Stitches: A Memoir
By David Small, W.W. Norton, 2009, Hardcover, 336 pages, $24.95
David Small is no stranger to illustration and publishing; he has illustrated a plethora of books for children including the whimsically titled, "So You Want to be an Explorer?" "Once Upon a Banana," and "When Dinosaurs Came with Everything." These books have put his name on prestigious bestseller lists and have won him numerous awards. His new memoir though, a graphic novel, does not come with a cutesy title that will make it favorable among small children. Called "Stitches," it's a story about Small's struggles with a dysfunctional family and a troublesome childhood.
Small, born in Detroit, has an MFA from Yale and taught art to college students before he began his career as an illustrator. Because of his success, it is surprising to discover, in his memoir, that he had so many obstacles to confront at such a young age. The book's opening presents those obstacles and displays pictures of Detroit that are haunting, immediately setting a bleak backdrop. He paints in watercolors, but only in various shades of black and white, giving the book a smoky, nightmarish look. Once the reader gets to the dialogue, the story supports that look with a depressing description of his mother's pathological behavior: "Mama had her little cough ... Once or twice, some quiet sobbing out of sight ... Or the slamming of kitchen doors. That was her language."
The gloomy mood of the story does not end there; in fact, it continues through to the ending. And although a dream at the end serves as a hazy conclusion, Small skips any sort of upbeat denouement that would convince the reader that he is now a successful artist.
There are other dreams, too, that the reader must unravel to understand the young boy's struggles. Actually, the story is peppered with childlike illusions and delusions. For instance he provides numerous allusions to "Alice in Wonderland" in the pictures -- he draws himself standing on his head in one of his drawings, as well as falling into his head, only to slide down into a stomach, filled with cartoon characters awaiting him with open arms. Small references Lewis Carroll's classic in his text as well: "I had fallen in love with Alice. Especially with her long blonde hair. I thought it must be her hair that gave Alice the magic ability to travel to a land of talking animals, singing flowers and dancing tea pots." There is also a white rabbit, complete with a stopwatch, who counsels him through adolescence.
If you wonder why Small created such a mythology in his childhood and shrouded himself in illusion, the story explains it all: His father, medically trained in the 50s, used his son as a guinea pig of sorts and relied on science to rid his son's ills: "And it was dad the radiologist who gave me the many X-rays that were supposed to cure my sinus problems." X-rays for sinus problems? While no one will argue the medical field in the 50s differs from that of today, it does seem odd that a doctor would expose his own son to medical equipment -- in the basement -- that had not been fully tested yet. And as the story unfolds, the reader is exposed to the horrifying outcome of this constant "treatment."
Since Small already has a reputation in the art and publishing world, and because of his candid nature in this book, the graphic novel is decorated with praise from famous authors and graphic novelists. He gets accolades from Stan Lee, creator of Spiderman, for his "groundbreaking work;" Robert Crumb, the godfather of alternative comics, for a "powerful story;" and Francoise Mouly, art editor for The New Yorker, for his creation of an "intensely dramatic" book. Whether or not you agree with the titans of the industry, don't shy away from "Stitches." Sometimes it is necessary to see another person's life to understand your own -- even if that act may entail peering into a looking glass, only to discover a haunting nightmare. n