Sunday, February 12, 2012

A Novel in Photographs


Chopsticks by Jessica and Rodrigo Crorral
Razorbill, Penguin, February 2012

There's no denying that we live in an increasingly visual culture, but so many of the visuals we're bombarded with are moving at a frenzied pace. Chopsticks is a visual novel, but not a graphic novel. It is a novel in photos and letters, moments captured and still on a page. When Glory, a teen piano prodigy, breaks down and plays Chopsticks at a concert, she's sent away to recover- that is until she disappears completely. Prior to her breakdown, Glory had been moving moments of her life away from music, starting to have a relationship with Francisco, a boy trying to adjust to high school in the US. Through photos, playlists, drawings, and letters, Francisco and Glory's relationship unfolds, revealing some hints as to the nature of Glory's disappearance. Chopsticks is an intimate look at a teen romance, complete with suggestions for musical accompaniment while you linger over the images.

1 comment:

  1. I had no idea this was a novel in photos. So there's no text whatsoever? Or are there captions for the photos?

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