A sad symphony per the Guardian and Shadow Giller Juror Lindy calls it an understated masterpiece, Clyde Fans was immediately compelling reading for me. I hesitated when first picking it up, thinking maybe I’d wait to see if it made the Shortlist. It is a brick of a book and I wasn’t sure I was wanting to read a graphic novel at the time. However, as soon as I began reading, I found I was completely taken by it.
I would be quite surprised to see if Clyde Fans didn’t make the Shortlist.
This story of two brothers, Abe and Simon, struggling to maintain the family business in a tense economy and the absence of their father. Abe feels he is the one to have sacrificed the most. The one to keep the business afloat, his brother Simon a nuisance more than a help. He doesn’t understand the anguish Simon is experiencing inside his mind.
The blue, grey and black colouring only enhanced the melancholy story within. A story of regret, hopelessness, sibling rivalry, expectation and resentment, mental illness and the anxiety of caring for an elderly parent are just a few of the layers found within.
There was so much to enjoy inside. It really didn’t take me long to read at all and I was fully invested all along. Yes, I would be surprised to not find this on the Shortlist.
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