The Oven

So I don’t really know why I’m on such a graphic novel kick lately. (That’s a lie - there’s a bunch of them at the local library and I like the sense of completion that comes from finishing a work in its entirety). Latest work I worked through is The Oven by Sophie Goldstein, which I finished over the course of a bus ride. Feels vaguely like the kind of dystopia Kim Stanley Robinson would invent.

It’s basically a slice-of-life from a dystopic, bordering on post-apocalyptic, world of the future, where procreation is strictly controlled by the government and the Sun seems to have gotten a helluva lot more dangerous. Eric and Sydney (‘Syd’) move to the middle of nowhere in order to star the lives they always wanted, only to find that life in the middle of nowhere is overall pretty unpleasant. Eric in particular struggles to adapt to an agrarian worldview after a lifetime in the city, and the absence of creature comforts gnaws at him. After some procreative sex, Eric seeks to escape his new reality through hallucinogenic drugs (magic slugs, or something?). Ultimately unable to stand life in the commune, however, he abandons the now-pregnant Syd to return to the city.

I’m not entirely sure if there’s a takeaway from all of this. Farm life is explicitly not romanticized, with Syd’s and Eric’s visions both smashed within minutes of arrival, and none of the rural folk seem overly likable. There’re a few vague lines about the pleasantness of communal living, but they’re half-hearted, and even those men living on the commune seem more interested in selling hallucinogens to urbanites. So I suppose we should just make sure things never get quite this bad.
The art is kind of nice - again, I’m a total neophyte - done pretty much entirely in shades of orange and black, but without looking at all like Halloween. Looks more like a stylized movie of the '70s than anything.

(I really hope I’m not missing something revelatory, but nothing jumped out at me.) ( )

Having enjoyed "House of Women," I decided to check out Goldstein's other work. It was good, but not like House of woman. The story was short and to the point: a man and woman who have been together for 3 years, they move in order to have a child, and then the man decides that's not what he wants once the woman is pregnant. I was slightly saddened by the ending, but I think it was empowering (as with House of Women). Though the protagonist was left alone in the end, she had what she wanted: freedom and a baby. ( )

Too slight and insubstantial for me. I'm torn between wishing it were longer and feeling relieved that I didn't waste much time on it. ( )

Graphic novella (I guess) about a young het couple in a future that strictly controls reproduction; they come to a place where the sun is so strong that it’s dangerous and there’s limited tech, but at least they can have kids together. But there are other temptations, and living rough isn’t as fun as it sounds at first. It’s a tale as old as time, but not Disneyfied; better tech doesn’t mean people make better choices. ( )