Although Craig Thompson’s Blankets
is described as an illustrated novel, the author says that it is based on
personal experiences, so it has as much claim to be an illustrated memoir.  It
is narrated by the author, who makes himself his main character.  He starts
with himself as a young boy, growing up with his younger brother Phil and their
strict Baptist parents.  The story switches between two time frames, Craig as a
boy and Craig as an older teenager.  The main story in the book is about the
summer when he met a girl, Raina, in Church Camp, and subsequently went to stay
with her family for a few weeks.  Both teens are exceptionally beautiful and
questioning in an ugly world that requires conformity and blind faith, so it is
not surprising that they fall in love and struggle with their Christian
morality.  Craig especially is a serious and devout believer and he often
dwells on verses from the Bible, and as he comes to think about it more, he has
difficulty making sense of Christian doctrine.  Raina is a much more popular
girl, but her family is more unusual, since her has two older siblings who are
both mentally retarded, and her parents are struggling with their marriage.  Raina’s
parents are much more generous and loving than Craig’s, and he learns a great
deal from his time with their family where he is welcomed warmly and he spends
time playing with Raina’s sister. 

It is a touching and impressively
complex story spanning 582 pages, switching between Craig’s childhood and his
first love, showing his isolation from his peers and how close he was to his
brother when he was younger, Raina’s many friendships and the demands on her
within her family, and the growing relationship between the two teens.  But
what really makes Blankets so remarkable is Thompson’s artwork.  He
manages to convey the rare relationship between Craig and Raina as they come to
trust each other and immerse themselves in each other’s lives as they come to
know real intimacy.  It is a crucial time for many teens when they find someone
who understands them for the first time and accepts them for who they are. 
Thompson captures it beautifully.  This book is a deeply personal work, and has
no parallel among other graphic novels.  Highly recommended. 

Links:

• Author website
• Top Shelf
  Comics

© 2005 Christian
Perring. All rights reserved. 

Christian
Perring, Ph.D., is Academic Chair of the Arts & Humanities Division
and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island. He is also editor of Metapsychology Online Review. 
His main research is on philosophical issues in medicine, psychiatry and
psychology.

Categories: ArtAndPhotography, Fiction, Memoirs