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Stitches: A Memoir
The #1 New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist that "breaks new ground for graphic novels" (Francois Mouly, art editor, The New Yorker).
David Small, a best-selling and highly regarded children's book illustrator, comes forward with this unflinching graphic memoir. Remarkable and intensely dramatic, Stitches tells the story of a fourteen-year-old boy who awakes one day from a supposedly harmless operation to discover that he has been transformed into a virtual mute—a vocal cord removed, his throat slashed and stitched together like a bloody boot. From horror to hope, Small proceeds to graphically portray an almost unbelievable descent into adolescent hell and the difficult road to physical, emotional, and artistic recovery.
A National Book Award finalist; winner of the ALA's Alex Award; a #1 New York Times graphic bestseller; Publishers Weekly and Washington Post Top Ten Books of the Year, Los Angeles Times Favorite Book, ALA Great Graphic Novels, Booklist Editors Choice Award, Huffington Post Great Books of 2009, Kirkus Reviews Best of 2009, Village Voice Best Graphic Novel, finalist for two 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (Best Writer/Artist: Nonfiction; Best Reality-Based Work).
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2009
200 people are currently reading
37901 people want to read
About the author
David Small
122 books317 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
David Small is the recipient of the Caldecott Medal, a Christopher Medal, and the E. B. White Award for his picture books, which include Imogene's Antlers, The Gardener, and So, You Want to Be President? He lives in Mendon, Michigan.
David Small is the recipient of the Caldecott Medal, a Christopher Medal, and the E. B. White Award for his picture books, which include Imogene's Antlers, The Gardener, and So, You Want to Be President? He lives in Mendon, Michigan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,525 reviews
March 2, 2018
"Mama had her little cough...
Once or twice, some quiet sobbing, out of sight...
Or the slamming of kitchen doors.
That was her language.
Dad, home from work, went down to the basement and thumped a punching bag.
That was his language.
My brother, Ted, beat on his drum.
And I, too, had learned a way of expressing myself wordlessly...
Getting sick, that was my language.
Stitches is a poignant, sometimes tragicomic memoir of David Small, best known as the author and illustrator of numerous picture books for children.
Through this emotional and cathartic graphic memoir, David takes the reader back to his childhood in Detroit, which was not a happy one.
"Dad never there except occasionally for one of mother's dry, burned little meals ; mother coiled tight inside her shell of angry, resentful silence ; my brother in his, and I in mine."
When David was eleven, a friend (!) of his mother noticed that he had a growth in his neck. It took his uncaring and egotistical parents, who had other priorities, more than three years, before they decided to let the 'cyst' surgically remove.
The consequences were devastating for David, but nevertheless at home, everything stayed the same.
Needless to say that the indifferent, hostile attitude of his parents, left deep scars, possibly even deeper than the stitches on his throat.
David became a resentful teenager, and at the age of fifteen, he was sent home from his school with the advice to seek psychiatric help.
This is a very accomplished graphic memoir ; a small masterpiece even. The art is gorgeous and highly creative in conveying David's vulnerability, emotions, and the pain inflicted on him by his oppressive, uncaring parents.
David never learned to speak his mind at home. This book shows that he nevertheless found his voice.
Beautiful, unforgettable and highly recommended.
Once or twice, some quiet sobbing, out of sight...
Or the slamming of kitchen doors.
That was her language.
Dad, home from work, went down to the basement and thumped a punching bag.
That was his language.
My brother, Ted, beat on his drum.
And I, too, had learned a way of expressing myself wordlessly...
Getting sick, that was my language.
Stitches is a poignant, sometimes tragicomic memoir of David Small, best known as the author and illustrator of numerous picture books for children.
Through this emotional and cathartic graphic memoir, David takes the reader back to his childhood in Detroit, which was not a happy one.
"Dad never there except occasionally for one of mother's dry, burned little meals ; mother coiled tight inside her shell of angry, resentful silence ; my brother in his, and I in mine."
When David was eleven, a friend (!) of his mother noticed that he had a growth in his neck. It took his uncaring and egotistical parents, who had other priorities, more than three years, before they decided to let the 'cyst' surgically remove.
The consequences were devastating for David, but nevertheless at home, everything stayed the same.
Needless to say that the indifferent, hostile attitude of his parents, left deep scars, possibly even deeper than the stitches on his throat.
David became a resentful teenager, and at the age of fifteen, he was sent home from his school with the advice to seek psychiatric help.
This is a very accomplished graphic memoir ; a small masterpiece even. The art is gorgeous and highly creative in conveying David's vulnerability, emotions, and the pain inflicted on him by his oppressive, uncaring parents.
David never learned to speak his mind at home. This book shows that he nevertheless found his voice.
Beautiful, unforgettable and highly recommended.
January 8, 2020
Violent, extreme, tearing but at the same time melancholic and touching. This is absolutely a beautiful graphic novel with depth, I was getting a bit tired lately, because apart from the usual famous works, I could not find anything really relevant to read. This is really a little pearl!
Violento,estremo,lacerante ma allo stesso tempo melanconico e toccante. Assolutamente una bella graphic novel con spessore, mi stavo un pò stufando ultimamene,perchè a parte le solite opere famose, non trovavo nulla di veramente rilevante da leggere. Questa è veramente una piccola perla!
Violento,estremo,lacerante ma allo stesso tempo melanconico e toccante. Assolutamente una bella graphic novel con spessore, mi stavo un pò stufando ultimamene,perchè a parte le solite opere famose, non trovavo nulla di veramente rilevante da leggere. Questa è veramente una piccola perla!
February 21, 2012
If it were up to me, all biographies and memoirs would be written in graphic novel form. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, The Complete Maus, The Complete Persepolis, Blankets ; these are all near-perfect expressions of personal and familial experience. The power of imagery saves the subject matter from being bogged down by the excessively wordy, self-justifying tendencies of some, and the oblique, pseudo-poetic drivel of others. The best graphic novel memoirs and biographies seem to combat these tendencies by utilizing a profound economy made possible by the the concentrated effect of the visual. Everyone knows the old truism, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but books like these show you what it really means to tell a story visually.
Stitches is perhaps one of the best examples of this, even compared to the aforementioned masterpieces of the genre. Spare is the keyword here, as simple and often entirely silent series of panels tell a heartbreaking but ultimately redemptive coming of age story.
Childhood is a bizarre and dangerous time; so much of who we are is the result of those formative years, and so much can go wrong. Some of us get lucky and we enter adulthood with nothing but a few minor scrapes and mental bruises, mitigated by affection and happy memories. But some of us are like David Small, and we are scarred.
A bleak childhood and the questionable practices of 1950’s medicine (including the ministrations of Small’s radiologist father) leave Small scarred inside as well as out. The story is not a pleasant one, and there is no real humor to lighten the burden of disclosure, but it is told with such subtle beauty that it is worth the pain, like life itself often proves to be. (I apologize at this maudlin tendency, but there it is).
Silence, both literal and metaphorical is the tool most often and effectively used by Small as he relates his traumatic and disturbing youth. Rendered voiceless for years by a mysterious medical procedure, he understands the power and difficulty of silence. His family doesn’t communicate— typical of their repressive time—and even with a voice, Small is rarely heard. Perhaps it is this lack of voice that gives him the ability to encapsulate a swathe of years in a few lines and the subtle shading of a face. He is definitely a master of facial expressions, if not of vocalization.
There are moments of, if not joy, then understanding from time to time. And there are some truly disturbing events as well. . But life is full of both, it just seems that he got a bit more of the latter and at the end of his story I found myself surprised that he didn’t grow up to be a serial killer. David Small (and the rest of us) should be very thankful for the cathartic effect of storytelling. And good therapists.
Stitches is perhaps one of the best examples of this, even compared to the aforementioned masterpieces of the genre. Spare is the keyword here, as simple and often entirely silent series of panels tell a heartbreaking but ultimately redemptive coming of age story.
Childhood is a bizarre and dangerous time; so much of who we are is the result of those formative years, and so much can go wrong. Some of us get lucky and we enter adulthood with nothing but a few minor scrapes and mental bruises, mitigated by affection and happy memories. But some of us are like David Small, and we are scarred.
A bleak childhood and the questionable practices of 1950’s medicine (including the ministrations of Small’s radiologist father) leave Small scarred inside as well as out. The story is not a pleasant one, and there is no real humor to lighten the burden of disclosure, but it is told with such subtle beauty that it is worth the pain, like life itself often proves to be. (I apologize at this maudlin tendency, but there it is).
Silence, both literal and metaphorical is the tool most often and effectively used by Small as he relates his traumatic and disturbing youth. Rendered voiceless for years by a mysterious medical procedure, he understands the power and difficulty of silence. His family doesn’t communicate— typical of their repressive time—and even with a voice, Small is rarely heard. Perhaps it is this lack of voice that gives him the ability to encapsulate a swathe of years in a few lines and the subtle shading of a face. He is definitely a master of facial expressions, if not of vocalization.
There are moments of, if not joy, then understanding from time to time. And there are some truly disturbing events as well. . But life is full of both, it just seems that he got a bit more of the latter and at the end of his story I found myself surprised that he didn’t grow up to be a serial killer. David Small (and the rest of us) should be very thankful for the cathartic effect of storytelling. And good therapists.
April 19, 2017
My Goodness. Horrendously cruel and unloving parents, a nasty grandma, lies and a shocking surprise lead to a nightmare of a memoir and rather disturbing, but powerful work of graphic art.
STITCHES is aptly named with creepy book cover and illustrations to match dipicting a horror of a family and a sad child turned troubled teen.
"When you have no voice, you don't exist."
Interesting and unusual medical reveal about David's mother at the conclusion.
February 21, 2016
Not sure how David Small's Stitches passed me by when originally published back in 2009 - I guess there are just too many fascinating comics coming out these days for me to keep up. Luckily, a few days ago I came across the title in a GR list of comic-book memoirs and finally ordered it from the library: what a revelation! Told in a sparse and subtle yet fluid and emotionally charged style, Small's coming-of-age memoir is as devastating as it is cathartic - the kind of book that stays with you long after you put it down. I don't think I have ever seen a more accurate or convincing depiction of the vulnerability of childhood in comic-book form.
October 8, 2022
Cancer in childhood is devastating enough without also living in a dysfunctional family. Stitches is illustrator David Small’s memoir of surviving these, told in snapshots of formative incidents before and after getting diagnosed. In particular, his mother’s lack of love had a profound effect on him, and he hinted at her personal pain, a pain he didn’t yet know the depth of, co-existing with his own. Stitches is a grim read that left me impressed by the author’s resilience; after leaving his unloving home at age sixteen, he paved his own way and is now a very successful illustrator.
Small used watercolor, such a difficult medium to control but gorgeous when it is controlled. He did that. The watercoloring is beautifully done, casting shadows across most panels to soften each drawing. The pen drawings are expressive and detailed, sometimes drawn from interesting (and no doubt hard-to-draw) angles. He used a simple gray-and-white palette to his advantage. Here, colors that could be lifeless instead effectively highlight the sadness and emptiness of his childhood. I was, however, a bit thrown off by the character drawings; they’re oddly inconsistent, with characters sometimes looking like decrepit zombies (or in one case, a preserved human fetus that looks like a malicious imp).
Stitches is pretty much just a memoir; there’s no take-away for the reader except perhaps to show that one’s misfortune in childhood needn’t define someone for life. Small had a tough childhood and crafting this work was probably cathartic.
Small used watercolor, such a difficult medium to control but gorgeous when it is controlled. He did that. The watercoloring is beautifully done, casting shadows across most panels to soften each drawing. The pen drawings are expressive and detailed, sometimes drawn from interesting (and no doubt hard-to-draw) angles. He used a simple gray-and-white palette to his advantage. Here, colors that could be lifeless instead effectively highlight the sadness and emptiness of his childhood. I was, however, a bit thrown off by the character drawings; they’re oddly inconsistent, with characters sometimes looking like decrepit zombies (or in one case, a preserved human fetus that looks like a malicious imp).
Stitches is pretty much just a memoir; there’s no take-away for the reader except perhaps to show that one’s misfortune in childhood needn’t define someone for life. Small had a tough childhood and crafting this work was probably cathartic.
October 18, 2017
Wow.
David Small’s graphic novel Stitches is unlike any graphic novel book I have ever read. There are no zombies, no superheroes and no arcane or occult subjects at all, and yet my jaw dropped more than once.
It took me about an hour to get to the end and it was riveting. This reminds me of what a storyboard for an Augusten Burroughs film might look like. Very much worth the very minimal investment in time to experience.
David Small’s graphic novel Stitches is unlike any graphic novel book I have ever read. There are no zombies, no superheroes and no arcane or occult subjects at all, and yet my jaw dropped more than once.
It took me about an hour to get to the end and it was riveting. This reminds me of what a storyboard for an Augusten Burroughs film might look like. Very much worth the very minimal investment in time to experience.
February 8, 2024
When a young boy looses his voice after an operation we watch as he tries to make himself 'heard.' This book looks at all the different types of wounds there are; and how we try to 'stich' those wounds so that we can keep on going. Powerful, disturbing and (afraid to say) relevant to a much wider group of people than we are aware of.
December 12, 2013
book #6 for Jugs & Capes!!
Holy motherfuck, this book is intense. It's a real fast read, despite its intimidating heft. And it's just terribly devastating—powerful and aching and sparse and horribly beautiful, and oh also did I mention that it's terribly devastating?
I mean, not devastating in an irredeemable way, like those maudlin mass-market bestsellers where everyone dies slowly & tragically while staring meaningfully into their loved ones' eyes and gently speaking words of unbearably sad and corny wisdom (you can tell how many of those books I've actually read, right?). No, Stitches is devastating in a harrowing, can't-look-away-from-the-car-accident way. It's this insane extended snapshot of a SERIOUSLY fucked up family, done in an illuminating, fascinating, and ultimately kind of a little bit slightly maybe sort of hopeful way.
What I'm saying, basically, is that it will leave you shaky and reeling and gasping for breath, and so so invigorated by the journey.
Holy motherfuck, this book is intense. It's a real fast read, despite its intimidating heft. And it's just terribly devastating—powerful and aching and sparse and horribly beautiful, and oh also did I mention that it's terribly devastating?
I mean, not devastating in an irredeemable way, like those maudlin mass-market bestsellers where everyone dies slowly & tragically while staring meaningfully into their loved ones' eyes and gently speaking words of unbearably sad and corny wisdom (you can tell how many of those books I've actually read, right?). No, Stitches is devastating in a harrowing, can't-look-away-from-the-car-accident way. It's this insane extended snapshot of a SERIOUSLY fucked up family, done in an illuminating, fascinating, and ultimately kind of a little bit slightly maybe sort of hopeful way.
What I'm saying, basically, is that it will leave you shaky and reeling and gasping for breath, and so so invigorated by the journey.
July 19, 2009
I am not going to tell you anything about this book.
I'm sure you're thinking that's an odd way to begin a review, but that's how I went into this book, and it worked for me. I was doing an interview with Booklist last weekend and I asked the interviewer what he thought was the graphic novel of the year so far. Without even having to consider, he said, "STITCHES." My publicist picked an advanced review copy up for me at ALA and I am thrilled that she did. I didn't know anything about it except that it was a memoir written as a graphic novel, and that it was supposed to be fabulous (which makes me naturally mistrustful, of course). I didn't even read the back -- just opened it up in the airport and fell in.
So I won't tell you what this book is about. I will tell you this: David Small shines in illustrating the small details that make people real. This is a fairly dark book, but there were parts were I laughed out loud at Small's cunning characterizations. If you read other reviews, you'll see they call the style "cinematic" and "stunning" and it's both of those things. It's also whimsical, sad, and ultimately uplifting. It has possibly the best final line of any book I've read. Definitely one I'll be buying in hardcover and my favorite graphic novel for the past several years. Stunningly done and a good pick for adults who haven't stuck their toe in the graphic novel pool. The water's fine.
***wondering why all my reviews are five stars? Because I'm only reviewing my favorite books -- not every book I read. Consider a novel's presence on my Goodreads bookshelf as a hearty endorsement. I can't believe I just said "hearty." It sounds like a stew.***
I'm sure you're thinking that's an odd way to begin a review, but that's how I went into this book, and it worked for me. I was doing an interview with Booklist last weekend and I asked the interviewer what he thought was the graphic novel of the year so far. Without even having to consider, he said, "STITCHES." My publicist picked an advanced review copy up for me at ALA and I am thrilled that she did. I didn't know anything about it except that it was a memoir written as a graphic novel, and that it was supposed to be fabulous (which makes me naturally mistrustful, of course). I didn't even read the back -- just opened it up in the airport and fell in.
So I won't tell you what this book is about. I will tell you this: David Small shines in illustrating the small details that make people real. This is a fairly dark book, but there were parts were I laughed out loud at Small's cunning characterizations. If you read other reviews, you'll see they call the style "cinematic" and "stunning" and it's both of those things. It's also whimsical, sad, and ultimately uplifting. It has possibly the best final line of any book I've read. Definitely one I'll be buying in hardcover and my favorite graphic novel for the past several years. Stunningly done and a good pick for adults who haven't stuck their toe in the graphic novel pool. The water's fine.
***wondering why all my reviews are five stars? Because I'm only reviewing my favorite books -- not every book I read. Consider a novel's presence on my Goodreads bookshelf as a hearty endorsement. I can't believe I just said "hearty." It sounds like a stew.***
September 20, 2011
David Small's childhood wasn't a happy one. His mother was cold, emotionless, and brutal toward him. His father was distant and barely spoke to him. His brother was around but just barely. Nobody spoke to one another. Then we find out about their tormented inner lives. His mother was a closet homosexual while his father was numbed by the knowledge that he had given David cancer through x-rays. His grandmother was an insane person who tried to murder her husband by burning the house down and his great grandfather tried to kill himself by drinking Drano.
Due to the x-rays his father shot at him when he was born, David developed a tumour on his throat which led to cancer and after two operations left him with one vocal chord making speaking an enormous task.
Similar to Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home" a few years ago, David Small's "Stitches" tells the story of a family and their secrets, of pain, of triumph and human relationships, and of hope. The drawing style reminded me of Will Eisner's - Small draws without panels and the drawings and words swirl together and spill over onto other pages.
However Small has enough of a style to call his own. The drawings in this book are incredible. Flicking back through the book there's something on every page that's extraordinary. The ones that stand out are the expressions of emotion - David finding a kind fatherly figure in a psychiatrist (depicted as the White Rabbit from Lewis Carroll's Alice books) and crying. The sequence of tears covers several pages and is beautiful. Similarly the one page depiction of a now voiceless David expressing his inner frustration toward his parents, a screaming mouth within a mouth within a mouth ad infinitum, is very powerful.
There's so much to recommend this book, the amazing art, the storytelling ability and the power of the story - if you're a fan of comics you will love this. Even if you're not a big reader of comics there's a lot here to appreciate and like. It's a tremendous achievement.
Due to the x-rays his father shot at him when he was born, David developed a tumour on his throat which led to cancer and after two operations left him with one vocal chord making speaking an enormous task.
Similar to Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home" a few years ago, David Small's "Stitches" tells the story of a family and their secrets, of pain, of triumph and human relationships, and of hope. The drawing style reminded me of Will Eisner's - Small draws without panels and the drawings and words swirl together and spill over onto other pages.
However Small has enough of a style to call his own. The drawings in this book are incredible. Flicking back through the book there's something on every page that's extraordinary. The ones that stand out are the expressions of emotion - David finding a kind fatherly figure in a psychiatrist (depicted as the White Rabbit from Lewis Carroll's Alice books) and crying. The sequence of tears covers several pages and is beautiful. Similarly the one page depiction of a now voiceless David expressing his inner frustration toward his parents, a screaming mouth within a mouth within a mouth ad infinitum, is very powerful.
There's so much to recommend this book, the amazing art, the storytelling ability and the power of the story - if you're a fan of comics you will love this. Even if you're not a big reader of comics there's a lot here to appreciate and like. It's a tremendous achievement.
August 11, 2009
Back in the 50's, people did NOT talk about issues. Everything was internalized - unhappiness, anger, resentment were all swallowed. When illustrator David Small was a boy, he felt all those repressed feelings, even though they weren't spoken. His mother's little cough, his father's absences, all spoke volumes.
He internalized his own feelings, of not feeling loved or wanted, but they manifested physically as asthma and sinus troubles, exacerbated by the smoke from the nearby factories, and his own father's smoking habit.
The treatment at the time, especially given the fact that his father was a radiologist, was x-rays. Lots of x-rays. Not that going to the hospital was anything new for David. It was a place of both familiarity and comfort, and of the worst kind of nightmares.
Later, in his early teens, David developed a growth on his neck, and eventually had surgery to remove it. The surgery did literally what life in his family had tried to do - it silenced his voice. His parents hid the truth from him, but that was nothing new. He discovered on his own that it was cancer, as he discovered the truth about other things happening in his family. And as he regained his ability to talk, therapy began to uncover the truth behind the tacit lies of his family life.
This book broke my heart, for all the unhappy lives represented by this one family. The illustrations of David's dreams and nightmares may just give ME nightmares. The 50s were NOT a golden era for America. Underneath all that conformity was simmering resentment and lost happiness. Be glad you live now.
He internalized his own feelings, of not feeling loved or wanted, but they manifested physically as asthma and sinus troubles, exacerbated by the smoke from the nearby factories, and his own father's smoking habit.
The treatment at the time, especially given the fact that his father was a radiologist, was x-rays. Lots of x-rays. Not that going to the hospital was anything new for David. It was a place of both familiarity and comfort, and of the worst kind of nightmares.
Later, in his early teens, David developed a growth on his neck, and eventually had surgery to remove it. The surgery did literally what life in his family had tried to do - it silenced his voice. His parents hid the truth from him, but that was nothing new. He discovered on his own that it was cancer, as he discovered the truth about other things happening in his family. And as he regained his ability to talk, therapy began to uncover the truth behind the tacit lies of his family life.
This book broke my heart, for all the unhappy lives represented by this one family. The illustrations of David's dreams and nightmares may just give ME nightmares. The 50s were NOT a golden era for America. Underneath all that conformity was simmering resentment and lost happiness. Be glad you live now.
March 1, 2015
This is officially my favorite graphic memoir! Loved it so much!
November 19, 2016
This book was an interesting graphic novel. There weren't many words, so I got through it very fast! I enjoyed his picture la and the fact that this was a memoir! He had a very hard life!!
However, I struggled with the transitions between fantasy and his dreams and reality and the true story. This left me, at many times, confused and that is why I only gave the book 3 stars.
However, I struggled with the transitions between fantasy and his dreams and reality and the true story. This left me, at many times, confused and that is why I only gave the book 3 stars.
March 9, 2017
This book was an interesting graphic novel. There weren't many words, so I got through it very fast! I enjoyed his picture a lot and the fact that this was a memoir! He had a very hard life!!
However, I struggled with the transitions between fantasy and his dreams and reality and the true story. This left me, at many times, confused and that is why I only gave the book 3 stars.
However, I struggled with the transitions between fantasy and his dreams and reality and the true story. This left me, at many times, confused and that is why I only gave the book 3 stars.
April 18, 2019
I'm enjoying my TBR Explode project because it's reintroducing me to books I added to my TBR ten years ago. This one was added the day after it came out in September 2009, so I must have been looking at some kind of new releases list.
This is a graphic memoir about the author’s childhood illness and surgery and upbringing. It is DARK. He uses a lot of black and white which makes the entire situation seem bleak (and to be fair, it is,) with depictions of fear and scary and judging faces. David's parents are strict, but his grandmother is the scariest one, and the visit to her is troubling (this bears out in the end of the book in an unexpected way!) Interestingly his grandparents live in Connorsville, Indiana, where my grandmother grew up... in fact if the timeline fit, there's a chance they would have known each other, but it's hard to say.
The other storyline is that of David's illness. Because of the times, his father (a radiologist) thought he could cure David's frequent sickness and cough with frequent radiation treatments, because of which he develops cancer. But they don't tell him, just send him to surgery, after which he is rendered unable to speak.
At the same time, and I feel strange confessing this, but it was a strange phenomenon as a reader. At some point the author/artist says he could see himself through his parent/grandparents' eyes as someone who deserved punishment, and somehow I could see what he saw. Something about how he draws himself makes him seem annoying or weak or unlikeable. I'm not proud.
This might not be for everyone. It's really quite dark and doesn't really have a happy ending, except maybe knowing the author survived in some way since he wrote about it later.
This is a graphic memoir about the author’s childhood illness and surgery and upbringing. It is DARK. He uses a lot of black and white which makes the entire situation seem bleak (and to be fair, it is,) with depictions of fear and scary and judging faces. David's parents are strict, but his grandmother is the scariest one, and the visit to her is troubling (this bears out in the end of the book in an unexpected way!) Interestingly his grandparents live in Connorsville, Indiana, where my grandmother grew up... in fact if the timeline fit, there's a chance they would have known each other, but it's hard to say.
The other storyline is that of David's illness. Because of the times, his father (a radiologist) thought he could cure David's frequent sickness and cough with frequent radiation treatments, because of which he develops cancer. But they don't tell him, just send him to surgery, after which he is rendered unable to speak.
At the same time, and I feel strange confessing this, but it was a strange phenomenon as a reader. At some point the author/artist says he could see himself through his parent/grandparents' eyes as someone who deserved punishment, and somehow I could see what he saw. Something about how he draws himself makes him seem annoying or weak or unlikeable. I'm not proud.
This might not be for everyone. It's really quite dark and doesn't really have a happy ending, except maybe knowing the author survived in some way since he wrote about it later.
March 6, 2012
Wow! What a heartrending look at children's book writer/illustrator David Small's sad and miserable childhood!
We see him first as a small boy, lying on the floor, happily drawing pictures.
His dad is mostly absent, and his mother, well, let's face it...she's HORRIBLE! Verbally and physically abusive, she's a monster.
But as this graphic novel, done in muted shades of gray suggests, not everything is black and white.
After spending some time with David's grandmother, his mother's mother, we get some inkling of how the monster got to be that way.
David has a rough time of it, yet his delightful imagination manages to pull him through. From drawings that come alive on his pages to pretending to be Alice in Wonderland, the life within his head is SO much better than reality.
Things truly go from bad to worse, and like his hero Alice, David will tumble down a dark hole. There he meets a white rabbit savior who helps him find his voice, and a measure of forgiveness.
We see him first as a small boy, lying on the floor, happily drawing pictures.
His dad is mostly absent, and his mother, well, let's face it...she's HORRIBLE! Verbally and physically abusive, she's a monster.
But as this graphic novel, done in muted shades of gray suggests, not everything is black and white.
After spending some time with David's grandmother, his mother's mother, we get some inkling of how the monster got to be that way.
David has a rough time of it, yet his delightful imagination manages to pull him through. From drawings that come alive on his pages to pretending to be Alice in Wonderland, the life within his head is SO much better than reality.
Things truly go from bad to worse, and like his hero Alice, David will tumble down a dark hole. There he meets a white rabbit savior who helps him find his voice, and a measure of forgiveness.
January 3, 2021
I read this graphic memoir in one sitting. David Small’s childhood and family life were horrifying to say the least. Not to sound smug or self-righteous, but it’s parents like these that have me wondering. Honestly, some people should seriously consider whether they’re emotionally and mentally prepared before considering marriage and/or children. At the very least, I wish that they would put some thought into these major decisions. Some people shouldn’t be parents. Although reading this was emotionally draining, I’m glad that I did. This is the type of book that has remained with me.
June 19, 2013
Understated and elegiac inkery. Strictly from the misery memoir staple, grainy and grotty, but not gratuitous. Cinematic panels opening up wistful wounds and profound childhood emptiness. The graphic novel is almost alone among contemporary art/fiction in capturing that peculiar form of youthful Weltschmerz.
May 29, 2017
Whoever would've thought I'd be so deeply moved by a graphic memoir? My bibliophile buddy Lindy, that's who! I am grateful for the recommendation, as I'd adopted a rather snooty attitude towards graphic novels, etc. While I don't expect to start reading them all that much more regularly, I certainly get it now that they can convey powerful narratives like this one. Just wonderful!
December 1, 2023
The literary graphic novel is one of my favourite genres of books. When done properly, it has the advantage of being able to land a gut-punch that much more effectively. The narrative structure has to be superb, but it’s almost unfair: it also has the advantage of a visual medium on its side. Sometimes all you need is a panel focused on a person’s face, where you see nothing but the thousand yard stare.
The reason I love Stitches is that it effectively delivers an opportunity for empathy – riding along with young David as he navigates the 1950s nuclear family, full of unspoken secrets, hidden difficulties, and the (often) inadequate expression of the love. And it’s controlled! Small discusses clearly traumatic events from his childhood with a precocious sagacity that can be innate or honed in therapy. Not condoning the events, not necessarily “being okay” with them or enjoying them, but accepting them.
The reason I love Stitches is that it effectively delivers an opportunity for empathy – riding along with young David as he navigates the 1950s nuclear family, full of unspoken secrets, hidden difficulties, and the (often) inadequate expression of the love. And it’s controlled! Small discusses clearly traumatic events from his childhood with a precocious sagacity that can be innate or honed in therapy. Not condoning the events, not necessarily “being okay” with them or enjoying them, but accepting them.
September 11, 2021
As part of my 2021 quest to complete reading at least two graphic novels, this unusual work from children’s illustrator, David Small, caught my eye due to its story content. I have been lucky so far in my graphic novel quest, as this book kept me involved from beginning to end.
It’s the story of the author when he was a boy, living in Detroit with his uptight parents and uptight brother. They are a very uptight family. The father is a renowned radiologist who doesn’t seem to like his family. His mother is always angry, slamming drawers and cupboards. His older brother is angry, pounding away on drums. The author learns to utilize his passion for drawing to escape into a world of make-believe, preferably of the Alice In Wonderland kind. There’s also a grandmother, who is very uptight and who doesn’t seem to be on the right side of sanity. It’s all done in b&w panels, no colour here, reflecting perfectly the way the young boy sees his life.
Always a sickly child, he takes a turn for the worse when a neighbor notices a bump on the boy’s neck. Turns out his father had been dowsing him with radiation in order to fight off the child’s sinus issues. Instead of tackling this major health concern immediately, because the mother feels it will be too expensive, the parents go on a spending spree. As they accumulate cars and furniture, the boy’s health gets worse and that leads to the title of the book (the “stitches” from his cancer operation). Anger boils within this family.
This isn’t a cheerful book but I was completely absorbed. David Small may be known for his wonderful illustrations for lovely children’s books, but this is something completely different. Words aren’t always needed either as his drawings show the reader exactly what the boy is feeling/seeing via his parents. It’s difficult not to get biased against the strange mother and father, but even then, Small presents reasons for his mother’s resentful personality and his father’s guilty aloofness.
I’m not a big fan of graphic novels, but this one hurtles straight to the top of my admittedly limited genre shelf. Now I want to get some of Small’s children books, just to see how the heck he could have survived such a childhood and yet become an artist of happy books for other children.
Book Season = Autumn (dark anguish)
It’s the story of the author when he was a boy, living in Detroit with his uptight parents and uptight brother. They are a very uptight family. The father is a renowned radiologist who doesn’t seem to like his family. His mother is always angry, slamming drawers and cupboards. His older brother is angry, pounding away on drums. The author learns to utilize his passion for drawing to escape into a world of make-believe, preferably of the Alice In Wonderland kind. There’s also a grandmother, who is very uptight and who doesn’t seem to be on the right side of sanity. It’s all done in b&w panels, no colour here, reflecting perfectly the way the young boy sees his life.
Always a sickly child, he takes a turn for the worse when a neighbor notices a bump on the boy’s neck. Turns out his father had been dowsing him with radiation in order to fight off the child’s sinus issues. Instead of tackling this major health concern immediately, because the mother feels it will be too expensive, the parents go on a spending spree. As they accumulate cars and furniture, the boy’s health gets worse and that leads to the title of the book (the “stitches” from his cancer operation). Anger boils within this family.
This isn’t a cheerful book but I was completely absorbed. David Small may be known for his wonderful illustrations for lovely children’s books, but this is something completely different. Words aren’t always needed either as his drawings show the reader exactly what the boy is feeling/seeing via his parents. It’s difficult not to get biased against the strange mother and father, but even then, Small presents reasons for his mother’s resentful personality and his father’s guilty aloofness.
I’m not a big fan of graphic novels, but this one hurtles straight to the top of my admittedly limited genre shelf. Now I want to get some of Small’s children books, just to see how the heck he could have survived such a childhood and yet become an artist of happy books for other children.
Book Season = Autumn (dark anguish)
October 7, 2021
I liked it better than Home After Dark (which I did not). This was more personal, and therefore, better. Sad memoir.
January 12, 2025
Catching up…
As I have taken this small step into exploring graphic novels, I am reminded of one that I actually read a long time ago.
Not only had I forgotten I had read it, I had forgotten that I had placed it in my reading collection.
Is this what happens to prolific readers?
I am embarrassed by this omission in memory.
This story is a memoir. A dark story, too. A horror tale in many respects about what happened to the author, that should not happen to anyone. And even though this is an illustrated, graphic novel, it should not be for children. It is strictly an adult book.
For those who don’t know David Small, he is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator.
With this story, he tells what happened to him as a child.
His father was a radiologist. He thought the best thing he could do for his son’s sinus problems was to give him high-doses of x-ray treatments. Of course, this happened in the 1950’s.
And because of his father’s relentless acts…
When Small was 14, he woke from a routine operation and he could no longer speak. He had a cancerous vocal cord that had been removed with a scar stretching from behind his right ear to the top of his chest.
This wasn’t the only horror that he had to endure. His mother harbored secrets and his grandmother had a history of mental illness.
And as readers it will be hard to take all of this in.
But…Even though Small uses some humor in his graphics, you can’t help but know that what he is experiencing is painful, sad and tragic.
And yet…Despite it all…He built a beautiful artistic career, devoted to producing beautiful children’s books that are colorfully and creatively illustrated.
Still…Interestingly, this book is in black and white. Symbolic of the darkness of his childhood, no doubt.
Throughout this book, sometimes we see just pictures. No word bubbles. The storytelling sometimes comes through facial expressions or body language and page layouts.
And perhaps in that way, it was Small’s way of rescuing himself from his childhood.
Escaping into a cartoon world of his creation.
Rejecting the fate thrust on him.
The book provides insight into the human.
And…Sometimes that is all that we need to know that he made it out of the abyss.
As I have taken this small step into exploring graphic novels, I am reminded of one that I actually read a long time ago.
Not only had I forgotten I had read it, I had forgotten that I had placed it in my reading collection.
Is this what happens to prolific readers?
I am embarrassed by this omission in memory.
This story is a memoir. A dark story, too. A horror tale in many respects about what happened to the author, that should not happen to anyone. And even though this is an illustrated, graphic novel, it should not be for children. It is strictly an adult book.
For those who don’t know David Small, he is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator.
With this story, he tells what happened to him as a child.
His father was a radiologist. He thought the best thing he could do for his son’s sinus problems was to give him high-doses of x-ray treatments. Of course, this happened in the 1950’s.
And because of his father’s relentless acts…
When Small was 14, he woke from a routine operation and he could no longer speak. He had a cancerous vocal cord that had been removed with a scar stretching from behind his right ear to the top of his chest.
This wasn’t the only horror that he had to endure. His mother harbored secrets and his grandmother had a history of mental illness.
And as readers it will be hard to take all of this in.
But…Even though Small uses some humor in his graphics, you can’t help but know that what he is experiencing is painful, sad and tragic.
And yet…Despite it all…He built a beautiful artistic career, devoted to producing beautiful children’s books that are colorfully and creatively illustrated.
Still…Interestingly, this book is in black and white. Symbolic of the darkness of his childhood, no doubt.
Throughout this book, sometimes we see just pictures. No word bubbles. The storytelling sometimes comes through facial expressions or body language and page layouts.
And perhaps in that way, it was Small’s way of rescuing himself from his childhood.
Escaping into a cartoon world of his creation.
Rejecting the fate thrust on him.
The book provides insight into the human.
And…Sometimes that is all that we need to know that he made it out of the abyss.
May 10, 2015
I was highly impressed with this book, way more than I thought I would be. When I bought it, it was on a whim. I had never heard of David Small, I don't know who he is or what he does. I was taken in by the cover, the fact that it was a memoir written in graphic novel style, and with a quick skim through it I knew I liked the artist's style and would enjoy the story.
This isn't a happy story, it's quite dark, and you can't help but think it must be fiction. This can't actually be true. This can't actually be what happened to David. But it was and it is, and this thought keeps resonating in your head as you read through his childhood and adolescence. The way he describes his family as silent, each expressing themselves silently in different ways was brilliant. When he gets to the point where his silence is not a matter of choice anymore, I thought wow. This book is a lot more than I bargained for. This is profound, and quite painful to tell you the truth.
You're sad and in pain and you want to protect this boy from his family who are hurting him, albeit unintentionally. His mom, who plays an integral part in his pain fascinated me. Her anger and her silent suffering, the big revelation at the end was shocking that I couldn't begin to imagine the impact it had on him at the time.
I loved the little snippets at the end about his family and what happened to them after the story had ended, it made it all the more real to me.
Great memoir.
This isn't a happy story, it's quite dark, and you can't help but think it must be fiction. This can't actually be true. This can't actually be what happened to David. But it was and it is, and this thought keeps resonating in your head as you read through his childhood and adolescence. The way he describes his family as silent, each expressing themselves silently in different ways was brilliant. When he gets to the point where his silence is not a matter of choice anymore, I thought wow. This book is a lot more than I bargained for. This is profound, and quite painful to tell you the truth.
You're sad and in pain and you want to protect this boy from his family who are hurting him, albeit unintentionally. His mom, who plays an integral part in his pain fascinated me. Her anger and her silent suffering, the big revelation at the end was shocking that I couldn't begin to imagine the impact it had on him at the time.
I loved the little snippets at the end about his family and what happened to them after the story had ended, it made it all the more real to me.
Great memoir.
October 23, 2010
This is a very strong graphic novel. No superheroes here, just a very emotional memoir about a child growing up in a deeply dysfunctional family but who manages to overcome the damages that had been inflicted upon him by his relatives. A very, very unhappy family depicted here. And David is not very forgiving either.
I do not recommend reading the plot summary printed on the dust jacket. It gives the entire story away.
If you like Stitches, you will probably like Blankets too.
I do not recommend reading the plot summary printed on the dust jacket. It gives the entire story away.
If you like Stitches, you will probably like Blankets too.
December 7, 2011
Such strange compressions of time: 24 years of the most significant moments in the author's life laid out in comparatively spare, sane, elegant, mature, b&w drawings (compared to the work of many other leading graphic artists) over 329 pages that surely took years to complete, read in an "enjoyable" hour, immersed in that sort of cinematic bookishness that comes from turning pages so much more quickly than those covered in text. A great passage of pages where the kid-aged author dives through a drawing and down a tunnel through the floor that leads to a secret hideout of cartoon mice and heroes and such. The b&w drawings work well to depict thriving old Detroit and domestic tension expressed as clenched silence. As fiction, the story's a bit much in terms of '60s-era Midwestern repression but thankfully this is memoir, another coming-of-age portrait of the artist in several hundred frames. It's affecting but sometimes it may have poured too much poignancy (pages of rain) on me. It's novel length but there's nothing particularly novelistic about it. It feels more like a story, in terms of length and depth. But still I'd recommend it for brief immersion in the sort of characteristically sucky childhood that -- without fail, apparently -- turns a child into the sort of artist who eventually publishes an excellent (if in this case at times a somewhat hasty/thin-seeming) pictional memoir.
March 7, 2019
“Graphic Novels. They Aren’t Books. They have no literary value.”
Sigh.
I have often heard this. Repeatedly. Books like Stitches are the reason that the argument against graphic novels not being literature heavyweights is so brainless. This story is poignant, as well as painful and oh so very real.
David Small is a famous children’s illustrator who took his childhood memories held them, squeezed them, and wrapped them up into a ball and served us this novel. His childhood was not a happy one; “Dad was never there except occasionally for one of mother’s dry, burned little meals; mother coiled tight inside her shell of angry, resentful silence; my brother in his, and I in mine.” This is a story full of angry moments. At the beginning usually from his mother, later into David’s adolescence, the anger belonged to him. It was full of lying and cruelty on the part of his parents. Often when reading this, I had to put the book down and take a moment to appreciate my own family, my own parents, and myself as a parent. I am doing better than I think I am.
Most of the story centers on a lie David’s parents told him regarding his health and the casualty cruelties accompanying it. What was supposed to be an easy cyst removal in his neck was actually cancer and left David disfigured and mostly mute. His parents never acknowledge what had happened to him until much later. This leaves him with both physical scars, “A crusted black track of stitches; my smooth young throat slashed and laced back up like a bloody boot,” and understandably the mental scars that would come with that.
I am sure at this point you are wondering why someone would read something like this. It sounds like a long story of pain, and it is. However, David’s story is also one of hope and overcoming your past. It is beautiful and tragic and heartbreaking. But this is a story that will dig into your mind and stay with you. There is a reason it is considered one of the best graphic memoirs ever written. Stitches is a collection of profound moments, and by the end of the story, we understand that even in the worst of circumstances one can find their own voice, and be who they want to be even if they are mute.
Sigh.
I have often heard this. Repeatedly. Books like Stitches are the reason that the argument against graphic novels not being literature heavyweights is so brainless. This story is poignant, as well as painful and oh so very real.
David Small is a famous children’s illustrator who took his childhood memories held them, squeezed them, and wrapped them up into a ball and served us this novel. His childhood was not a happy one; “Dad was never there except occasionally for one of mother’s dry, burned little meals; mother coiled tight inside her shell of angry, resentful silence; my brother in his, and I in mine.” This is a story full of angry moments. At the beginning usually from his mother, later into David’s adolescence, the anger belonged to him. It was full of lying and cruelty on the part of his parents. Often when reading this, I had to put the book down and take a moment to appreciate my own family, my own parents, and myself as a parent. I am doing better than I think I am.
Most of the story centers on a lie David’s parents told him regarding his health and the casualty cruelties accompanying it. What was supposed to be an easy cyst removal in his neck was actually cancer and left David disfigured and mostly mute. His parents never acknowledge what had happened to him until much later. This leaves him with both physical scars, “A crusted black track of stitches; my smooth young throat slashed and laced back up like a bloody boot,” and understandably the mental scars that would come with that.
I am sure at this point you are wondering why someone would read something like this. It sounds like a long story of pain, and it is. However, David’s story is also one of hope and overcoming your past. It is beautiful and tragic and heartbreaking. But this is a story that will dig into your mind and stay with you. There is a reason it is considered one of the best graphic memoirs ever written. Stitches is a collection of profound moments, and by the end of the story, we understand that even in the worst of circumstances one can find their own voice, and be who they want to be even if they are mute.
July 12, 2022
most of these graphic novel memoirs be like: i have lived a life you can never imagine… girl let me draw u a picture
February 5, 2022
A tale of mental health, secrets and growing up. Wonderfully drawn and paced.
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