Blankets is the story of the author's childhood and his first love told in visual format -a 600-page graphic novel, featuring lively black-and-white work with brush and ink (incidentally, I would willingly kill a man to have Thompson's skill with line and form). He grew up in a suffocatingly conservative family, and the book makes skillful use of his Christian teachings. No fear: Thompson is anything but preachy. (I strongly dislike the person who protests at the first mention of religion in a book.) The true power of Blankets, though, lies in the story of Raina: Raina meets Craig at church camp, and the two quickly become friends, before Craig begins -slowly- to love her. It sounds trite at my word, but then I have trouble describing the things that truly wow me. I've read a few books that pick you up, fly you in loops, over peaks and through valleys, and at last drop you, so you end a pile of flesh and bone, it's simply so shattering to turn the last page. This is one of them. Rating: 5Q, 4P
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