Reviews
I really enjoyed all of the stories in this book. They all tackled topics I haven't seen covered a whole lot, and they did it in an interesting and refreshing way. I do feel like some of the stories I didn't fully understand, but that just gives me a reason to read it again in the future when I have a bit more insight!
It's been a decade since I've last read any Tomine, so I was excited to read this graphic novel. The colours are muted and the lines deliberate and precise, the illustrations are beautiful. The stories are awkward and sad.
What makes Adrian Tomine succeed for me where so many other authors who touch on the mundane lives of the middle class is that he tells very small stories. He focuses in on one event or action or obsession of a person and writes something short and poignant about said issue. What would happen in your life if you looked just like a famous online porn star, if you decided to create art that no one else appreciated, if you couldn't let go of the past and broke into your old apartment just to feel safe again? None of these are life altering narratives with massive moral lessons to be learned, but they all have gravitas and heart. Plus Tomine's art is fantastic as always!
The story about Amber sweet was a great one and the one about the mom traveling from Japan was good too, bur the others were just okay nothing special
A really good set of stories, although incredibly depressing. My favorite (both for the writing and the art) was "Translated from, the Japanese,".
Beautiful collection of stories of loss, hope, despair and human relationships. Adrian Tomine is the Raymond Carver of the graphic novels, i.e. their stories share the same raw power, density and intensity.
Adrian Tomine once again has created a collection of stories of such beautiful humanity and realism that he makes most other artists pale in comparison. Tomines focus on the quiet moments of everyday life, the struggles that we all face moving forward in a modern world, as well as the interior peculiarities that we all have that others won’t see is immediate and inspiring. His art is amongst the best in the field. A beautiful book to behold.
Expectations (read wishful thinking): 'Killing and Dying' will be for my 2020 what ‘Daytripper’ has been for my 2019. Reality: It didn't come even close. The stories are genuine & human - however, I was never really able to forge an emotional connection with any of the characters, and therefore the book never really resonated to me. (6/10)
I linger upon every page of Killing and Dying, upon every hand-drawn cell, much after I finish reading the text that marks the story. For a graphic novel so short, I spend more time with it than I do with pieces of fiction twice its length, and I find myself coming back to each page, each story repeatedly; I find something new with each re-read. It is hard to write about Adrian Tomine's collection of graphic short stories in the same manner as one would write about most novels, or even graphic novels. Instead, the book is analogous to film, where nuance and narrative is hidden in the corners of the visual landscape. Killing and Dying is truly cinematic; each drawing resonates long after you have turned the page, and each story — Tomine is a masterful chronicler of the human condition — is served well by the uncomplicated yet rich illustrations. Do not be deterred by the title: Killing and Dying is really about life, about navigating the emotions that mark our days but that often get pushed aside in our effort to get through the moment. Do not be deterred by the fact that this is a graphic novel: Killing and Dying is more than an assembly of illustrations, but instead a cinematic vision of the world which we inhabit but so rarely truly notice. Pick up this book, and spend some time with it. It is short at first blush, but it is rich in depth and delight. It will linger, stay with you for a long time. (Originally published on inthemargins.ca)
