I was obsessed with reading this book, especially after seeing the article in the Willamette Weekly and missing his reading because I had to drive up to Seattle. None of the bookstores in my town carried it, so I had to order it from Powell’s and then spent 3 days constantly checking the UPS tracking number because I couldn’t wait to read it. In the hands of another writer/illustrator (like the incredibly awful, Alex Robinson), the storytelling and art would’ve come off as being trite and emo. In Thompson’s hands, it almost moved me (and other people I know who’ve read it), to the point of tears.

When it finally arrived, I managed to read through the whole novel in one setting. I pretty much avoid the entire topic of Christianity because it just mostly brings up unpleasant feelings around my own disenchantment with organized religion. But Thompson handles it really well in talking about coming to terms with his own spirituality and how it diverges with the religion and ethics he was brought up in, especially faced when his first real romantic/sexual relationship.

Overall a lovely book, both in terms of storytelling and visual (you can tell that Marc Chagall is a big influence on Thompson’s artwork