Book Sunday: Till The Fat Girl Sings

Til The Fat Girl Sings
Sharon Wheatley
Published by Adams Media
Paperback, 271 pages

I picked this book up at the Times Warehouse Sale of Doom for half price but it was damn worth it. It was an absorbing one-sitting read. Here’s what the back of the book says:

“My name is Sharon and I am fat. I think it is important to tell you that I am fat right away because I’m sure you can tell, even though you cannot see me. I don’t blame you for not liking me. After all, not many people do.”

Sharon Wheatley always wanted to be on Broadway but many people were only too quick to tell her she’ll never land a role of any worth. When you’re fat, nothing else you are good at matters. It didn’t matter that Sharon could sing and was passionate about musicals. 

But between comfort eating and pursuing the music, Sharon did indeed end up on a number of famous Broadway productions – Les Miserables (Cosette and Eponine), Phantom of the Opera (Madam Firman), Cats (Jennyanydots, The Gumbie Cat) and Avenue Q (Mrs. T/Yellow Bear/ Kate and Lucy). 

‘Til The Fat Girl Sings hits close to home because I can pick out many similarities here. I love musicals (but don’t harbour any dreams of Broadway). I know what it’s like to be the fat kid and fattest girl in any given group of friends. I know how boys don’t give you a second glance because you’re fat. I know how it feels to have meaty singing roles given to the pretty girl who keeps screwing up something you can do in your sleep.

It’s a body image-driven world out there, moreso if you plan on being in the entertainment industry. 

Sharon writes vividly, tempered with humour, about the kind of stigma that happens when you’re fat. Eventually she does lose the extra pounds and achieve her dreams, but this won’t have been possible if she allowed herself to wallow in self-pity.

People are fat for all sorts of reasons but fixing the problem isn’t as easy as saying “lose a few pounds”. People always talk about health benefits, which are valid and worth paying attention to, but few think about the self-esteem and psychological issues. The years of teasing in school or thoughtless remarks from family and relatives. The years of denial or keeping people at a distance because they can’t possibly love or be in love with a fat person like you.

Why I find this book inspiring? Because it shows that we’re not alone. In the end, we are the authors of our own lives and our own stories.

Book Sunday: The Last Elegant Bear

The Last Elegant Bear
Dennis Kyte
Published by Little Simon Books
Hardcover

The Last Elegant Bear is another one of those books where the story is eclipsed by the artwork. Story? What story? I can’t remember the story. But look at the pretty pencil sketches and colour pencil work!

The book follows the “Life and Times of Abiner Smoothie”, a well-bred bear born into privilege and a family tree to reckon with. Abiner’s constant companion is Puppy (who really is a rabbit) and they are never apart, even when Puppy is not supposed to be there.

We follow Abiner to a posh school, then to the navy, and then to his travels all over the world. 

Without doubt, the star of the book is the artwork. It’s colourful enough to keep a child’s attention, and detailed enough to appeal to adults. 

Book Sunday: Blankets

Blankets
Craig Thompson
Published by Top Shelf Productions
Paperback, 592 pages

I’ve never heard of Craig Thompson or any of his work before. When a copy of the very thick and very heavy “Blankets” landed on my desk by way of two friends, I thought it was a trade paperback of some obscure novel… until I cracked it open.

“Blankets” is Thompson’s second graphic novel – an ambitious venture, judging by the length of the tome. It is also the winner of three 2004 Harvey Awards for Best Artist, Best Graphic Album of Original Work and Best Cartoonist; and winner of two 2004 Eisner Awards for Best Graphic Album and Best Writer/Artist.

The graphic novel follows the life of Craig, starting from key moments in his young life into his teens and later, his early adulthood. His early years are shared with his younger brother Phil, as two young boys who had creative ways of irritating and playing with each other while surviving school, parents and life in  Wisconsin.

As a child, Craig has always been alienated by his peers.

“Something about being rejected at church camp feels so much more awful than being rejected at school.” he mused in a scene where he gets carted off to what he called a week of pretense of sharing “Christ-centered” recreational activities with other Christian youths.

Craig meets Raina at one of these church camps after he’s hit the teens and his relationship with Phil takes a complete backseat in the narrative. The attraction is immediate and mutual, growing deeper after they return to their respective homes. Letters are followed by packages containing “sweet high school nothings”.

He decides to go and spend two weeks at with Raina and her family in Michigan, without mentioning to his own fundamentalist mother that Raina’s good Christian parents are getting a divorce. His timing is a little awkward for her parents but was a balm for Raina, who has to struggle to care for her adopted siblings and unwanted niece.

Raina gives Craig a hand-made quilt, patched together from patterns that reminded her of him. This blanket became an underlaying theme, fusing together patterns that appeared through out the book.

The third and most consistant of Craig’s relationship is the one with God. One of the things that drew him and Raina together is that they shared the same delimma with this whole God thing – they’ve been raised Christians but found causes to doubt. This also made a few funny pages featuring Craig when Raina said to him, “Come to bed with me.”

“Blankets” is semi-autobiographical tale where nothing terribly dramatic or superhero-like happens, but it doesn’t take away the fact that it’s still a very interesting read. It’s almost like watching a movie.

The beauty of the comic medium is that things that will require a few paragraphs of description can be relayed in two panels. Thompson puts this to full use. A picture paints a thousand words.

Where words are required, he doesn’t fall short. There are lines that are so beautiful and so true that it’ll bring tears to your eyes. As both the writer and the artist of “Blankets”, Thompson had the advantage of writing or drawing exactly what he wants.

If you enjoyed the movie “Saved!”, you might want to keep an eye out for this book. While “Blankets” has a more subtle approach and is less satirical than that movie, it tells the same story about people who only want to be human.

Note: This graphic novel is for mature readers. Small children and big babies need not apply.

- Originally published in PostMag, The Borneo Post

I was reminded of this graphic novel during our visit to MV Doulos by Joyce, who remarked, “I bet you won’t find Blankets here.”

It’s both understandable and a shame. I can related to the protagonist of the book and the story of how he fell out of Christianity. If I recall correctly, Thompson said somewhere that this graphic novel was an attempt to explain to his parents why he chose to get off the church bandwagon. It had nothing to do with not believing in God or Jesus, but in how humans tend to fuck things up in between getting the message from God and delivering it to the unwashed masses.

“It denies the beauty of being human, and it ignores all these gaps that need to be filled in by the individual.” said Craig the character on the subject of Christianity.

It’s hard to fill in the gaps when you’re afraid that every move you make is gonna be an “OMG SIN!”

Some people have managed to grow up and live entirely within their own safe community of Christians without ever experiencing what it’s like out there in the “real world”. Yet within the Christian community exists a set of politics and internal backbiting that is made worse when you are taught to believe that these are supposed to be the good guys.

Blankets is possibly the most eloquent and profound description I’ve found of how and why some young people lose faith. And yet, it’s not the downfall of humanity. I see it as a process of growing up and getting a well-rounded education of the world and society we live in, and coming to our on conclusions. I can’t think of anything worse than letting other people tell us what we should do or believe in our entire lives.

You can read a few pages of Blankets here.

This gorgeous image is page 570 in the book and originally in B&W.
This one was coloured by DMV Comics and reposted here with
his kind permission.

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