we love Siberia

Are graphic novels good for America? The debate rages—most recently in the Wall Street Journal (no link here because it's subscription only), where a children's book reviewer frets that images are increasingly supplanting words and softening the brains of our youth.   Meanwhile, we found ourselves lost in Siberia, a graphic memoir sent to us by the cool cats at Soft Skull Press. Nikolai Maslov tells a heart-wrenching story of his adolesence in a Siberian village, his time in the Soviet military, and his struggle to become an artist.  Maslov's soft-pencil drawings allow a rare glimpse into world we never hear much about. Think your town is a boring place where  certain people drink too much? Get this book--it'll put it all into perspective. Maslov's quest to make something of his life, and the story (revealed in an afterword) about how he his work ultimately came to light and ended up being talked about in places like this blog is inspiring. We highly recommend this little book, and kudos to Soft Skull for bringing it to the U.S.