My problem with Blankets is that it is thick but short. It's a sunday, reserve maniacal laughter over my description for tomorrow. You dirty mind.
It is my first foray into the beautiful yet undiscovered (at least for me!) world of graphic novels (not counting the Trese series I read for school and the Archie comics I used to collect as a young girl) and I expected something a little bit longer or at least a hopeful ending that didn't get me feeling so "bitin". Then again, I think that's also the beauty of the book. It is a truthful autobiography in the sense that it didn't really have answers in the end, just realizations. In a way, I am happy with the way Craig's story turned out. It started with vulnerable musings and ended with vulnerable (and perhaps a little bit enlightened) realizations.
I thought the setting of the book is a little bit symbolic and that it fit well with the theme of social isolation. In the winter, everything seems so immaculate and incredibly pure but it will only take a little heat and sunshine to turn these soft foams of ice into brown, poopy slush. That's where beauty ends and where life begins. I love how there is an amass of footsteps in Craig Thompson's frames. I took this as a symbol of both importance and non-importance. Everybody treads on a path which will later on be erased, or covered but what's important is that they did walk through it. Longevity is not so much a question as the difference one is able to make, in one's self and in the lives of others. The message of the book is simple and clear but tension lies in simplicity, itself. With that, I was able to reaffirm my belief than man complicates what is supposed to be a life so simple. Harmony and co-existence are two difficult states of being because there will always be differences. At the end of the day, just like this book.. all we have is ourselves and our beliefs and decisions that are made by no one else.
Craig and Raina's love story is a wonderful piece of the puzzle but it isn't their love for one another that got me so into the story, but their faith. I love the part where Raina said she believed in God but did not believe in Heaven because sometimes, I feel that way. I love the part where Craig is racked by tremendous religious guilt and he cannot do anything about it even if something inside him knows he should not feel that way. I feel that way most of the time. It was very easy for me to relate to Craig, both raised in fixed truths, absolutes and words men have put in God's mouth, I found solace in his thoughts. They are simple, concise, devoid of religious bullshit but very heartfelt and well-meaning. Like Craig, I have faith in God's power but I lose it the moment I see and sense its relentless fabrication by religious institutions.
Blankets was able to convey everything I feel about Catholicism, or faith in general. It is 580 pages of unadulterated thoughts about religion, Christianity, faith and the realities of humanity that make a believer turn a full 360. I was deeply moved by Craig's questions on faith. I, too, have the same questions. I, too, feel the same way. I learn about God through the circumstances in my life, the tiny miracles I see and hear about other people's lives and the small but moving wonders of everyday life. However, I lose faith when I interact with people full of dogma. I've always disliked the feeling of entitlement persistent through avid members of the Church. I despise the rules people believe are "from God" or the beliefs that in time have turned into something the Supreme Being said. I am hotly bothered by the limits and excesses people attribute to Heaven, to God to everything about faith. Upon reading Blankets, I realized that I am not alone. Somewhere out there, there are people who think and feel the same way. In the novel, Craig wrote something I have always referred to when thinking about the pitfalls of the Church--and with this I end my discussion of the book's connection to faith:
It was nearly impossible for me to accept that a group of people could adhere to the same belief, to be one in heart and mind, much less join together in a constructive goal. The personal Savior concept of Christianity is what appealed to me, the Good Shepherd neglecting the herd to search for the lonely, lost lamb...not this mass mentality.
