[GN] Stitches – David Small

Stitches is a book in which David Small tells us about how he lived his childhood in silence. Having been born with breathing difficulties, his dad, a doctor, exposed him to multiple ‘x-ray treatments’, convinced that it would cure his problem. Little did anyone know then that it would end up causing cancer. David loses his vocal cords during an operation, and subsequently has no choice but to remain silent.

It was a little painful to read this book sometimes. The illustrations were beautifully done, I think, to the point where there were a couple of really disturbing ones. David’s life was definitely not a bed of roses; his parents could not have been more difficult, and it seemed like his brother was almost never there.

There was resentment, loneliness, some kind of sadness that permeated the whole volume. It felt like little David was never at peace, he never understood so many things, and felt like the world was conspiring against him for some reason. Or maybe that’s just how I read it. And his wish to become Alice from Lewis Carroll’s classic only goes on to show how deeply he felt disconnected from the real world, wanting to disappear into a rabbit hole and enter a whole new dimension.

All in all, a good book. It felt a little short, like I wanted something more, I wanted David Small to dig deeper into the lives of his other family members, but then again, it is his memoir. The illustrations did more than just show pictures, they portrayed also an emotional depth that can sometimes be difficult to visualise, but he did it well.

Rating: 4