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Review: Don't Go Where I Can't Follow
Don't Go Where I Can't Follow
Written and Drawn by Anders Nilsen (with Cheryl Weaver)
Publishes by Drawn & Quarterly $17.95
"It's just love and loss. And everyone, for better or worse, can relate to that."
So says Anders Nilsen in the Afterword to this slim memoir, and it's very true. While probably not many readers will have lost their young, true love as Nilsen has, everyone has experienced a loss, or even a powerful love, and that's what gets this book over a rather spare approach. It's almost the opposite tack than that taken with Craig Thompson's Blankets, which was sprawling in its moist eyelashes look back at that One Great Love That Went Sour. From a coldly critical vantage point, I can say that Nilsen has more to work with dramatically--his Great Love dies. But give him credit--the book doesn't feel exploitative or manipulative at all. Nilsen is a tender but economical writer and cartoonist and relies only on a handful of sweet nothings and some loving drawings and photos to convey this love and this relationship. Another publisher might ask that he go back and fill in all the details of how these two got together and how their loved dawned and grew, but Nilsen sticks mainly to real artifacts such as photos from a trip to Paris or a letter to his sister about a mishap-filled but fairly mundane camping trip. He doesn't embellish the trip for pathos or extra romance. It's just a camping trip with some of the usual problems campers face, and the only thing special about it is when one pictures oneself in Nilsen's place, being in love with a cool chick who's up for adventure and enjoying the moment.
That said, the standout piece in the book is the final section, a beautiful piece in Nilsen's recognizable, painstaking style, depicting Cheryl's memorial and Nilsen releasing her cremains to Lake Michigan. After the sad, scattered journal entries from Cheryl's hospital room that preceded this section, one has to let Nilsen have his moment to honor Cheryl and the love he and all their family and friends showed to her on that day. It may not jerk tears out of you, but that's fine. It's enough to be reminded about love and loss and how precious they are and how you can live through both, and that there are talented artists who can help you do just that.
Written and Drawn by Anders Nilsen (with Cheryl Weaver)
Publishes by Drawn & Quarterly $17.95
"It's just love and loss. And everyone, for better or worse, can relate to that."
So says Anders Nilsen in the Afterword to this slim memoir, and it's very true. While probably not many readers will have lost their young, true love as Nilsen has, everyone has experienced a loss, or even a powerful love, and that's what gets this book over a rather spare approach. It's almost the opposite tack than that taken with Craig Thompson's Blankets, which was sprawling in its moist eyelashes look back at that One Great Love That Went Sour. From a coldly critical vantage point, I can say that Nilsen has more to work with dramatically--his Great Love dies. But give him credit--the book doesn't feel exploitative or manipulative at all. Nilsen is a tender but economical writer and cartoonist and relies only on a handful of sweet nothings and some loving drawings and photos to convey this love and this relationship. Another publisher might ask that he go back and fill in all the details of how these two got together and how their loved dawned and grew, but Nilsen sticks mainly to real artifacts such as photos from a trip to Paris or a letter to his sister about a mishap-filled but fairly mundane camping trip. He doesn't embellish the trip for pathos or extra romance. It's just a camping trip with some of the usual problems campers face, and the only thing special about it is when one pictures oneself in Nilsen's place, being in love with a cool chick who's up for adventure and enjoying the moment.
That said, the standout piece in the book is the final section, a beautiful piece in Nilsen's recognizable, painstaking style, depicting Cheryl's memorial and Nilsen releasing her cremains to Lake Michigan. After the sad, scattered journal entries from Cheryl's hospital room that preceded this section, one has to let Nilsen have his moment to honor Cheryl and the love he and all their family and friends showed to her on that day. It may not jerk tears out of you, but that's fine. It's enough to be reminded about love and loss and how precious they are and how you can live through both, and that there are talented artists who can help you do just that.
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