My First Graphic Novel

This is the first time I’ve ever read a graphic novel and I can’t believe how fast of a read it is. I’ve never even read comics so reading this novel is such a different experience for me. The beginning of Climate Changed starts of with the narrator not knowing how to begin the book, but he then realizes that it is more difficult to end a book. He speaks of some books and films and how their beginnings are so memorable, they stay with us. The narrator remembers when he first watched Peter Pan and how he could vividly recall the opening scene of the movie. He then goes on to explain all the memories he had when he was younger; he played in the garden, celebrated his birthdays, and had his own room. All of these memories merged together in his mind as though they happened at the same time. When the narrator visits his childhood home he notices some differences like how there wasn’t a pool before or bay windows, how the garden used to be bigger, and how the house in general looked bigger before. The changes in his childhood home could make him cry, he states. He felt a sense of familiarity there, and even though he hasn’t been there for a while, the house and all the memories associated with it stay with him. These memories left a permanent mark on the narrator as they formed his childhood, his life.

The introduction to the novel made me correlate the memories the narrator had at his childhood home with the issue of climate change.  Just like how everything transformed in the narrator’s home, everything is transforming around us. The ice caps are melting, the temperature is rising, and many other negative changes are occurring. The narrator didn’t realize all the changes that occurred in his old home, until he visited it. He doesn’t even know who bought the house after he left. This is like us; we remain oblivious to all the transformations that are occurring in our environment, but we will realize the changes when it is too late and we, like the narrator will not be happy about it.