Don's (Review): My first solo trip to New York City, in 1987, found me sitting in the Hotel Tokyo on my first night there, unsure of where to go and what to do. By 10pm I realized I was in a city of, what, nine million people, yet had never felt so alone. Sophie Burrows's masterful debut, Crushing - told pretty much with zero text - brought me right back to that night, as I turned the pages and followed a young woman in her twenties, living life in the big city nearly crowded out by people, yet with little to no interaction with any of them. At one point she shares a brief smile (but just a smile) with a young man in his twenties, and from there the book divides its time between the two of them, each flying solo ... yet we immediately have the impression maybe they'd be good together, after their single brief encounter. With a very subdued pallette broken up by red via the girl, the guy, or actions in the story, this is a moody but hardly sad book, so beautifully drawn and painted, that simply depicts human nature in a world where screens and pandemics and keenly-bred mistrust have more than ever isolated us from each other. Neither of our main characters are unhappy or depressed - each seems perfectly well-adjusted and happy in his or her own life - but wanting to share that life with someone else, which at times makes them a bit lonely, as anyone would be (and 99% of us have been, at one time or another). Both their stories are told with humor, dignity, and an incredible amount of heart, and I loved it - as, I think, any romantic would. For a book with no words,,this one geuinely sings. (Available on Kindle January 11) 4.5/5 stars
NOTE: I received a free copy of this title from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
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