Written by Natsume Ono
Viz, 320 pp.
Rating: T+ (Older Teens)
I first became acquainted with Natsume Ono’s work thanks to the serialization of the quirky and idiosyncratic samurai drama, House of Five Leaves on SigIKKI. It’s a series I’m rather keen on, so of course when I found out that not simple would be getting a US release I was eager to give it a look. After having read the book, I’m not sure if I should have been quite so eager.
not simple is the life story of Ian, a young man from Australia with a rather complicated past. His tale plays out in a vaguely disjointed manner, with the ending being presented first and the rest of the volume consisting of the various events of Ian’s life leading up to first chapter. Unfortunately, his tale is one hell of a downer, consisting of atrocity after atrocity being heaped upon him from a young age, right on through to this death. If there was ever an example of someone being dealt a raw deal by fate, Ian’s it. Estranged from his family, desperately searching for his sister, he wanders to the world with a perpetual smile and a personality and innocence that screams stunted emotional growth.
He’s not the only broken character in the book, though; just about every character you meet is screwed up in some form or another. The abusive and drunken mother, the distant and apathetic father… even the eventual friend he makes in an up-and-coming author seems to try and keep Ian at an emotional arm’s length while watching the events of the opening chapter unfold in a disturbingly cold and uncaring manner. Just about everyone comes across as either horribly selfish or abusive with Ian being the only exception, though he instead comes across as so horribly broken that I just kept wishing someone would put him into therapy.
Thankfully, Natsume Ono’s art fits this story to a T. Broken, awkward and distorted-looking characters make their way across the page and seem tailor-made to give the story a disjointed, half-remembered feel. The faces of the various characters are nearly all alike, simply furthering the idea that this is all some kind of barely remembered nightmare or childhood memory. The focus on the large and vaguely unnatural eyes helps highlight each character’s emotional hookâIan’s wide-eyed innocence; the bitter, jaded gaze of his mother; or the uncaring, almost mocking eyes of his father. If there’s one glowing aspect to this book, it’s Ono’s wonderfully awkward artwork.
This is a fairly grim read, full of rather unlikable characters being horrible and apathetic towards each other. The few characters who aren’t jerks aren’t featured enough to really save this from being bleak as hell. While Ono’s artwork is lovely to look at, it just isn’t enough to save it for me. So, in the end, not simple was a nicely drawn, but rather disappointing and depressing read.
not simple is available now.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
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