Good-bye, Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson

From the Publisher

This here be the first ever “graphical novel book” by Craig Thompson. It was winning a Harvey Award, no less. It documentates the once upon a time in our fishing village town and a short turtle lad name of Chunky, last name Rice.

Mister Chunky Rice be living in the same rooming house likewise myself, only that boy be restless. Looking for something. And he puts hisself on my brother Chuck’s ship and boats out to sea to find it. Only he be departin’ from his bestest of all friends, his deer mouse, I mean, mouse deer chum Dandel.

Now why in a whirl would someone leave beyond a buddy? Just what be that turtle lad searchings for? I said you best read the book to find out. Merle said, “Doot doot.”

Publishers Weekly

The solemn little turtle Chunky Rice embarks on a journey from his seaport home, obeying an inner call he can't quite articulate. His mouse girlfriend, Dandel, encourages him. ("You're like a little flower that's outgrown its pot," she says, as they build their last sand castle.) But once Chunky leaves, Dandel spends her time collecting empty bottles and filling them with letters she hopes will reach him at sea. The themes of deep friendship and the pain of separation are amplified in the lives of other characters. Chunky's kindly neighbor Solomon befriends a wounded bird, seeking consolation for a childhood loss, while Solomon's estranged and gruff brother, Charles--on whose boat Chunky sails--long ago embraced the sea for companionship. There is little dialogue, but each panel of this comics novel--from the vast expanse of ocean that fills an entire page to the tiny closeup of Dandel's sleeping face--carries the emotional heft of the story forward. Thompson's b&w drawings exhibit a sturdy line and offer generous details, forcing the eye to linger on every page. The perspective zooms in and out, panels change size and overlap and Thompson uses so much black that his drawings often look like cut-paper silhouettes. His characters' irresistibly smooth, round shapes, meanwhile, add to the charm and humor of their expressions, by turns wistful, anxious and joyful. Thompson has crafted an enduring fable in words and pictures--an alternative-comics answer to Saint-Exup ry's Little Prince--that will charm anyone separated from a dear and loving friend. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Kirkus Reviews

Though the title and the deceptively simple character drawings suggest a kids' comic, rarely are graphic novels aimed at adults as sweetly affecting as this. Chunky Rice is a very cute turtle. Dandel, his girlfriend, is an equally adorable mouse deer (as identified by the book, though she appears more rodent-sized than cervine). Chunky must explore the world by water, for that is his nature. As he says, "My home is on my back." Dandel must remain on land, for that is her nature. Before his bittersweet but inevitable departure, the two construct an entire world of sand castles, and he proceeds to tell her a bedtime story, the tale of the doomed lovers of Greek mythology, Orpheus and Eurydice (or, as rendered by graphic-artist Thompson, "Or-fee-us" and "Yourid-uhsee"). It's unclear whether what follows the bedtime story is dream or reality, but Chunky seems to emulate the example of another mythological hero, Odysseus, as he makes his way to what looks to be an ocean-bound tugboat with a grizzled, mercenary captain. Chunky has brought all his prized possessions, including his collection of Motown records, but the country-and-western-loving captain tells him he must travel light for a life on the sea. His shipmates include female Siamese twins, whose different sizes and sleeping patterns complicate their attachment. As Chunky sails the ocean and Dandel drops love letters into bottles carried by the waves, not much happens to propel the narrative. Yet the artistic range displayed within the black-and-white drawings, as Thompson evokes the turbulence and majesty of the sea, shows a more sophisticated command of technique than he employs with his characters (who are almost Peanuts-like).Originally published in 1999, this reprint represents the debut of another promising artist within the Pantheon stable. For characters who must pursue their own destinies, love is as boundless as the sea.

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