Spring Tides

by Andrew White

A two-part story narrating in images, sounds, and sighs as much as it does in text, the emotional landscapes and physical turmoil of a young couple isolated after a flood submerges the earth and then slowly recedes -- but might return at any time. As they try to understand what happened to them, and how they might recover, SPRING TIDES weaves together themes of isolation and of both personal and global collapse that recall the initial onslaught of the Covid 19 pandemic and soon after, as society attempted to reconfigure and reconstruct itself.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

248 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

The Reverend Canon Andrew White is often known as the Vicar of Baghdad due to his post at St. George's Church there from 2005-2014. White has worked to mediate between conflicting parties in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, and to draw attention to the plight of persecuted people.
He is an experienced hostage negotiator.
He was CEO of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME) from 2005 to 2016.

Reviews

[AG]

I suffer from a few chronic illnesses, and I found myself in some parts almost guessing (or maybe reacting) to how I through the characters would act. At least with my illness, it was very spot on. A lot of this book is very abstract, especially at first. But as soon as some pieces 'clicked', I could really feel what it was going for. In many cases my heart told me exactly what each panel was. For example, the 'circle' or 'pit' motif is one that I can and have sees so thoroughly in my mind's eye.

I wonder how others who don't share this fate will read this. This is sort of a general thought I have on art about illness: who is it truly for? When I am sick, all I think of is when will this be over? When I am healthy, I think how long will this last? Towards the end when the husband is in remission, I started to honestly feel very anxious. The anxiety of returning 'high tides' and how I know it will always go away. It is sometimes the only hope to keeping your life together, something that keeps you and love ones so lonely. All of this makes me wonder what the author has gone (or goes) through and if they are ever escape it's presence.

To answer my own question, I think it is for me a simple reminder: you must do what you must do and do it when you can. I just hope that healthier bodies are lucky enough to learn this from a book.

[Dan P · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's important to gaze into the abyss, but only the correct amount. This is nice, but the art is a bit too abstract for my taste

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely art and a lovely story. I'm quite sick at the moment so the story really resonated with me even though my experience isnt nearly as potent as that in the book. Beautiful abstraction

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything comes in waves