Naomi Nowak's Graylight is a mood piece that uses fairytale motifs to explore the mysteries of love and obsession.
I think.
To be honest, I really don't have a clue as to what this book's about. I can tell you, though, that it's a very pretty book.
Synthesizing elements of art nouveau, 70s' romance comics, underground commix, and shojo manga, Nowak creates an evocative visual narrative. For example, she presents an artistic and elegant way to show sex without showing the actual act--odd-shaped panels that depict close-ups of mouths, restraining hands, open books, waving mushrooms, and blowing flowers are scattered across a page.
A series of headshots of the heroine cuts diagonally across another page--her expression and the tilt of her head changing in each. The almost overlapping faces create a sense of movement, and they give the readers the sense they're following the character's every thought. There's also a stunning two-page spread of the constellations in their bird and animal forms filling the sky above a forest cabin.
Nowak's focus on such natural elements as flowers, trees, animals, and water gives the story a very organic feel. Even the geometric designs in the background have a cellular look, as if Nowak is looking beneath the surface of the world around her. This approach emphasizes the story's connection with an earthier, more mysterious pre-industrial time.
The colors are muted earth tones--greens and browns with soft blues. I'd say they're chalk-like. They seem too strong to be watercolors, but I could be wrong.
Nowak isn't so much interested in telling a story as suggesting one. As a result, I'm a little iffy as to what's going on. As nearly as I can tell, a young woman who is also a thief falls into a relationship with a writer. She steals a book from a woman he's interviewing. The woman's son then tries to get the book back. The woman, who's a witch and afraid that her son's in love with the girl, casts a spell.
Oh, and the girl might be a witch too.
I think.
Normally I don't give a good rating to stories I can't make heads nor tails of, but I like the mood and look of Graylight. If you like the visual stylings of manga powerhouse Clamp or Colleen Doran's A Distant Soil, then check out Graylight if you get a chance.
What did you think of this book?
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