Stitches: A Memoir

by David Small

This is the graphic memoir of a man who, as a child, survived two operations for cancer and didn’t even know it. Sure, he knew that he had a growth in his neck. He knew that he was having surgery to remove it.

But he didn’t know that the growth was cancerous, and he didn’t know that the surgeon would wind up removing one of his vocal cords and his thyroid gland. So, he was left with no voice and a hacked up neck. And his parents said nothing.

That is the basic story of David Small. Though the actual book appears to be weighty (even hardcover), the material seems a little thin to me. He uses a lot of illustrations and very few words to tell his personal short story. So much more could have been said.

Disappointing.

11/17/09