2 stars
Bit disappointed in this one. As someone who works in a library and lives with depression and anxiety, I thought I’d relate to this a lot more. I was really excited when I got it from the library and couldn’t wait to start reading. Unfortunately, much of it fell flat for me and other aspects were handled clumsily.
The story itself was fine. It’s a pretty simple concept. It’s been done in other works. I liked Weir’s inclusion of aspects of depression and other’s reactions to it. Steenz’s artwork is also fine. Nice range of facial expressions and character designs, although it was a bit difficult to tell what was going on at times. I did liked seeing the progression of some of the scenes over time in the bonus material at the end. Overall, there were some interesting qualities in this book.
But there were too many holes in this story for it to really be satisfying. Neir admits this was initially a longer story with much more detail and more academically inclined. That’s certainly how it feels. There is just so much left unanswered that feels like there was probably (hopefully) more expansion in the original format.
What’s up with the weird board members? What is this museum anyway? Why does no one come? Everything just kind of ends without much satisfaction. There were elements I was interested in but nothing happened with them. Even the ending was very vague and unlikely. We don’t get much resolution and life just rolls on. This feels like a story that was already written, got some vague feedback, and then was stuffed into another format to try to make it more appealing. Unfortunately for me, it just didn’t work.
And damn Cel got on my nerves. At first I felt a bit bad for disliking her so much, but I’ve read quite a few other reviews that say much the same thing. I think Weir fell prey to the trap many of us face as authors: putting too much of oneself into a character. It’s pretty common to base characters on yourself or people you know. But if not done well, you can create an irritating character your audience can’t relate to. I’m guilty of doing the same thing. You as a person understand your own nuances better than people who have never met you. Therefore, your character seems more relatable and fleshed out to you, but to your audience, they come off as irritating. I think that’s what happened here. Cel is a terrible character, one I think is missing essential aspects that would have rounded her out to a whole person. She lashes out at everyone who’s concerned about her despite them saying all the right things to validate her experience. It just felt like a mess.
I also really disliked the representations of library work and archives. I have not specifically worked in archives, but from what I learned while getting my masters in Library and Information Science suggests its more than photocopying pictures and “sorting” (whatever that vague activity means) the boxes. Also, I hate the presentation of working in a library as boring, monotonous, and not requiring much brain power, you know, perfect for depressed people. I’m currently a Library Aid and have not had the same experience at all. I’m constantly moving from one thing to the next (helping patrons, shelving, troubleshooting tech problems, managing social media, creating marketing materials, putting together displays, helping other staff with projects). Not sure what Cel’s library had her doing, but even when there are no patrons in the building there is plenty to do.
Overall, this one just wasn’t for me. It had some good qualities but its vague story, irritating main character, poor representation of depression, and complete disregard for the intricacies of library and archival work left me unsatisfied.