This book is so short it’s hard to say anything without saying everything, so
~ ~ ~ ~ SPOILER ALERT ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Yes, it’s by the same author as all the Calvin and Hobbes comic strips, but you’d never guess if you didn’t see his name on the cover.
This book was hard to understand what it’s getting at. It’s mostly pictures- muted, fading-into-the-background pictures, people with rough faces, looming trees in the darkness. Text on the opposite page just one or two lines each. It starts out looking like a medieval setting, the people are all afraid of “mysteries” in the dark forest that no one can make sense of. The king sends out knights to put an end to their fears and many perish, but finally one comes back with a captured Mystery. The people are surprised at its ordinary appearance (not shown in the illustrations) and they study it thoroughly and loose their fears. The forests are cut down and suddenly everything seems to have progressed, with modern-looking cityscapes, vehicles, etc. Then looming symptoms of environmental disaster and climate change. People worry but the ruler shrugs off their concerns with reassurances. And then- what? One page says people are alarmed but too late- and the next show the planet in space and declares that eons have passed. Nothing about if the people died or what, but a final note that other things continued on. Unsettling- but I suspect it was supposed to be. I feel that I didn’t like this book very much, but I can’t quite stop thinking about it!
Borrowed from the public library.
One Response
I’ve been wondering what Watterson has been up to since walking away from his hugely successful comic strip like he did. While the book itself doesn’t much appeal to me, it’s nice to know that he’s still feeling creative enough to publish something new – even this. I miss him, but this one is not for me, I think.