Review for "Stitches: A Memoir"

Bibliography: Small, David. Stitches: A Memoir. 2009. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. Print. ISBN: 978-0393338966

Critical Analysis

The beauty of this graphic novel is contained in the transparent healing that it's creation offered it's author. The text opens when the author is six, and it is immediately clear that David Small's childhood did not take place in a happy, loving home environment. We are introduced to his family and their particular languages - his mother coughs, sobs, and bangs cupboard doors, his father punches a punching bag, his brother beats on drums, and the author gets sick. Throughout the book we never see one character smile, except the cheery smiles of strangers, and the frenetic smiles of his father and his medical team when he gets sick.

Throughout the story, Small continues to find solace in his artwork, and his books, which his mother disapproves of. The tone of the story is serious, heavy, stressed, and depressed. It would be an exhausting read if Small didn't give so much back to the reader with his gift of illustration. The tightness we see on the characters faces is not apparent in his drawings, which are loose, pleasant to look at, and done with a great skill with shadow and light. Although all of the characters are three-dimensional and believable, the author focuses mainly on his own growth and dynamism, and at the end of this difficult story the reader is left with a quiet hope. Because this isn't a story that is plot driven, but focuses on the protagonists home life, the reader's main concern is that the protagonist make it out of his abusive home with his sense of self in tact, and an authentic purpose. The reader is not disappointed.


Review Excerpts

Library Journal: "Stitches is compelling, disturbing, yet surprisingly easy to read and more than meets the high standard set by the widely praised Fun Home . With some sexual issues; highly recommended for older teens up."

Booklist: "Like other “important” graphic works it seems destined to sit beside—think no less than Maus—this is a frequently disturbing, pitch-black funny, ultimately cathartic story whose full impact can only be delivered in the comics medium, which keeps it palatable as it reinforces its appalling aspects. If there’s any fight left in the argument that comics aren’t legitimate literature, this is just the thing to enlighten the naysayers."


Awards and Recognition

YALSA Alex Award
National Book Award Finalist

Connections

This is a good read, but it doesn't necessarily look like a book that a young adult might be immediately drawn to. This would be a book that could really benefit from a book talk. Because the story centers on the pain of isolation the protagonist feels, and this is a pain felt by many in their young adult years, book talking this book may heighten interest amongst possible readers. The story ends in hope, it is ultimately an "It gets better," message that many young adults could find useful. Hopefully, book talking this title would increase it's circulation, and help young adults learn that finding a passion to focus one's energy on can be a life-saver.