Review: Blankets by Craig Thompson

There is a lot going on in Craig Thompson’s autobiographical graphic novel Blankets.  With a deeply personal touch, Thompson draws and writes about his childhood and teenage years and their hardships, joys, and discoveries.  Writing about his brother, family, church camps, and first love, Thompson lays it all bare.  He truly had some difficult things to deal with in his childhood that no child should have to face, and we see him struggle with his faith and family relationships as a result.

While I admire the book’s artwork, story, and the author himself, it is difficult for me to write this review as I disagree with (but am mostly sad about) the book’s conclusion.  As I was reading the book, I was hoping for it to end a certain way when in fact it went the 180 degree opposite direction.  Of course, this is the author’s life so he has every right to write about and illustrate how he really feels, but… I was still very sad at the end.  There’s no denying he has a gift for writing and illustration, though, and I would definitely pick up another one of Thompson’s graphic novels in the future.

The picture below is one of the illustrations dealing with the first night that he and his brother finally get their own rooms.   After waiting so long for them after sharing a room for many years, it’s not hard to imagine what happens that first night.  I’ll save that for you to read on your own, though! (This book has mature themes and I wouldn’t recommend it for those under 16 or 17.)

592 pp., 2003
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