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Reviewed by Dan Polley If your ex-lover died and you were left with the ashes of that person, what would you do? Jackie, the start of June Kim’s “12 Days,” faces just that scenario, and she chooses a rather … dramatic method to dispose of the ashes. The book focuses heavily on relationships and how inter-personal relationships between people can make or break people. Jackie seems to be lost in her emotions and cannot find the inner strength to lift herself from her funk and get on with her life. But she makes a decision to consume her ex-lover’s ashes in a smoothie — one per day — for 12 days. Then, she hopes, her ex-lover will just be a distant memory. Jackie enlists the help of her friend Nick in her 12-step program to bury the memories of her ex-lover. And with him comes the strength to move on with her life. Kim’s art is poignant and helps the reader to understand and feel the emotions of the featured characters. However, the Jackie character seems to be over the top and extreme in her mental processes. Her decision to drink her ex-lover’s ashes in a smoothie makes her feel like a fictional character, while the rest of the book and characters have a non-fiction feel. The word balloons also help to add to that feeling, as the characters are not individuals since the balloons are all made out with typed lettering. It feels as though it doesn’t add to a sense of individualism. Really, it only seems to make the characters more rigid and un-breathing. Kim’s plot is exciting and interesting, and definitely something new. But at points it just seems to hit lows that are just too low for the reader to continue on. At the same time, the plot does seem to have some interesting points, so it doesn’t completely take away from the book, but does seem to be a distraction at times. “12 Days” is an interesting story that deserved to be told. However, there were a few key things that could have been different that would have made the book more worth multiple readings. Comment on this review of 12 Days on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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