The Contract with God Trilogy Life on Dropsie Avenue

I read this book in a mad hurry to reach the end of each story, so I don't have a well-formed impression other than they fact that it's very sketchy and episodic, especially the first two books. The setting is at times even sordid (what would you expect of the Bronx during the Depression) but the most interestin thing about the themes is that there is a basic tenderness and compassion in the treatment of the characters that seems odd considering their flaws and miseries. It does have a feature that I love in a comic: it could not be told in any other form. The pace is too hectic for a "normal" book and too clever for a movie.