Breakwater by Katriona Chapman is a charming and inviting journey into the kind of literary storytelling that can be accomplished through words and images in graphic novels. The book tells the story of Chris and the characters that populate a movie theater.
The ways these characters come together, the decisions they make, and the ways that Chapman presents mental health and personal boundaries are all part of what make the book so imaginative and compelling. The choice to set the story against the backdrop of a movie theater adds an element of interest as Chris and her compatriots make choices about rude customers and do the tedious work of cleaning up after others.
To what degree does such cleaning occur in relationships? What is the presentation of self in daily life that is hidden in more private spaces? Chapman includes much commentary about both of these questions and more in this powerful story.
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