Swallow Me Whole
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4.8 • 5 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
WINNER OF THE 2009 EISNER AWARD FOR BEST NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL!
NOMINATED FOR THREE 2009 EISNER AWARDS INCLUDING BEST GN & BEST CARTOONIST!
WINNER OF THE 2008 IGNATZ AWARD FOR "OUTSTANDING DEBUT"!
ONE OF YALSA’S "GREAT GRAPHIC NOVELS FOR TEENS"!
FINALIST FOR THE LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE!
Swallow Me Whole is a love story carried by rolling fog, terminal illness, hallucination, apophenia, insect armies, secrets held, unshakeable faith, and the search for a master pattern to make sense of one’s unraveling.
In his most ambitious book to date, Nate Powell quietly explores the dark corners of adolescence — not the clichéd melodramatic outbursts of rebellion, but the countless tiny moments of madness, the vague relief of medication, and mixed blessing of family ties. As the story unfolds, two stepsiblings hold together amidst schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, family breakdown, animal telepathy, misguided love, and the tiniest hope that everything will someday make sense.
Deliberately paced, delicately drawn, and drenched in shadows, Swallow Me Whole is a landmark achievement for Nate Powell and a suburban ghost story that will haunt readers long after its final pages.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Indy comic artist Powell, an Eisner-nominee, works full time with adults with developmental disabilities, which may have been an inspiration for Swallow Me Whole, a stand-alone graphic novel about two teenage stepsiblings with psychological problems. Ruth suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and thinks she can hear insects speak, making it difficult for her to walk across grassy lawns but landing her a sweet internship in the natural history museum. Perry sometimes sees a tiny wizard who speaks to him about his destiny, which would be cute if this were a fantasy comic; instead, it's sadly tragic since Perry recognizes the wizard as nothing more than a troublesome hallucination. It should be obvious from the start that things will not end well. Dark inks and elongated whispering word balloons carry us into Ruth's world of voices and missing time, while experimental paneling masterfully conveys the characters' inner worlds and altered states. Powell's ultimate message remains unclear: is this a cautionary tale reminding ill teens to take their medication(s)? Or should we take a hopeful message away from Ruth's tragic story, knowing that one need not give in completely to one's delusions?
