7.
Title: Stitches: A Memoir
Author: David Small
Pages: 329
Genre: Graphic Memoir
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition:
Date Completed: January 8, 2012
Rating: *****

David Small's Stitches has been haunting me since it was first published; I happened upon the memoir as part of a bookstore display and, while I didn't purchase it at the time, it has been on my radar ever since that first encounter. Now that I'm on a bit of a graphic novel safari, I knew I had to pick it up.

Stitches will continue to haunt me, but for entirely different reasons.

Told almost exclusively by illustration, Small captures moments - glances, emotions, isolated confrontations - that come to define a childhood trauma that seems to define the David of the text. Portraiture becomes the most significant means of expression and storytelling, and with a simple look Small allows readers to stand in his place, and feel what he felt - most of which is downright terrifying.

Stitches is a graphic novel I will be able to read again and again. the artwork is minimalist yet captivating, and Small's storytelling abilities transports the reader to his own frightening world.