“Something Has Been Brewing…Whispering…”

This chapter seemed to bring us back to the beginning and resolve the author’s somewhat abstruse method of introducing the book. Though we’re about 70 pages into the book, Squarzoni continues to string along this idea of how to introduce a book, as though he still hasn’t quite decided yet. However, there is a line on page 73, which states, “some beginnings already contain the whole of the work that is to come.” This line really struck me because perhaps I’ve been reading this all wrong. Maybe this beginning is more than just a beginning. Maybe the entire message of the book has been subtly embedded into the seemingly empty introductory frames. Maybe I’ve been missing it all along.

Later on, Squarzoni brings up the topic of finishing this graphic memior. He describes it as a strange, guilty, bittersweet kind of victory, which I found ironic because he is able to make me feel that regretful anxiety that comes along with finishing a book, and the story has barely even begun! This passage makes me realize how sad I will be when this book does end, because it’s been a journey, and already I feel connected to the poetic thoughts of this stranger. The way he describes this experience also makes me think that maybe life is like this book- filled with multiple beginnings, interwoven in our lives as time goes on, and poignant endings that we have yet to reach.

Another frame that really hit me was the last few words on page 91, which quotes, “An era is ending. A new age will begin.” This was a very solemn thought because it went along with with a picture that showed receding icecaps, which insinuated the end of the human era on this planet. It made me realize that all empires inevitably fall. All nations eventually crumble. How long will our reign of the galaxy last? When will it come to the point when our evolutionary advantages wear thin, due to the depletion of necessary resources that we’re destroying? We like to think that nothing will ever shake us, that we’re invincible, that this world of ours will exist forever. It’s a pleasant reality that we’ve created and continue to fervently believe in. But what if it doesn’t? Maybe I’m just being overly dramatic. But it does make me wonder, who will take our place if a “new age” dawns?

Overall, I think this chapter was beautifully written and definitely instilled a sense of apprehension in the reader. Again, I found the scientific facts to be a bit bland, but I also noticed how with each scene, the drawings of the speakers changed in some way, which helped move the passage along. However, with the bleak forebodings of this book so far, it does make me question how Squarzoni will end this book. I’m almost hoping that there won’t be an ending, but that he’ll string the beginning out so that when we turn the last page, we’ll find ourselves on chapter two: how it all changed.