Stitches David Small
A new illustrated novel coming this October, written by Betsy Bird — read more Read reviews of David‘s graphic novel, HOME AFTER DARK. David Small author of the #1 New York Times best-selling Stitches, is the recipient of the Caldecott Medal, the Christopher Medal, and the E. He and his wife, the writer Sarah Stewart, live in Michigan.
Overview: In his New York Times # 1 Bestseller graphic memoir, David Small recounts his childhood and adolescence in Midwestern USA during the 1950s, relaying the simultaneous whimsy and trepidation inherently embedded in the universal process of growing up. In Stitches, Small, the award-winning children’s illustrator and author, re-creates this terrifying event in a life story that might have been imagined by Kafka. As the images painfully tumble out, one by one, we gain a ringside seat at a gothic family drama where David – a highly anxious yet supremely talented child – all too often. STITCHES by David Small Seller Agapea Libros Urgentes Condition New ISBN 127 Item Price $ 22.23. Description: New. Add to Cart Buy Now Add to Wishlist. Item Price $ 22.23. Stitches: A Memoir by David Small Seller Ergodebooks Published 2010-09-13 Condition Used:Good Edition Reprint ISBN 966 Item Price.
Stitches is a graphic novel which allows it to create a much clearer voice and tone. The memoir itself is told from David Small’s perspective and presented like snapshots of his memory. The tone is visibly dark and depressing from the use of shading and lack of color. Characters are often drawn scowling, adding to the depressing tone. Graphic imagery, such as the picture of Small’s scar, help set the tone of the memoir. The lack of text makes the delivery of the imagery much more powerful. It also helps support the tone since it shows just how silent Small’s family was. The scene where his family is sitting at the dinner table, brooding, without saying a word comes to mind.
David Small talks about why he chose to make the memoir like this, in multiple interviews. He explained his reasoning for drawing the scenes the way he did during an interview with Becky Ohlsen from BookPage. She states, “Small is deft with angle, as in the scenes drawn from a hospital-bed’s-eye-view that force the reader into David’s position, helpless and vulnerable. Small describes his drawing style as cinematic.” (Ohlsen) In another interview by Big Think, Small talks about drawing things the way he remembers them, which brought back old negative feelings. (“Big Think Interview With David Small”) This explains the depressing tone of the memoir. He also speaks on his choice of not using color and limiting the text to set the serious tone in another interview. (Abbott)
In closing, Stitches is told through the voice of David Small, and sets a dark tone through a collection of depressing memories and flashbacks. Here are a few of the interviews referenced in the entry if you’re interested in watching or reading them in their entirety.
Abbott, Alysia. “From Tales of Wonder to Tales of Horror: David Small Dissects Stitches.” Nieman Storyboard From Tales of Wonder to Tales of Horror David Small Dissects Stitches Comments. N.p., 14 May 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2016. An interview with David Small. Interview reveals details on how he felt while creating the memoir, why he chose to create a graphic novel instead of traditional memoir, and other details about his life.
“Big Think Interview With David Small.” Big Think. N.p., 22 Nov. 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2016. A video interview with David Small about his memoir. Small goes in depth on his career and experience creating the memoir.
Ohlsen, Becky. “David Small – Interview.” BookPage.com. N.p., Sept. 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2016. Interview with David Small on the memoir. Provides a brief description of the memoir and then goes on to report about the interview. Interview covers his experience making the memoir, his career, and his life in general.
Small, David. Stitches: A Memoir–. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009. Print. The memoir/graphic novel created by David Small about his dark youth and dysfunctional family. This memoir is the main subject of the analysis.
– Posted by Mario Martinez
What the community thinks
summary of 616 ratings (see reviews)
Moods
emotional50%
reflective50%
sad50%
adventurous25%
challenging25%
Pace
Average rating
3.97Buy Stitches
United States
Bookshop US
Other countries
Bookshop UK
Blackwell's
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In Stitches, Small, the award-winning children’s illustrator and author, re-creates this terrifying event in a life story that might have been imagined by Kafka. As the images painfully tumble out, one by one, we gain a ringside seat at a gothic family drama where David—a highly anxious yet supremely talented child—all too often became the unwitting object of his parents’ buried frustration and rage.
Believing that they were trying to do their best, David’s parents did just the reverse. Edward Small, a Detroit physician, who vented his own anger by hitting a punching bag, was convinced that he could cure his young son’s respiratory problems with heavy doses of radiation, possibly causing David’s cancer. Elizabeth, David’s mother, tyrannically stingy and excessively scolding, ran the Small household under a cone of silence where emotions, especially her own, were hidden.
Depicting this coming-of-age story with dazzling, kaleidoscopic images that turn nightmare into fairy tale, Small tells us of his journey from sickly child to cancer patient, to the troubled teen whose risky decision to run away from home at sixteen—with nothing more than the dream of becoming an artist—will resonate as the ultimate survival statemen.
Buy Stitches
United States
Bookshop US
Stitches David Small Summary
Other countries
Bookshop UK
Blackwell's
Stitches Graphic Novel
The StoryGraph is an affiliate of the featured links. We earn commission on any purchases made.
In Stitches, Small, the award-winning children’s illustrator and author, re-creates this terrifying event in a life story that might have been imagined by Kafka. As the images painfully tumble out, one by one, we gain a ringside seat at a gothic family drama where David—a highly anxious yet supremely talented child—all too often became the unwitting object of his parents’ buried frustration and rage.
Believing that they were trying to do their best, David’s parents did just the reverse. Edward Small, a Detroit physician, who vented his own anger by hitting a punching bag, was convinced that he could cure his young son’s respiratory problems with heavy doses of radiation, possibly causing David’s cancer. Elizabeth, David’s mother, tyrannically stingy and excessively scolding, ran the Small household under a cone of silence where emotions, especially her own, were hidden.
Depicting this coming-of-age story with dazzling, kaleidoscopic images that turn nightmare into fairy tale, Small tells us of his journey from sickly child to cancer patient, to the troubled teen whose risky decision to run away from home at sixteen—with nothing more than the dream of becoming an artist—will resonate as the ultimate survival statemen.
What the community thinks
summary of 616 ratings (see reviews)
Moods
emotional50%
reflective50%
sad50%
adventurous25%
challenging25%
Pace
Stitches A Memoir Pdf
Average rating
3.97Stitches David Small Review
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