REVIEWS:
"Poignant and provocative... this is a masterwork of the wordless novel that leaves us speechless. Every reader will enjoy hours of contemplative deliberation over Bousfield's remarkable printmaking skill and vivid creative passion." - George Walker, author of Graphic Witness.
"Neil Bousfield displays astonishing skill as a wood engraver with fine lines and amazing detail in a riveting story of dramatic intrigue and mystery. Like the brilliant woodcut novels by Lynd Ward and Frans Masereel, you will return to Bousfield's stunning novel without words again and again, and discover further gems of surprise and wonder. This visual treasure is storytelling and printmaking at its best!" -
David A. Berona, author of Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels.
"It seems appropriate that Bousfield is revisiting a novel type that was born with Lynd Ward’s groundbreaking Gods’ Man, published the very week of the Great Crash of 1929. In 2010’s economy, Bousfield seems to be competing not only with Ward but with Ward’s Great Depression circumstances—a tall task for a first book, but Bousfield holds his own. In addition to its simple narrative (fairly common to the genre), Walking Shadows boasts exceptional standalone prints; Bousfield, an engraver, is able to produce finer lines and more fully rendered work than a woodcutter might. (The difference involves how the wood blocks the artist employs were cut—with or across the grain.) There are many memorable images in Walking Shadows, including those of the mother mopping floors alone at Pack It & Wrap It. In one she’s moving a pail with her foot, in a gesture of futility and exhaustion; in another she seems to be washing away the shadows. There are also excellent exterior depictions throughout—including the father’s death scene and a single overhead shot of the housing complex where the family lives—and they are among the most striking images in the novel. Altogether, these pages are worth reading, then putting aside and revisiting, if only to admire Bousfield’s engraved prints for the fine one-off pieces of art that they are." -
Reviewed By Kevin Nolan (To read the full review visit: The Rumpus)
To purchase a copy visit Amazon.co.uk , Amazon.com , or you can order a copy from any good bookshop: ISBN-13:978-1-933149-29-5