With the Light tells the story of a young family's struggle to raise their autistic child. Myself having worked in the field developmental disabilities was naturally attracted to this title. As if it wasn't obvious from my previous posts, I am somewhat of a Japanophile and voraciously devour anything worthwhile from the manga/anime world. So when I saw this book at Borders, I thought "Well, that should be interesting!". My lovely fiance then took it upon herself to buy me this book for graduation. Isn't she just a gem?
The book does a great job of conveying the emotions of the parents as they raise their child, Hiroaki. We see the mother's anguish as she grasps to understand why her child does not talk at 6 years old. We see her endure the insults towards her child by others due to their ignorance of the disorder. At the beginning of the story, we also see the father become angry with Hiroaki and the mother. He feels that it is the mother's fault that Hiroaki behaves the way he does due to her "not raising him right". We also see his insensitivity to Hiroaki's frequent outbursts and screaming spells because of his obsession with his career.
The book also has excellent character growth. You may be thinking that Hiroaki's father sounds like an absolute monster, but he changes as the book progresses. Hiroaki's outside family begins to accept Hiroaki's disorder and attempts to help him. We also see the mother make friends as she joins a group for parents who have autistic children.
The author really did an excellent job of portraying autistic children as they really are. I have met many children that behave just as Hiroaki does in jobs I have worked at, and I have also talked to parents with autistic children who do not understand why their child does not return the love they show them. I would recommend this book as a "must read" for anyone interested in the field of developmental disabilities, and I would make this book a mandatory requirement for staff if I was ever the supervisor of a facility that helped people with autism.
I would say the only drawback to this book is it's emphasis on the mundane. The graphic novel is in the "slice of life" genre, and as such there are scenes of going shopping, going to school, talking on the phone, etc. Those who do not find this genre interesting may not like this book at all. I, however, quite enjoy the slice of life genre and really enjoyed this manga.
Blankets
The next graphic novel I read was a book called Blankets, by Craig Thompson. There was a huge buzz about the book back in 2003, but I was lame and un-hip back then and because of that had not known of it's existence. So for you "with-it" readers out there, you may be thinking "This guy hasn't read Blankets yet? C'mon!"
The book is an auto-biographical account of the author's childhood, with a particular focus on the author's first girlfriend. If I may be transparent with you, readers, this book really stirred my emotions in a way that few books ever have.
I could relate to the main character in this book so much. He is raised in an Evangelical Christian family, has a brother that is about 4 years younger then him, and lives in the Midwest. He is a sensitive, quiet, skinny awkward kid/teenager. These are all traits that I had/have, to the T!
In the book, Thompson explores themes such as siblings growing apart, family, the passion of teenage relationships, and struggling with one's faith. He explores sad things that none of us really like to think about. While the book is not the most depressing read ever- there are segments of profound joy- there is definitely a melancholy feeling that soaks its pages. The entirety of the story is set in a freezing cold winter, adding to the doldrums, and you just can't help but feel down throughout a lot of the book.
I really don't want to spoil anything that happens in the novel, so I won't discuss key plot points. I will say that anybody that was raised as a Christian, especially in the 80s and 90s, would do well to read this book. The author captures that world so well, and asks questions about his faith that mature Christians really should be asking.
Ghost World
This book, without a doubt, has to be one of the funniest things I have ever read. The graphic novel is about two cynical, hipster teenage girls recently graduated from high school and their daily lives. The writing in the book is FANTASTIC. The author really captures how people talk, and the conversations the characters in the book are conversations I have had with my friends. For example, at one part in the book, the characters go on and on about how there is a strange man at a coffee shop they frequent that looks like Don Knotts. My friends and I always have stupid conversations like that! The degree of cynicism the characters display is also hilarious- everyone is an idiot, and everything is stupid, and they are better than all of it. The girls talk at length about how so and so is an idiot, how this guy is fake, how this girl is ugly- it's genius.
In the book, themes of growing apart from friends are also explored. The girls, having just recently graduated from high school, have no idea what they are going to do with their lives. They know that they will inevitably find their paths and grow apart from each other, and this theme is explored subtly throughout the book.
Loneliness is another theme that is woven throughout the tale. We see scenes of lonely, sad, seemingly pathetic people, such as "The Don Knotts Guy" and "The weird guy at the bus stop". The whole novel uses pale blue colors, and the author stated that he did this to evoke the feeling one gets when walking home in the dark at night, looking into houses and seeing the pale blue light of people's televisions lighting up the room. While the novel is nowhere near as sad as Blankets, there is definitely a perceptible sadness when reading it.
There was also a movie based on the graphic novel that came out in 2000, starring Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson as the girls, and Steve Buscemi as an amalgamation of "The Don Knotts Guy" and "The Windbreaker Guy". I have heard it is quite good, and will be watching it soon.
The graphic novel to me is one of the most fascinating storytelling mediums. I have always told myself that were I ever to write a creative work of fiction, I would do it in a graphic novel. The interaction of beautiful artwork and excellent writing, when done right, is always a great treat. While just "comic books" to some people, these graphic novels truly made me think and changed the way I perceive the world, if just in a small way. When this happens, the author has done a fine job-he has affected the life of someone else and made them think. What more could the author want?
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