Stitches: A Memoir

by David Small

Stitches is a graphic novel retelling the creator's life as a child in a dysfunctional family. As a small boy, David was plagued with sinus and respiratory problems. As a treatment, David was given hundreds of X-rays by his father, a radiologist. His father believed that the powers of radiation could help solve sinus problems.

David grows up in a cold world, where each of his family members has retreated into their own world. His mother is cruel. His older brother is preoccupied with his own method of escape (drumming). His father just seems, well, absent.

Years later, David develops a "growth" on his neck. After seeing a doctor, who says that it is probably benign but should be taken care of, it takes his parents three years to take him to the surgeon.

David believes that he is having surgery to remove his cyst, but when he wakes up he can no longer speak. There is no explanation. His parents leave fourteen year old David to make the adjustment himself.

But he doesn't adjust. He rebels, and who could blame him?

I 'll leave the synopsis right there. This is a sad, tragic story. Wally Lamb style, for sure, but true. But it works. Why? It's not over-wrung with emotion. You can feel how David develops his own protective armor, his own cold separation. And yet you can still feel how disappointed the boy is. I'm not sure if this is communicated via the drawings or via the terse dialogue that goes on.

But it's good, and it's a real quick read (< 1 hour). It ends abruptly, and I can see how many wouldn't like it. But I liked the ending a lot.

Grade: B