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aki_flyte's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
willmar25's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
graysonahrensbennett's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
meemzala's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What an intense amazing book. Queer love, loss, misogyny and misandry, misguided altruism and charity. Amazing art. I was so attached to the characters. I enjoyed the meandering through the timeline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Abandonment, Confinement, and Kidnapping
cantspellchloe's review
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
soyboysimon's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Enjoyed it very much but I can see how all of the positive points for me could be seen as negative for someone else. There are long paragraphs of world building that almost felt like info dumping, but I didn't mind it because it was necessary to get that level of depth into a graphic novel. Some of the panels are confusing and dark but its at points in the story where the characters minds are confusing and dark as well and they have a hard time remembering what happened clearly so it makes sense. I also love how casually queer the world is. Overall a very thought provoking read that will be staying in my collection and cherished for years to come
heelturn2's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
slow, reflective queer slice of life. beautiful art and a comic format I really enjoyed - a mix of paragraphs of text + static images, sometimes more like manuscript illuminations + sequential panel comics.
this book is emotionally dense without feeling heavy - the characters grapple with trauma, witnessing atrocities, struggles with family, deep seated beliefs about themselves and the world, but it never feels melodramatic or heavy handed or like it’s trying to shock you. this was actually kind of a great companion to read right after Sea of Tranquility because both books hit on this theme I love and have been thinking about: insane terrible things happen to you and you keep going because that’s life, and even in the aftermath of this thing life is still good in these little ways.
I think… not many people are good at writing about grief and trauma, either because they haven’t experienced it and fetishize it, they assume their reader hasn’t experienced THIS trauma, or because they’re writing about something so raw it feels like it’s just happened. The Short While is not that - it withholds showing you the traumatic incident itself for a long time, hops around in time, shows you the characters and their responses instead, and then just kind of lets the clock roll forward as things change. there’s no raw sensationalism around the event itself because it’s clear that it marked the characters and changed their relationship with one another. those changes are what’s interesting, not the details of the precipitating event. it’s what makes the world around the characters work as well - the precise history and mechanisms of the oppressive regime the characters live and have lived under aren’t necessary to explain in detail (tho that said I do love an ursula k leguin ass dystopic utopia/utopic dystopia). what’s interesting is how living in that world has affected the characters, their families, their communities…
anyways I’m losing my train of thought but this was a great comic. and it took me like 3 days to read! put more paragraphs in comics!!!
this book is emotionally dense without feeling heavy - the characters grapple with trauma, witnessing atrocities, struggles with family, deep seated beliefs about themselves and the world, but it never feels melodramatic or heavy handed or like it’s trying to shock you. this was actually kind of a great companion to read right after Sea of Tranquility because both books hit on this theme I love and have been thinking about: insane terrible things happen to you and you keep going because that’s life, and even in the aftermath of this thing life is still good in these little ways.
I think… not many people are good at writing about grief and trauma, either because they haven’t experienced it and fetishize it, they assume their reader hasn’t experienced THIS trauma, or because they’re writing about something so raw it feels like it’s just happened. The Short While is not that - it withholds showing you the traumatic incident itself for a long time, hops around in time, shows you the characters and their responses instead, and then just kind of lets the clock roll forward as things change. there’s no raw sensationalism around the event itself because it’s clear that it marked the characters and changed their relationship with one another. those changes are what’s interesting, not the details of the precipitating event. it’s what makes the world around the characters work as well - the precise history and mechanisms of the oppressive regime the characters live and have lived under aren’t necessary to explain in detail (tho that said I do love an ursula k leguin ass dystopic utopia/utopic dystopia). what’s interesting is how living in that world has affected the characters, their families, their communities…
anyways I’m losing my train of thought but this was a great comic. and it took me like 3 days to read! put more paragraphs in comics!!!
dananana's review
Maybe someday will come back to this, but it was a little confusing and I just do not have the brain space to try to understand it rn :\
2000s's review
3.5
Loved the concept of this book but the execution was a bit confusing…had no clue what was going on and there were a lot of unfinished threads. It was sweet tho and enjoyed the art style, which was so dramatic yet organic.
jade13's review
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0