Tag: 3/5- Good Read

Graphic novel about the life of Stephen Hawking. It was a bit difficult for me to get through this one- most of the science was way over my head, I just couldn’t comprehend the sentences and skipped lots of and lots of pages across the middle. So many, I almost thought I would have to give this book an “Abandoned” rating. Probably this is after the book was edited multiple times to lighten the science writing! When later in life he wrote books about science for the general public, they kept telling him to cut out the equations, nobody would read it if it had too many equations, and he argued back that the beauty was in the equations. He even rewrote his A Brief History of Time over again in a simplified version (A Briefer History of Time), hoping to reach more readers. After reading this, I’m afraid even that one would still be beyond me. But!

This was interesting for all the things I learned about what he’d done, and what his life was like, in spite of the disease that reduced control of his muscles to almost nothing, gradually. It started as just stumbling, repeated falls, slurred speech. It ended- as most of you probably already know- with him in a motorized wheelchair, using a computer to speak (he didn’t like that its voice had an American accent). I had no idea before, that he didn’t do well in school as a child, or even when he first got to university. I didn’t know he’d been married twice and had three children, that he adamantly did not want a movie made of his life, or that he followed a gluten-free diet (there was no explanation of why in the book, and I found by looking it up that it was self-imposed). What came through most clearly to me was the brilliant contributions he made to science, to our understanding of the universe- even if I don’t understand the things he said about it. His incessant drive to know and understand more, to find the answers to things- always thinking things over, doing the math and computations and puzzling out the physics in his head. At least, that’s how it was portrayed. Making bets with his colleagues who would solve a certain problem or come up with an answer to something first. His wry sense of humor. I liked the book even if I feel guilty for skipping a huge chunk in the center. I should probably go back and read this one again when my mind is sharper someday.

Borrowed from the public library.

The author is famed for having a major role in Star Trek and the illustrations in this book by Harmony Becker are so recognizable, I immediately knew his face. Well, the adult one. Most of the narrative takes place in his childhood. Some scenes are narrated from the adult perspective with a lot of direct quotes from history regarding political events, announcements during wartime, etc which admittedly were hard for me to stay focused on. I skipped a few pages. All the parts about his childhood were clear. Somewhat familiar because I recently read another book also about Japanese internment. Takei tells how when he was just four years old, his family was forced along with thousands of others of Japanese descent, to relocate to an internment camp in Arkansas (later they were moved to a different camp in California) during WWII. They lost their home, their business, most of their belongings. Living conditions not the best, is an understatement. Not to mention the outrage and injustice of being treated like criminals- when they had done nothing wrong, the children were legal citizens. They made the best of it- his parents did everything they could to make their quarters comfortable, to help build and support the community, to even make things seem like a fun adventure for the children. Parts of his childhood were normal- playing with friends and teasing with other kids, going to school. A lot was not. When he was older he began to see how others around him protested their treatment, how the government forced them to make unfair choices, to declare their loyalty or not- to a country that had treated them like criminals. How they got involved in civil rights and worked to help others around them, after the war and they were able to build their lives again. A moving story, important details about a part of our history many are unaware of, or would prefer to forget.

The rating reflects my personal struggle to stay focused, more than anything else. I still have difficulty with certain types of material.

Borrowed from the public library.

Why are so many adult graphic novels about such hard subjects? War, chronic illness, devastating loss. This one is a memoir of grief. The author’s daughter died suddenly and unexpectedly shortly before her second birthday. Navigating their new life without a beloved child- I can’t imagine anything more difficult. The pages here are all about the things they do trying to make it through each day, to overcome the feelings of hopelessness, guilt and despair. All while still dealing with everyday responsibilities and this huge hassle of trying to move out of New York city- unable to sell their apartment due to some complicated, irrational-sounding reasons imposed on them- and add to that the heartache of dealing with financial issues surrounding the death of their child. It seems so heartless to have to think about and handle such things while you’re feeling so devastated, but it had to be done… Some panels are just about the overwhelming sink of depression. Or depicting all the endearing and memorable things their child used to do and say. The things they wanted to teach her, and never had a chance to. The bafflement over what happened- could they have seen it coming, prevented it? Seeing portents and omens in things that were probably just unlucky circumstance. Suddenly gathering stories from all sorts of people- friends, acquaintances, complete strangers- about other children who died too young. Trying to find solace and healing in therapy, spending time in nature, and traveling to a retreat. Finally being able to move into a new place, see the possibility of another child in their family, move forward. But never forget. So heartbreaking and solemn. It touched me far more deeply than Imagine Wanting Only This– another book about a period of grief- this felt far more accessible to the reader. Some of the panels are drawn in a simple, cartoony style, others look rougher and sketchy- it fit the mood very well.

One page made me chuckle: the author is on a flight and hears a song someone else is listening to- a Beatles song he doesn’t recognize but it resonates with him. Just the first line of lyrics noted in the drawing made the whole song- tune and all the words- spring into my head because I know that one. He’d never heard it and was surprised- I recognized it instantly. Odd how some things can be like that (my husband is continually surprised when he plays songs I’ve never heard before- or don’t remember that I have- because he assumes everyone will know them).

Borrowed from the public library.