. For nearly a decade after his surgery, he couldn't physically speak above the level of a hoarse whisper, no matter how hard he trained his remaining vocal cords.
The fact that David's father gave him cancer is one of the devastating sad parts of the story; but there is a second theme that is just as devastating the communication, or lack of it, that is apparent in David's family The fact that David was exposed to a high risk of cancer by his father isn't really discussed by David, his father OR his mother aside from a very, very brief conversation a few months after the surgery. In fact, it's almost as if David learned that he had cancer by accident and would have continued to believe that a cyst was removed if he hadn't accidentally stumbled upon it. Other communication was non-verbal - his mother only communicated her displeasure by a little cough that she had. She wasn't very adept at showing her love for her son, if she even loved him at all. It's also about having a voice - or finding an alternative method to having your voice heard when your original voice has been literally ripped from you without your knowledge or consent.
The book is really raw. My heart wrenched, particularly at the parts where David is flashing back to getting the high doses of radiation when he learns that he, in fact, was exposed to cancer by his father. Mr. Small has a way of illustrating the raw, strong emotions without words being necessary to convey what he intends. Needless to say, if you haven't figured it out yet, I loved how Mr. Small drew this book. While the story itself moves quickly because of the careful format, I urge you to slow down or go back after the first read through so that you can study the illustrations and really appreciate them.
I tried with hesitation - thinking I would hate any graphic novel. Dumfounded when I discovered how absolutely incredible this book was. Such an honest straightforward portrayal of his experiences without any feelings of self pity. Was able to portray the innocense of a child dealing with events he doesn't at the time realize are not normal.
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