Displacement: A Travelogue

Summary:

In her graphic memoirs, “New York Times” bestselling cartoonist Lucy Knisley paints a warts-and-all portrait of contemporary, twenty-something womanhood, like writer Lena Dunham (Girls). In the next installment of her graphic travelogue series, “Displacement”, Knisley volunteers to watch over her ailing grandparents on a cruise. (The book s watercolors evoke the ocean that surrounds them.)

In a book that is part graphic memoir, part travelogue, and part family history, Knisley not only tries to connect with her grandparents, but to reconcile their younger and older selves. She is aided in her quest by her grandfather s WWII memoir, which is excerpted. Readers will identify with Knisley s frustration, her fears, her compassion, and her attempts to come to terms with mortality, as she copes with the stress of travel complicated by her grandparents frailty.  (Summary and book cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

Yes, yes yes!  In my review of “An Age of License” I felt Knisley had put forth a solid read, but that it was missing the over-arching storyline to bring it all together.  In “Displacement” I believe my critiques were remedied.  Knisley tells a fantastic story about her interactions with her family as she manages trying to understand why her grandparents are who they are now and how to manage caring for them at an extremely difficult point in their lives.

I really appreciated Knisley’s reflections throughout the travelogue, it’s what kept the story grounded, realistic and ultimately relatable.  And the artwork is fantastic as always!  Overall, I think this was a book well worth reading and I’d highly recommend it.

Rating: 5 stars!

Who should read it? Folks looking to find a way to relate to ailing parents/grandparents.