This isn't a review, so it will do a poor job of protecting your ability to enjoy reading the book the first time. The real beauty of Blankets, to me, was that, more than any of the comics I've read so far, this book did a pitch perfect job of combining art and text in a meaningful, surprising way.
This book is, in my mind, the reason that graphic novels shoudl be written - because art and words both have their own unique power, and the synergy of those two powers creates something neither could create on its own.
The most striking example in the book for me is the way Craig visualizes Raina. The climax of Craig's relationship with Raina comes, for me, on page Look closely for a minute at those patterns - because they recur, over and over. Look, first, at the symbol of their relationship, the blanket that appears on page But, again, this theme isn't just something that shows up here and there.
The paisley in particular for me at least raises it's head over and over as he thinks of her. Shadows of it, of the curve versus the angular, appear in their first meetings, intensifying as they get to their intimate quiet moment underneath the basketball hoop. The psalm on is another beautifully realized, and very brazen appearance.
The sex scene on devolves to the point where the very frames of the comic have a paisley-esque fluidity, and her body itself seems to struggle to curve - the movement towards orgasm is, for me at least a continuous effort of him to wrap himself around that pattern, to work his own slouched angularity into the Eastern curvaceousness that he imagines of her. But there's the problem.
And don't get me wrong, this is totally realistic. But there are two Rainas in this book: Raina the goddess-muse-angel, and Raina the woman. The book is from Craig's point of view, and Craig sees what he needs to see - in his noble naivete, he sees what Raina could be, perhaps. But she isn't. She's a human. She fails to be a goddess, over, and over, and over. Amanda, when she read it, said she just didn't get Raina, like it seemed like she was always changing her mind.
I understand Raina, I connected with her in a way that I was incapable of connecting with Craig: because I've been that person. And what she does makes perfect sense - only what she does and what Craig SEES her doing are very, very different things. In the end, for me, that's what the book ended up being about - the moment where you learn that someone isn't what you thought.
And that's why I didn't enjoy it. It was uncomfortable, because I have no idea what it is like to fall in love with someone and find out they don't exist - I had the good fortune to marry a Craig - someone who is unfailingly, completely, exactly who they are. Not that Amanda is perfect, but she is honest, and Craig is the same way - even when he lies, he's telling the truth.
I HAVE been the opposite - someone who desperately needed the world to make more sense, someone who made up a story because it seemed to explain things - and then painted over it when it turns out that telling a story doesn't make it so.
There's a moment, as I saw all the prints of his blanket seeping into his vision of Raina, that I wanted to shake Craig, physically, and shout at him "Don't you see? She didn't give you a blanket of her, she gave you a blanket of you! But for me, this story was foreign, distant - the story that felt present is the story of Raina - who is she in the end? She can't learn what's right, just one more thing that's wrong - and the wrong isn't in Craig, or even in their relationship. Those things were healthy, it's Raina that wasn't healthy - if she were healthy, she could have, perhaps, been what she needed to be.
You can only paint the wall so many times, her story whispers, you can only paint the wall so many times. One more coat of paint, now, but still I know. You can only paint the wall so many times. Posted by Keshalyi at Labels: betrayal , blankets , graphic novel , love , review. I get what you're saying, but for me, one of the things that made the book so perfect was that he managed to portray her as both the idealised muse and the REAL girl - the girl with problems, with a demanding family, with priorities and desires that might not match his own.
Though my discussion with Aarti never quite followed that direction, that's one of the things I meant when I said the book was tender and kind. Sure, he idealises her, but that fact is SO clear and obvious that I can't help but feel that he meant for readers to see through it. He could have presented her as his failed muse - resentfully, passive-aggressively, or even just disappointedly.
But he didn't. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Email Address:. Blankets Story Structure Leave a comment Go to comments. Share this: Email Facebook Twitter Reddit.
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I hope that helps! My First Lecture! Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Email required Address never made public. Name required. Follow Blog via Email Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address: Follow. Will Doom find Danger's runaway brain before the test at school, or will he have a brainless brother forever?!
From their example, you can learn how to structure your own story and make your graphic novel the best it can be. Search for:. Top Create a free website or blog at WordPress. Follow Following. Tim Stout Join other followers. Sign me up. Already have a WordPress. Log in now. Raina appears in 1 issues View all. Origin Raina is a fairly typical and average girl raised in a Christian household with religiously devout Christian parents.
Creation Raina is a main character in the book Blankets, an autobiographical retelling of writer and artist Craig Thompson's early life, although some events and characters have been modified and altered. Tweet Clean. Cancel Update. What size image should we insert? This will not affect the original upload Small Medium How do you want the image positioned around text? Float Left Float Right. Cancel Insert. Go to Link Unlink Change.
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