Sacramento Book Review – 9/1

When Tim’s father dies, he and his brother, “Free,” are left with his worldly possessions—the most notable of which is a museum of curiosities.  And while most of the items on display are little better than outright junk, one of them – which just so happens to be the subject of countless slightly traumatic childhood memories for both boys – just might be of interest to someone.  “The Savage,” as he is lovingly referred to, turns out to be an actual stuffed African man.  But what should be done with him? 

Beneath the comedic guise that Stuffed! effects lay some unexpectedly deep subject matter.  Race, family ties, “New Age” ideas, ant the ethics of museums can all be read here in a comprehensive, yet entertaining format.  The story is engaging and surprisingly real.  Many people work hard to avoid becoming like their parents, and all families have an eccentric member like Free.  The artwork is skilled and fun, for the simple style is well-suited to this tale and Bertozzi has an amazing way with facial expressions.  This is a fantastic debut effort, and hopefully, the world will see more great things from Eichler and Bertozzi in the future. 

Review in 11/1 BCCB

In this full-color graphic novel, protagonist Tim Johnston is working at his boring desk job when he gets the phone call saying that his father is dying.  The old man is a pitiless piece of work, so there is little sorrow at his passing, but Tim is shocked to learn that his father had no other assets than his “museum,” a collection of grotesqueries that tormented Tim and his estranged brother as children.  Among these is a “savage,” a statue of an African male in a loincloth holding a raised but broken spear.  Determined to do the right thing, Tim attempts to place the statue in a museum, only to find that it is an actual taxidermied human.  The curator tries to find the man’s country of origin in order to return him, but then Tim’s drugged-out brother has other ideas about what to do with the family inheritance.  The realistic cartoon art completes the text in a nonintrusive way, emphasizing the dark emotions that surface throughout their ordeal with exaggerated clarity, staging dreams through color changes, and augumenting character development through hair and clothing style.  Issues of intergenerational and racial guilt percolate below the surface and break through in tense moments, particularly when the white suburban Johnstons try to find common ground with the black curator and his wife, and when the Johnstons have to deal with their dissipated relative, making this an emotionally and ethically challenging text for teen readers.  Likewise, the humor here is dark and fairly subtle even for adults: mature teen readers will have no trouble understanding the deep wit, but they may not find that it hits their issues so much as those of their older relatives who are trying to sort through their feelings towards abusive parents, childhood fears and prejudices, and adult siblings.