Did I like Loving, Ohio by Matthew Erman and Sam Beck (illustrator)? I really do not know. I was talking to a librarian at the local library and they asked me if I liked it. They had a copy and read it a while ago and since we have some similar tastes in books they were interested in my opinion. They said they liked it, I said I was not sure. It had a lot of emotions and we talked about pieces of it, the questions I had, and one area we felt had a disturbing innuendo to it. I still do not know if I liked it, but I do know that I’m not alone with some questions and feelings I had and that people do like it and, I know that it is not a bad book, just maybe not the book for me.
There is a mixture of reality, fantasy, and something in between that makes this coming of age story real, raw and sometimes missing something. It is not perfect, but then again, neither is life. Which, of course, is one of the themes. Bizarre, red, sensual, awkward, unique illustrations contort into the physical expression of the action (or seemingly lack thereof) of life. Triggers include (but not limited to) language, various levels of violence, use of drugs, religious ideology to cult levels and potential sexuality.
I will say that the violence was the worst part of things for me. It can be emotionally graphic, with a psychological punch that makes you think you’re experiencing something, but you do not see what you think you are seeing. You are not seeing “the stuff” it is just your imagination taking over and making you see more than there is. That’s not to say that it is tame. Not by a long shot!The second worst part was the casual drug use. I’m not a prude when it comes to drugs and alcohol; I just prefer not to see it in my reading of graphic novels, media watching or novel reading. I especially do not like the nonchalance of it. But that might be someone else’s reason to like it by showing the reader the reality of things.
It is an emotional read that is not happy, with an ending that was confusing and wasn’t expected. I had unanswered questions, felt in a few places the flow was jerky and I thought I had either missed information or had turned too many pages. It was the artwork that ties things up so you are able to follow things a bit. However, once in a while things were not smooth and did not help. One example is occasionally a character who is not one of the main ones, but is needed to move the story along, looks like someone else. The format of colors and lines with both the lack of color and details and what is used, all mix to make a unique product.
