The Book of Memory Gaps

by Cecilia Ruiz

Tim Burton meets The Pop-Up Book of Phobias in The Book of Memory Gaps, a poetic and hauntingly funny illustrated book that explores the power and mystery of the human mind, created by author and artist Cecilia Ruiz.

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsivI...

Genres: Graphic Novels, Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Poetry, Art, Short Stories

64 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2015

About the author

Cecilia Ruiz is an illustrator and graphic designer living and working in New York. She obtained a BFA in Graphic Design from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and a MFA in Illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. The Book of Memory Gaps is her first book.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has worked with individuals with a variety of neurological issues, I found this book fascinating. It seemed to capture the essence of what so many people feel as they encounter changes in memory: sadness, confusion, loss--though of what, a vague sense of unease. (And this does not only happen with age.) For that, and for also capturing emotional memory as well as physical memory, I really like it. The book is bracketed by excerpts from Borges poetry which are wonderfully appropriate.

I do love to quote from books I read but here, the book is quite short, only fourteen of these individuals are described. I will provide one example that spoke to me so eloquently: (p 24)


Veronica was bad at faces but good at smells.
She learned to make perfumes and gave them to the ones she loved
so she might know when they were near.


The illustrations are soft and also eloquent.

This book is not for everyone but I believe it will speak to many as it has to me.



A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Noura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is tragic yet beautiful.

I found myself stuck in some of the pages reading them time and time again. This whole book took me by surprise and made me think about stuff dealing with memory that I haven't considered before.
The illustrations themselves are so dreamy and they do a great job transporting you to a world where these characters exist.

If a books could feel like warm hugs, this would be one of them.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the format of the book: 60-ish pages, about half are blank (to signify memory gaps – geddit? ART!) and there are about 15 vignettes of “characters” who have memory problems. One page has a small picture of the “character” with their name underneath, the next page has two, three, sometimes four sentences describing their memory problem, then the third page is a full page illustration. These three pages repeat for each of the “characters” and then the book ends with a quote from Jorge Luis Borges – ART!

None of the vignettes are particularly interesting. To give you an idea of their banality, here’s one:

“Valentin does not remember how certain objects look, thus he often mistakes one thing for another. Lately, he has been carrying around all kinds of bouquets. It appears the little boy is in love.”

That’s the text portion. The picture shows a little boy holding some cutlery and smiling. Repeat 15 times or so.

I suppose the vignettes might be representative of how people are affected by memory issues though I don’t know anyone with memory loss/dementia so I couldn’t say. Except it’s presented in such a light, unimpressive way as to barely scratch the surface of the subject and completely fails to provide any insight whatsoever.

I’m not sure who this book is aimed at – its format is child-like but the subject is clearly grown-up. Nor do I think any child, or adult for that matter, is likely to be engaged with the bland, brief material (the whole book takes five minutes max to read). The blurb describes it as “hauntingly funny” but all I got from it was that everyone in the book has a miserable life because of memory loss. I suppose somebody would find that funny but again I’m not sure who.

The Book of Memory Gaps is pretentious rubbish. One might even say it was… forgettable? Yukyukyuk!

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Received from Netgalley for review.)

This is kind of a distant cousin of The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Which is exactly what I'd been hoping for when I requested it from Netgalley. The format is essentially the same, a very brief vignette with an accompanying illustration. Even the art is somewhat reminiscent of Gorey's, but in color. Of course, it isn't quite as good as Gorey, but what is?

The theme here is the loss of memory. I found the entire book to be very sad, and some of the pieces were especially effective for me. This might be because I watched a family member (my grandfather) lose his memories (Alzheimer's) so it hit home for me. I didn't find it funny in the slightest, and I'm not at all sure that Ruiz meant it to be. Maybe that's because I was reading it through my own personal experiences and couldn't find whatever humor might have been in the situations, or maybe that's just publisher copy.

There are a few drawbacks. The book is very, very short, and seems to have an awful lot of white space. The art is nice, but not spectacular. The formatting seemed to be off on my Kindle copy. Hopefully, that at least will be fixed before release. For lovers of Edward Gorey, this will read either as homage (as I took it) or mimicry.

[Aaron Aceves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, tragicomic.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book of Memory Gaps surprised me. Just by reading the title, I was expecting a full blown fictional narrative, with a protagonist who had somehow been struck with retrograde amnesia, struggling to find his way in this strange place he had just woken to. That could be because I read The Man Called Noon, by Louis L’Amour quite a few times as a young boy. Regardless of my pulp Western bias, Cecilia Ruiz has created a remarkably succinct series of vignettes in a simple structure. The character is introduced with a portrait and name on the first page. That character’s second page is a brief description of a specific behavior involving a lost or created memory. The third page is a full page illustration of that character in Ms. Ruiz’s interpretation of the behavior described. To be quite honest, the book slowly grew on me.

Used to reading and consuming and reading and consuming ad nauseum, I found it refreshing that Ms. Ruiz has created a beautiful series of case studies, each one capable of further study. Created in a manner that brings to mind the texture of cotton duck fabric, with muted pastels, the artwork does not scream at the reader. Instead, it beckons you in, with its subtlety and nuance. Tone and shade are layered and juxtaposed to weave a tapestry of visual depth on the third page of each vignette. Indeed, I was drawn into each image, finding a different angle of interpretation after each discovery of technique.

Pragmatically, no matter the beauty one sees in a book, I have to keep in mind what my purpose is in reading as many graphic novels as possible. I am on the hunt for books that can be used in the secondary classroom, for Art, History, English, or Science courses. Practical use of The Book of Memory Gaps is best served in the Art and Psychology classes. Art classes are an obvious use. Masterful use of different painting techniques are on display on the first and third page of each character vignette. Psychology, however, is a more esoteric application. The character vignettes can be used as an introduction to specific topics of study, requiring students to interpret the artwork, and to hypothesize with what malady the character is afflicted. Or it could give the teacher an inspiration of how to channel the students’ artistic abilities by having them personalize and humanize psychological maladies in Ms. Ruiz’s model of a character vignettes. Either would be extremely useful and practical in the modern classroom.

In sum, The Book of Memory Gaps, by Cecilia Ruiz, 2015, Blue Rider Press, is a graphic novel that is akin to alluring poetry. I would recommend it for purchase, and for use in the academic classroom. While the words are few on its pages, the stories contained within its pictures are endless.

[Laurens · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art, the very short stories, and the shortcomings of our memory will instill a feeling of sadness within you.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Epigrammatic sayings, somewhat Haiku-like, terse, describe aspects of loss - or remembrance - of memories. How one thing hearkens back to a past time or experience, while others are hopelessly doomed to repeat actions because they cannot remember having done them. This is a cryptic, and thought-provoking, often funny, slim volume - sayings accompanied by "simple" illustrations, in muted tones. Is it a graphic novel? Perhaps - since the illustrations definitely add to the texts. Perhaps the overall message is about both the persistence of memory, and the possibility that memory may fade - in unexpected ways.

Here's an example of a text:

"One morning Koka found a bag of useless money under the bed. She recalled it was her hidden stash, only this time the bills were no longer in circulation. Assaulted by feelings of embarrassment and self-torture, she spent the day making a list of all the things she would have done with the money."

The book is structured around characters - most of whom have Russian-sounding names, interestingly enough. The sayings are about each character, and the character then appears in an intro portrait vignette as well as an illustration of the dilemma or memory trap they've fallen into. Or alternatively, the memory that they have recollected. The book is not entirely about "lost memories" despite the title. This is a fun, thoughtful, ultimately somewhat wistful comment on imaginary quirks of memory, perhaps meant to remind the reader about the foibles of recollection, and the possibility that memory can disappear.

[Sem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't a review, it's an observation on the description of this book as 'hauntingly funny'. Haunting it may be but it's not funny, nor is it 'darkly humorous' as the cover blurb claims. If it is darkly humorous it's only because life, in its essence, is darkly humorous. 'Poignantly true' would be more accurate and, as far as the art is concerned, luminous. The only time I laughed was when I read the 1 star reviews. A book isn't bad just because you have a lot of growing up to do. It's a book that waits for you somewhere in your future.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hmm this was an odd little book - and terribly depressing. 16 people are portrayed, describing the troubles they have with memory, paired with a picture illustrating it. The illustrations were in muted colors, and the characters were always portrayed alone, which to me made it much more sad. The description said it was "hauntingly funny" but I found nothing funny about it - it seemed much to true to life, and made me pity the characters and wonder at their day-to-day lives. Also, being a very short picture book, I have no idea who the intended audience is - it's clearly not for children, but I also wouldn't give it to anyone with memory problems or anyone dealing with family/friends with memory problems. Hmm indeed.

[Charlotte Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is an extremely short 64 pages long and it took me just a few minutes to read. This isn't the kind of graphic novel that has a plot, it is more a glimpse at several characters lives all on the theme of memory. There are very few words but overall I think this book is definitely worth picking up just for the artwork. Cecilia Ruiz' illustrations are amazing and captivating; this is the kind of book that I would love to own in hardcover just to look at the illustrations.

Overall I think that this needed to be longer because I didn't feel like I got much out of this reading experience apart from finding an artist I now enjoy. I'd definitely be interested in this author's future works but as a graphic novel, this one didn't wow me.

[Jami Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful book defies categorization: it is not quite a graphic novel, not quite a picture book, not quite a coffee table book... or rather I should say it is *more than* all of these things. Cecilia Ruiz condenses the whole lives of her characters in just a few sentences: each story is dense and crystallized, like a poem. Each character is accompanied by a full-page illustration that both captures the accompanying text and elevates it-- the art and the text work together to deepen our understanding. Through these microscopic portraits of the characters' lives, we see how memory shapes us as a people. This is a book to show to your friends. This is a book to ponder; it is a delight.

[Bunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review I keep forgetting to put this part but I have a shelf so don't judge me

As a person whose memory is full of gaps, I found this short little book charming and a little sad.

There's only about 15 stories, I believe, accompanied by artwork. You get the person's story, then a beautifully and simply drawn example of what their memory gap means for them. The composer destroying his piano is probably my favorite.

I don't really know what genre this book falls into. The style makes you think of children's books, but it's certainly not. It's not quite an art book, though I'd leave it out on my coffee table, should I ever purchase a coffee table.

Very enjoyable.

[Chris - Quarter Press Editor · Rating 5 out of 5]

As many have already said, this is very reminiscent of Gorey's works. Honestly, by the third "character," I was already thinking of Gorey and his collected tales.

However, where Gorey is dark and stark in story and art, Ruiz paints beautiful and somber words and works. The book is gorgeous, the art and brief story lines working extremely well together. Some of the tales are humorous, others heartbreaking, and some a perfect mix of the two.

Memory is a funny thing, and Ruiz explores it wonderfully here. This is a tiny book well worth the price of admission and one worthy of any shelf.

[Calliope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful little art book about the way our memories shape our world. It begins with a simple sentence: "We are the things we don't remember, the blank spaces, the forgotten words." It doesn't take long to finish this book, but I found myself rereading it several times, carefully observing the illustrations of each memory-cursed character...

Read the rest of my review here!

[amanda s. · Rating 4 out of 5]

****An ARC of The Book of Memory Gaps by Cecilia Ruiz was generously provided to me via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

3.5 stars, good but it's a bit "empty" for me.

By empty I mean, I see a lot of blank pages on my Kindle and that's kind of boring. But I do love the short stories and the illustrations too. It's cute and I love it. It's too short though but it's okay. Overall I enjoyed this book.

[Megan Beauchamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small book is lovely, wistful, sad, funny, and ironic. I read it in five minutes and I want more! Each page with a few short lines and a picture tell a tale of a person and their memory. So beautiful and touching. Everyone should read this!

[Alya AlShaibani · Rating 5 out of 5]

this little thing was so wonderfully sad :( i loved it :(

[Fionn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

From time to time I enjoy picking up quirky books at the library, and this debut book from the author/artist is certainly quirky.  That said, this is the sort of book whose true home is likely on someone's table to be read quickly by appreciative guests who share the author's strong interest in memory and its problems [1].  Although this is a short book, it is a vivid one and both its drawings and text provoke the reader to ponder the many ways that memory can go wrong and the resourcefulness that is required to counteract for the memory issues we sometimes face as people.  As a result, this book is frequently poignant and touching, and one gets a great deal of sympathy or empathy (as the case may be) for the people being portrayed because one can see them as true to life and perhaps even not so unlike ourselves.  I know I found in this book at least one character who is not so different from me, be that as it may.  Other readers are likely to identify or at least understand the problems faced by the well-drawn characters here.

This short book of less than 100 pages (the pages are not numbered) begins with the moving line:  "We are the things we don't remember, the blank spaces, the forgotten words," and then the author/artist proceeds to draw a set of very beautiful drawings that showcase people who suffer from a variety of memory problems:  Valentin who forgets what objects look like and who has a bouquet of silverware, Polina whose inability to create new memories leads her to perform as if it were opening night even to an empty theater, Pavel, whose playing of he same melody over and over again on his violin drives out all the neighbors, Veronika whose forgetfulness of faces leads her to create perfumes for those whom she loves so that she can recognize them by scent, Simon whose painful memory of the sins confessed to him leaves him burdened with borrowed guilt, Koka, who tortures herself with writing lists of how she would have spent obsolete currency, Pyotr who whistles the tunes of birds he has only heard once to comfort himself on lonely days, Ivan, who moved to a quiet place on a mountain that reminds him of riding on the shoulders of his grandfather when he was a child, Nadya, who is haunted by the vastness of an ocean she falsely remembers swimming in, Alexander, who like Ringo Starr is frustrated by unknowingly composing songs that have been written over and over again, and so on and so forth.

In looking at this collection of drawings and the names and stories accompanying them, this book as a whole has the feel of a melancholy look at the life of memory deprived people in Eastern Europe.  One wonders why the author was inspired to think of Russia and other former Soviet or ex-Communist countries as being those who would be the most haunted by memory or by historical sins.  As a reader of this book, I kept on feeling that the author was drawn to places where the ghost of historical memory has cursed a place with a great deal of regret and loss, where there are cities that are broken down and where memory of wrongs committed and wrongs suffered makes memory a particularly treacherous matter.  What inspired the author to think of this subject, and what stories does she have to share of memory for herself?  This is a short book with lovely drawings, but one that invites far more questions than it gives answers.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2010...

[Sonaksha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was curious because of the title and had to pick it up. I loved this so so so so much that I wish it was more than just a few pages! Aaaaaa, but that's how we feel with books we love sometimes, no? I do wish this was a bit longer though, because I felt like it ended just as I began falling in love with the format, the stories and wandering with them in my head. Yet, I think I'll just go back and read these again and again every time I want more. P.S: Also love how it is a tribute to Jorge Luis Borges! His words on memories are some of my favourites.

[John Bialas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry it took me more than five years to give my opinions about "The Book of Memory Gaps."
Wow, it took me more than five years to finish this 64-page book, which has 28 illustrations and around 37 sentences. Once I finally read the book, it took just two minutes.
Now I have questions. What time and place are depicted in the book? Who are the people? Are they Eastern Europeans? I see them as lonely and melancholy.
What’s the audience for this book? I like it. Who else will?
Many thanks to Blue Rider Press and NetGalley for the 2015 ARC.

[Leila Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn’t a narrative but a well curated environment to show us what memory loss looks like. I’ve seen many with memory loss and they’ve passed. This book was brief but a small snapshot of what it looked like from the outside and what it was like when someone faces these memory gaps. It’s simple. That’s the beauty of it. Read it to your kid and explain it fully to them later. The book of memory gaps accurately depicts the vagueness, confusing, sad, scary, and naive aspects of memory gaps.

[Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, with very short accompanying narratives of mostly sad characters. My fave was Veronika: bad at faces but good at smells. She gives perfumes out to remember people.

A neat concept which would have been enhanced with at least one essay to tie the vignettes together. At the end, still left scratching my head regarding the overall theme of this book.

[Helen Guo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives me chilling feelings as I have family member who suffers from neurological problems and memory loss. It’s hurtful to witness and scary to think about what could happen down the road.

My favorite part is the lady who is bad with faces and good with smells. It’s so romantic to remember someone by their smell.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A poignant and beautiful book about memory loss. Soft black and white illustrations are accompanied by short lines of poetry that bring you to an understanding of what the person is experiencing in their memory loss. This will linger in your mind.

[Rhea D'Souza · Rating 3 out of 5]

An absurd little book .

The Book of Memory Gaps left me thinking i possibly missed something , made me a tad bit uncomfortable - may be that's a good thing while talking about disorders of memory? :)

Overall - lovely graphics , and quirky little storylines and characters.

[Rani · Rating 3 out of 5]

How do we fill memory gaps when we have nothing to tell...

[MaryJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky, creative, imaginative, sweet, soulful, poetic, poignant.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

"THE BOOK OF MEMORY GAPS" by Cecilia Ruiz ***
Sad, sweet, a cause to pause and reflect
..