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Toen David Zijn Stem Verloor (2012)

by Judith Vanistendael(Favorite Author)

4.12 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Graphic Novels & Comics

publisher

De bezige bij

review 1: I want to thank the author for writing this beautiful book. I want to thank my daughter for accidently picking up this book and bringing it home. I am so glad I started reading this book without any clue as to what it was about. All I knew was that it was a graphic novel and it would be a quick read. I was really hoping I could just discard it to the side after a few pages, thinking it would not be of any interest to me.But to my surprise, I found myself between the pages of this book. It was a piece of my life between these pages that were so crudely drawn, but that made it that much more raw for me, as if the author was trying to make sure she captured this very significant part of my life, cell by cell as quickly as she could so as not lose that moment. The book is... more about David, a 50ish year old man who is just finding out he has cancer at the same time as his oldest daughter is giving birth. The book focuses on the three most important women in his life, his oldest daughter Miriam, his youngest daughter Tamar, and his current wife Paula. Each one deals with this knowledge differently but in a very believable way. I am probably biased when it comes to this review because this book was so personal to me. It landed on my lap by accident, but I felt like it was supposed to land there. It made me realize that I have not gotten over the death of my father, that there is an underlying anger seething beneath all the sadness, but also that I wish I could relieve those last days with him and I want to be that small child that could be affectionate with him, that could freely tell him "I love you so much. You mean the world to me. You are the best daddy a girl could ever have. And most of all, I'm so scared to lose you." I will always feel like a small child when I think of him. That is probably why my favorite scenes were those depicting David with his youngest child Tamar. I wish I could be laying side by side in a boat with my dad looking at the stars, sharing a moment together. I wish I could snuggle next to him and read him a book. Tamar and her best friend Max try to come up with a plan of mummifying her dad when he dies so that he will always be with her. Max tells her that the soul only wieghs 21 grams, so he buys her a bottle so that Tamar will capture his soul when her father dies. To be so innocent and to think that it is possible to always keep your dad by your side, well that's a beautiful thought. These pictures spoke louder than words. They brought out emotions in me like a flood taking over me. I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to buy my own copy of it.
review 2: Lovely watercolor art carries this story, whole pages go by in pained silence, as a family comes to grips with David's slow death from cancer. We get sections from the daughters' points of view, the wife's, and finally David. There is a great deal about the pursuit of hope, the maintenance of setbacks, the collateral damage on those imagining his absence or trying to understand why this is happening and what all in all is for the best. less

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