I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this. A couple of days ago, I was standing in front of my bookshelves, contemplating what to read next. Even though there is a large number of my books I haven’t read yet, I could find nothing, that appealed to me in that instant. Since I was broke, there was only one thing I could do…. off to the public library. Luckily the library is nearby and shortly after I was browsing through all the treasures that it contained. One of the books I ended up picking was a Graphic Novel, or as I still prefer to call them, a comic. Stop Forgetting to Remember: The Autobiography of Walter Kurtz is written and drawn by Peter Kuper. It is the story of Kuper’s alter ego, Kurtz, and therefore also in large part Kuper’s own story. I love Kuper’s style and here it seems more appropriate than ever. We enter Kurtz’s life while he is trying to get pregnant with his wife, struggling with an autobiographical comic, and trying to keep his friends in his life. It’s no easy task, and as his child is born it gets no easier. Through the story Kurtz breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the reader, acknowledging the fact that this is a very honest, but still unavoidably artificial look into his life. Kurtz tries to create his true work of art, but finds himself impeded by everyday life, a baby that won’t stop crying, deadlines that constantly gets pushed back and so forth. All the while through his narration, his innermost thoughts are revealed and thereby the story never rings false, and everything seems very believable. It was a great experience reading another of Kuper’s books, but this time I felt a twinge of melancholy and fear. If you have doubts as to whether or not having children is for you, best stay clear as some of the insights given regarding parenthood are quite depressing. For a comic it is very text heavy, but the story calls for it, and this is definitely an experience I’d recommend for everyone, even those who normally steer clear of comics.
Check out this link, for a reader’s guide to the book:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307339508&view=rg
