… But her drawing is actually deceptively sophisticated. What might at a glance look like whimsical doodles are in fact controlled and nuanced compositions wringing maximum emotional impact from minimal visual information. The appearance of naivete, sneakily effective at first, grows increasingly appropriate as Midge’s mind regresses into something resembling a childlike state.
I’ve shown this book to two friends, both of whom initially expressed doubts as to whether its form was appropriate to its content; both were soon won over.
The fact that Tangles was short-listed for the Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize could be taken to represent a new level of mainstream acceptance for the graphic-lit medium. I’d prefer to take it as given that graphic lit has arrived and say instead that Tangles is simply a fine and touching book.
As the rate of Alzheimer’s continues to increase as the population ages, Tangles joins Jeffrey Moore’s novel The Memory Artists and Sarah Polley’s film Away from Her at the head of a list of illuminating and much-needed artistic responses.
Read the full article on the Montreal Gazette website The link is broken to the Gazette review, but here it is on the National Post.