Americana

by Luke Healy

The Pacific Crest Trail runs 2660 miles, from California's border with Mexico to Washington's border with Canada. To walk it is to undertake a grueling test of body and spirit. In Americana, cartoonist Luke Healy accepts the challenge.

This intimate, engaging autobiographical work from an Irish visitor to the United States recounts the author's own attempt to walk the length of the USA's west coast. Healy's life-changing journey weaves in and out of often humorous reflections on his experiences in America and his development as an artist, navigating both the trail itself and the unique culture of the people who attempt to complete it. For fans of Cheryl Strayed's Wild.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Nonfiction, Bande Dessinée, Memoir, Travel, Adventure

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2019

Reviews

[Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Americana (And The Act of Getting Over It.)—the subtitle being a particularly important element—author and comic Luke Healy reckons with his obsession with America stemming from a childhood in 90s and early oughts Ireland. Raised on Hollywood films and bombarded with the message of American exceptionalism, Healy felt compelled to move to the US for college and ideally stay. However, his tenuous relationship with the immigration process and visas kept him ping-ponging back and forth between the US and his homeland. Finally, he returned to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (a 2,600 mile path from Mexico to Canada along the United State's western border). This graphic memoir chronicles that journey as he pushes himself to his limit and confronts what it means to be of a particular place, or seeking to be part of a new one that doesn't want you.

I really enjoyed this reading experience. I haven't read a graphic novel in ages, and particularly enjoyed this blend of prose and imagery, as well as the fact that it's a memoir. I can't recall ever having read a graphic novel that's so personal (besides Maus). Especially as someone close to Healy's age who came of age after the Great Recession, it was interesting to hear about a mid-twenty something taking a literal hike to process their future.

The art style is simple but I loved it. He uses color sparingly; mostly leaving white space, with pops of a salmony-red and dark blue. I also appreciated how this wasn't straight up comics. There are portions of full paragraphs of prose, usually at the beginning of a large section to set the scene, flashback to Ireland, or provide further context about that portion of the hike he is on. It's divided into a few sections, each starting with the map of the PCT and bounded by the start and end points as well as the dates of that portion of his hike that he is embarking on. It's a mix of a travelogue, memoir, and comic book in one.

I randomly picked this up at a bookstore because I was attracted to the spine, and I'm so happy it jumped out at me. It was a refreshing reading experience and honestly, at times, did inspire me to want to get out in nature more.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luke Healy, a young artist from Dublin, has loved America from early on via travels with his family. Here, inspired by Cheryl Strayed's Wild, he chronicles his solo attempt to thruhike the Pacific Crest Trail in its entirety from Mexico to Canada, primarily through his own graphic illustrations that are equally hilarious and heartbreaking. It always amazes me that people do this with no advance training, little preparation, minimal research. We share the trail, the highs and lows (literally) (and figuratively), and are thrilled when, leaner and wiser, he reaches his goal.

[Iryna *Book and Sword* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect a graphic novel to make me cry, but here we are.

[Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Énorme coup de cœur pour ce roman graphique qui alterne entre journal de bord écrit et illustré, on y suit l'auteur, Luke, durant toute sa progression du célèbre PCT, le Pacific Crest Trail qui longe du Mexique au Canada la côte ouest des États-Unis. C'est une merveille, aussi bien pour le style graphique, la façon dont c'est raconté et la densité du livre en elle-même (ça c'est un point critique inutile mais : j'adore les gros livres graphiques !). Il m'a complètement fait revoir ma façon de noter mes lectures sur Goodreads (j'ai tendance à toujours mettre 5 étoiles quand j'ai aimé et à force je ne différencie plus les lectures que j'ai adorées de celles que j'ai juste beaucoup aimées) et je lui attribue 5 étoiles sans aucune hésitation.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 3 out of 5]

Growing up in Ireland, Luke Healy dreamed of living in the United States. And, after watching the film, Wild, he dreamed of hiking the Pacific Coast Trail. This book, a mixture of prose and comics, is the story of that second dream.

That's pretty much all there is to know going in. On the face of it, mixing comics and stretches of prose seems as though it would be awkward and clunky. But it reads fairly smoothly. I had no trouble at all getting swept up in Healy’s narrative. The prose sections are there mostly to provide background for the comics narrative.

My own hiking impulses are pretty much confined to walks around the neighborhood and local parks. But thanks to this book, I think I have a reasonable idea of what to expect from a much longer journey, and I appreciated the chance to live vicariously through Healy’s account of his adventure. Recommended!

[Dustyloup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I've read one too many PCT and Appalachian trail books but I didn't love this one. I think the thing that made it compelling is also what made it boring...? The simple art style, the honesty, the sense of monotony, that nothing was happening even though i he was on what most would consider an exciting adventure.
And I don't know if it was like this in the original, but in the French version the thread of letting go of his American dream felt a little too forced, like he tried too hard to weave that in without the writing chops to back it up.

I'm dreaming of a book about one of the big trails that focuses more on the end of the trip because so many of them cram every detail into the beginning and then whee! Suddenly we've reached the end.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is from Ireland, but has had an ongoing love affair with the USA since he was a child. As a young adult, he somehow got it into his head that he wanted to hike the Pacific Coast Trail. He was not in great shape when he started, but he persevered. This book illustrates his trip. It includes short sections of text that tell us more about his previous life and a little about conditions in Ireland at the time (in general, no jobs, no prospects). Nicely done.

[Morgane · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - I've read many thru-hiking stories and found Americana to tell a similar story with more nuance, or perhaps from a more approachable/relatable lense. I enjoyed the structure of the chapters and the varying ratios of text/illustrations as well as on and off-trail stories.

[susan eastland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool graphic memoir about hiking the PCT

[Atyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

c’est le moment de revoir le film Wild

[Hailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

a nice wee picture book (he's irish so wee is biblically accurate

it felt like a nice vacation from everything else i’ve been reading. finally pulling ahead of my goal!!

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love graphic memoirs and this is one of the best I've ever read. One of the most engrossing books I've read this year. And I'm not really much of a hiker!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pacific Crest Trail through-hiker memoir. Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust is a good companion to Americana. Makes me want to read Wild, which Healy mentioned reading to prepare for the trail. Americana is also yet another indictment of the USA’s shitty & evil immigration regime (although Healy did not recount any especially traumatic immigration experiences). Bolsters my feeling that through-hiking the entire PCT is not for me (even though I would like to be the sort of person who could). Hiking the entire PCT (or even most of it) in one go is an incredible feat of physical & psychic strength, & would be a wonderful source of smug satisfaction, but I feel like it would be hard to appreciate & explore many of the areas the PCT passes through while keeping up the pace necessary to make the whole trail in a season. Americana is a great endorsement of the camaraderie to be found on the PCT.

[Blanche · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'avais déjà entendu parler de l'aventure du Pacific Crest Trail dans Wild de Cheryl Strayed. Ce récit m'avait beaucoup marquée, et c'est avec plaisir que j'ai retrouvé ce thème de la marche comme moyen de se retrouver (et de se réconcilier avec soi-même ?).

Dans Americana, Luke Healy raconte son expérience de randonneur. Il n'est pas un grand sportif, il n'est pas familier des trails, mais il a la volonté farouche de réussir cette randonnée. Pour autant, il n'est pas dans une quête de la performance. Il ne cherche pas à battre des records, mais a simplement l'envie d'aller au bout du PCT. On le suit donc dans son trajet, et au fil de son avancée, il raconte son histoire (et celle de sa famille irlandaise), ses aspirations et ses échecs.

C'était une belle lecture, portée par une narration efficace et des dessins très doux (notamment du fait de la palette de couleurs choisie).

[Bogi Takács]

This is a mixed graphic novel/prose memoir about the author’s walking the Pacific Crest Trail. He’s Irish and he has had unsuccessful attempts at immigrating to the US. I’m reading a bunch of books reflecting on American-ness right now, and this was an impulse borrow from the library along those lines.

Contrary to the title, it is mostly about the walking, and the thru-hiking subculture that forms along these extremely long trails. I enjoy hiking, but I never did this long a distance. The book kept my attention, even through the format changes. I didn’t expect to read it in one sitting, but I did.

There is not that much about American-ness, but I really really am glad that there are books out there about people who tried to immigrate and did *not* succeed, and the feelings around that.

It’s a nice pairing with Norwegian author Jason’s On the Camino, which I read a while ago and now want to reread to compare. :)
_________
Source of the book: Lawrence Public Library

[Tom Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun graphic novel about a young Irish guy who has an unrequited crush on the United States. So to truly get it out of his system he decides to hike the Pacific Coast Trail figuring a full-immersion gruel will do the trick. The story is a bit thin and repetitious, only occasionally punctuated by a bit of drama. There are a lot of panels of him hiking in vast wilderness with the only sound being his "Heff, Heff." (It didn't make the experience especially appealing.) The chapters start with a little bit of prose, where I found the most interesting nuggets in his story. My trail name would be "Eff-that."

[Savannah Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed this book if I wasn’t interested in the PCT, but I am, so I did. The mix of comics and written narrative surprisingly works. I think the story is thin at times and occasionally difficult to follow due to the drawing style, but it’s an easy read about finding your place when your place doesn’t want you around.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book I love: a graphic novel about adventure! A young guy's extreme and inspiring hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. Beautifully illustrated, and a seamless exchange between text and image.

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful graphic novel, dealing with the hardships of hiking and searching for what it means to belong. A nice balance between drawings and text, very thoughtful choice of colours, composition and minimalist imagery.
The last page was so well written, it broke me.
Truly a lovely book.

[Aline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super roman graphique, j'ai adoré !!!
Je me reconnais dans les doutes de Luke, dans ses envies et besoins d'ailleurs et d'autre chose. Je suis à un moment dans ma vie où un ailleurs va se concrétiser et ce récit fait sens, comme une résonance...

[Eva Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’était super ! Quelle joie de découvrir que de tels sentiers de Rando existent purée. La narration, le dessin, la manière dont sont amenés les thèmes (la mort, être gay, aller au delà de ses limites, la solitude) cetait super fin !!!

[Roeliox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading Luke Healy's stylized panels about these crazy tru-hikers from my comfy chair.

FYI: Belgian ultrarunner, dentist and possibly alien (?) Karel Sabbe set the world record for the PCT in 2024. Completing the course in 45 days, averaging 57 miles (!) per day.

[iisabellllle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was perfect

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, devoured in less than a day.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ça donne vraiment le goût de faire des hikes 🙃😁

[Léa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gros gros coup de cœur pour ce roman graphique. J’ai adoré suivre le périple de l’auteur sur le fameux PCT ❤️

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything about this is good. From the cels to the writing (and sometimes intentional lack of writing), from comedy to grief- this was an unexpected win for me early into my reading for the year.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love finding diamonds in the rough!🩵

[Bookphile · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's only over the last couple of years that I've really started diving into graphic novels, and I've found they're a genre I very much enjoy. I've never read anything by Healy before, but I was intrigued by the description of this book and decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did because I found this a pretty compelling read.

Healy's books differ from most other graphic novels I've read in that they sometimes have a lot more text in them than I'm used to graphic novels having. The bulk of this book still consists of pictures, but there are also some pretty lengthy sections that are a text wall. This was a little jarring to me at first, but I felt it ultimately worked because I was so interested in what Healy had to say. There were three main themes in this work that I found particularly compelling: the history of Ireland in the 90s, when Healy was growing up; his trek along the PCT; and his coming-of-age story.

I don't know much about Ireland in general, and though I'd heart of the "Celtic Tiger", I didn't know much about it. It was eye-opening to read about the struggles people in Ireland went through, and the promise of a better future resulting from investment in the country. As an American, I was interested in how the U.S. influenced Ireland, and I hadn't realized how wide a reach American pop culture had in Ireland in the 90s. Even though we lived on totally different continents and though Healy and I aren't the same age, it sounds like we have a lot of the same cultural contexts thanks to 90s American culture. It was interesting to read the perspective of someone who more or less fetishized America coming to grips with the actual America rather than his vision of it. I always find it illuminating to see how people from outside the U.S. view America, and his understated points about barriers both literal and figurative keeping people out was sobering.

Healy's trek itself was fascinating to me. I've never been a serious hiker or backpacker and don't know much about it. I'm sure I'm not the only one whose first real introduction to it was Cheryl Strayed's Wild, and ever since reading that book I've found myself gravitating toward other hiking memoirs. I appreciated that Healy was very up front about the fact that he probably should have trained more and been better prepared before attempting the Pacific Coast Trail. It never ceases to amaze me how much deprivation and pain seems to go into distance hiking, and I read this memoir with the same kind of morbid fascination with which I've read other hiking memoirs. I won't even attempt to deny that there's a voyeuristic quality to reading these, that it stokes some mordant curiosity in me that makes me wonder why people inflict this on themselves. At the same time, Healy's recounting of his experience and his drawings also made me see the appeal. I think a lot of people are tempted by the possibility of conquering their own human frailty, of pushing themselves further than they thought they could. I also understand the appeal of being in the middle of stark, untouched nature--though his encounter with a mountain lion made me reassess the appeal.

Lastly, the coming-of-age aspects of this book also fascinated me. Though I left my twenties in the rearview mirror some time ago, I still vividly remember that bewildering decade. Like most kids, I thought adults had it all figured out and knew where they were going, but when I reached my own adulthood I was baffled by the entire concept. I could really identify with Healy's struggles to figure out who he was and where he was going, and I could relate to the sense of detachment he seemed to feel, that sensation of "is this really my life now"? I think a person's 20s are a very strange decade, and I certainly don't understand anyone's nostalgia for that period. I'd never want to go back to such a confusing period of my life.

As for the art, it was also different from a lot of the other graphic memoirs I've read. Healy's drawings are sometimes sparse to the point of being austere, and the limited color scheme in this book--all reds, blues, and whites--was also a different experience for me. However, I think his drawings are deceptively simple at times. When I paused to take a really good look at them, I'd find small details that escaped me the first time around, and this is partially not just because the drawings are usually unadorned line drawings, it's also because Healy conveys a great deal of space in these drawings. This is a cool trick because it helps drive home how vast and wild the landscape he was covering was, how small and insignificant a portion of that landscape one person can seem. His simple drawings convey a lot of emotion, particularly the grueling exertion of the trek and his extreme confusion and sense of uncertainty when he receives some disturbing news and is uncertain what to do about it.

Overall, I found this a very absorbing read, and I liked being immersed in Healy's tale. I enjoyed his work a great deal and will try to read more by him.

[Kerry Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and drawn.