I was sick this week, but I read some of Eisner and Thompson's work. I will be focusing on Blankets because the subject matter really touched me.
Blankets is a tale of first love, finding yourself, faith, growing up, and change. While I was never a Christian, and have never truly attended church regularly, I relate greatly to Craig's fight with his religion. His constant war between the doctrine and judgment of the church vs. his internal feelings and wants is something I feel like many people can relate to, albeit more of dreams vs. reality.
Craig's first love and journey also struck me deeply. First love can be tough, and it is written so poetically and beautifully that I was pulled into and absorbed into this novel. I really felt like I could feel the emotions he had experienced. All of his tragedies and bliss. He wrote the appreciation of nature and being human into this novel.
The characters were also so real. Despite not being the protagonist, I felt for Raina's troubles. Her family falling apart is something real and a conflict that, while I could not relate to personally, I still felt on an emotional level. Craig's past of being bullied and excluded also made me feel angry on his behalf. Especially in the beginning, when it felt like everyone was against this young kid.
His journey and relationship with Raina really made him look at life differently, and I can understand this because I fought depression and anxiety for many years. After I started getting therapy and medications for my mental health, I also saw the world as more beautiful and that living had more worthwhile meaning. Maybe that's why I actually relate so much to this novel, I was also depressed in high school and to me Craig's childhood to teenage life resembles my periods of depression, where I wasn't sure what I was living for or why I was alive in the first place. His meeting Raina was to me getting care for my depression.
Blankets is a tale of first love, finding yourself, faith, growing up, and change. While I was never a Christian, and have never truly attended church regularly, I relate greatly to Craig's fight with his religion. His constant war between the doctrine and judgment of the church vs. his internal feelings and wants is something I feel like many people can relate to, albeit more of dreams vs. reality.
Craig's first love and journey also struck me deeply. First love can be tough, and it is written so poetically and beautifully that I was pulled into and absorbed into this novel. I really felt like I could feel the emotions he had experienced. All of his tragedies and bliss. He wrote the appreciation of nature and being human into this novel.
The characters were also so real. Despite not being the protagonist, I felt for Raina's troubles. Her family falling apart is something real and a conflict that, while I could not relate to personally, I still felt on an emotional level. Craig's past of being bullied and excluded also made me feel angry on his behalf. Especially in the beginning, when it felt like everyone was against this young kid.
His journey and relationship with Raina really made him look at life differently, and I can understand this because I fought depression and anxiety for many years. After I started getting therapy and medications for my mental health, I also saw the world as more beautiful and that living had more worthwhile meaning. Maybe that's why I actually relate so much to this novel, I was also depressed in high school and to me Craig's childhood to teenage life resembles my periods of depression, where I wasn't sure what I was living for or why I was alive in the first place. His meeting Raina was to me getting care for my depression.
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