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evafc's review
4.0
Craig Thompson always manages to surprise me. His work is never what you expect it to be. I loved Blankets, Carnet de Voyage was something completely different and Goodbye , Chunky Rice has a sad tenderness about it. Space Dumplings is my daughters alltime favorite, because it was her first ever Graphic novel especially for children, which are still a rare thing in the Netherlands. His new series, Ginseng Roots, also took me by surprise. I have been very busy and haven’t been keeping up with new publications. So this was suddenly there. Only part 1,2, 4 and 5. Part 3 seems not available here at the moment.
Ginseng Roots is about Craigs childhood in Wisconsin, when he and his younger brother worked on several farms, harvesting ginseng. It was a very tough job for kids that age. They had to work hard. The money they earned helped them fund their comic book collection. And maybe even helped them in the end to get an education and escape the hard work at the ginseng farms.
Craig Thompson is about my age. His story, of how hard he had to work as a child, is almost otherworldy for me. Somehow, i didn’t imagine a hard life like that existed at that time in de US. He tells his story with a lot of humor, and with a eye for detail. It’s touchingly tender, an still has comiclike jokes in it. The artwork is amazing: a mixture of realistic and comic book style. In black and white, and red. Which makes the little books look more special and exclusive.
For me there’s also an educational side tot he attractiveness of this series. I had absolutely no idea that something like these ginseng farms in the US existed. I find it very intruiging and devour all information thrown at me.
So far i have read:
Part 1: About the ginseng farms, and how Craig came to work there.
Part 2: More background about the Thompson family and ho they ended up in Wisconsin . And you know, Craig has a sister.
Part 4: Working at the farm and going to school was really tough, both physically and mentally because kids at school teased them for being poor.
Part 5: historical context and what’s left of the Ginsen farms nowadays.
This is to be a 12 part series. Can't wait for the rest.
Ginseng Roots is about Craigs childhood in Wisconsin, when he and his younger brother worked on several farms, harvesting ginseng. It was a very tough job for kids that age. They had to work hard. The money they earned helped them fund their comic book collection. And maybe even helped them in the end to get an education and escape the hard work at the ginseng farms.
Craig Thompson is about my age. His story, of how hard he had to work as a child, is almost otherworldy for me. Somehow, i didn’t imagine a hard life like that existed at that time in de US. He tells his story with a lot of humor, and with a eye for detail. It’s touchingly tender, an still has comiclike jokes in it. The artwork is amazing: a mixture of realistic and comic book style. In black and white, and red. Which makes the little books look more special and exclusive.
For me there’s also an educational side tot he attractiveness of this series. I had absolutely no idea that something like these ginseng farms in the US existed. I find it very intruiging and devour all information thrown at me.
So far i have read:
Part 1: About the ginseng farms, and how Craig came to work there.
Part 2: More background about the Thompson family and ho they ended up in Wisconsin . And you know, Craig has a sister.
Part 4: Working at the farm and going to school was really tough, both physically and mentally because kids at school teased them for being poor.
Part 5: historical context and what’s left of the Ginsen farms nowadays.
This is to be a 12 part series. Can't wait for the rest.
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