STITCHES: A Memoir cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

When a person recounts events of which he has an intimate knowledge through his own observation or writes of his own personal life and experiences, it is called a memoir.  Readers gravitate towards memoirs of people who are famous (or infamous) or people who have at least led interesting lives.

In STITICHES: A Memoir, a new graphic novel from children’s book author, David Small, the allure is in how the story is told.  It’s not that David isn’t famous; he’s won numerous awards for his children’s books, including the 2001 Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in So You Want to be President? (written by Judith St. George).  It’s not that he hasn’t led an interesting life; his family was apparently the anti-Cleavers (Leave it to Beaver).  But do we really need another work of fiction or nonfiction that “shatters the myth of the nostalgic and tranquil 1950s” (as the press release for this book proclaims)?  We need and want it especially if it is told with great artistry, as Stitches is.

Small was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1945.  According to what Stitches recounts, David was born into a family where free expression was forbidden, and apparently also talking in general.  The Small house, however, was not one where silence ruled just because no spoke.  Other noises could be deafening and fearsome.

David’s mother, Elizabeth, slammed cupboard doors to express her anger, dissatisfaction, and fury.  David’s older brother, Ted, hid in his room and banged loudly on his drum kit to drown out his sorrow, according to David’s account.  David’s father, Edward, a radiologist, came home from work and retreated to the basement where he hit on a punching bag to blow off steam and frustration.

Without giving away too much of the story: David developed severe health problems that led to surgery and a need for stitches.  The stitches essentially act as a bridge between David’s childhood as a prisoner in the dysfunctional Small household and his emancipation out into the larger world to pursue his dreams of becoming an artist.  Thus, David’s story can be one of childhood survival or one of redemption.

Stitches as a memoir is two things.  First, it is a recollection of events by a person who has intimate knowledge of these events because he both observed and lived them.  Secondly, it is story about a family as told by a particular member (in this case, David).  However, the story is filtered through David’s own point of view and prejudices, as well as his own lack of knowledge about the other members of his family (such as David’s ignorance of his mother’s extremely poor health).  I don’t question the validity or truth of what Small presents in Stitches.  This is simply David’s view, which is important when one considers that Stitches’ success rests not on the particulars of the story, but on how it is told.  That Small depicts childhood in his own individual or even quirky voice is precisely why this memoir can be so engaging.  David is not only telling a familiar tale; he’s also telling it in a way that makes us look again at personal triumph over obstacles with new eyes.

With fluid, loose line work, Small draws a world in black and white and ink wash that is as real and as tangible as anything a photorealistic drawing style could depict, if not more so.  Even sequences that represent dreams and flights of fancy possess a sense of verisimilitude that transmits to the readers the implication that these fantasies actually happened.  No matter what Small shows, we can believe that this story comes from real human experience rather than being the contrivance of a fictional character.

Small has done something of utmost importance in selling a memoir to his readers.  He has depicted his experiences as unique through the distinctive manner in which he tells it.  With STITCHES: A Memoir, David Small, who is not a regular contributor to American comic books, has pushed the graphic novel forward, making us once again reconsider what we can do with the comics medium.

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