Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Woah, this didn’t feel like a graphic novel that’s just 106 pages long, it keeps winding down a long path which often makes you feel lost at time, but also makes you keep wanting to go further and further, until you almost forget how things started. Although, the first few pages of “Monica” by Daniel Clowes is extremely different in setting, story, conversations from the rest of the novel – it begins with two American soldiers discussing their futures when they get back home from the war. What unfolds next is a series of chapters, featuring different individuals, each somehow connected to the primary protagonist – Monica.
Monica is in constant search for something to complete her life, and in some parts, the story is reminiscent of Clowes’ work “Patience,” a trippy time-travel story about a man attempting to reconnect with his girlfriend. However, “Monica,” despite its numerous sub-plots, is more coherent and well-put-together. So, before we meet Monica, we meet her mother Penny, a beautiful young woman who has an affair with an artist and discovers the liberating, free life of a hippie. This leads her to break off her engagement to a boyfriend who would have offered her a stable life, thrusting herself into a life of promiscuity and uncertainty. Penny opens a small artisan candle shop and gives birth to Monica, who survives several of her mother’s boyfriends until she is finally abandoned at her grandparents’ doorstep. Monica grows up to become a successful woman, but her quest to find her mother and unknown father leads her on a bizarre journey of her own.
Spanning several decades, from the 60s to the age of fast wifi, “Monica” is one weird, weird ride, which includes aliens, bizarre humans, cults, dead-people talking and what-not. It’s a meandering novel, which exists in a time-capsule despite the changing timelines courtesy Daniel Clowes distinct art style. A lot of his character designs may seem repetitive, but they perfectly capture the varying moods of the characters, particularly dread and terror. Some bits of the novel felt like reading an American version of a Junji Ito horror manga, especially the sections pertaining to a wacky cult Monica encounters.
Monica’s way of coping with the death of her grandparents was the most poignant bit in this novel for me, which is explored with a supernatural twist, that could also be interpreted as a distorted manifestation of a fragile mind. Clowes also directly addresses the protagonist’s mental health issues and Monica is seen having sessions with a therapist quite a few times, which was great addition in the largely other-worldy novel.
If it weren’t for some of the modern motifs that appeared through the latter half of the story, like Facebook, google searches, video calls on Skype, you’d think “Monica” was entirely taking place in a bygone era. However, in this chaotic graphic novel, Daniel Clowes cleverly illustrates just how twisted, crazy, and vulnerable people are throughout the ages, showing that technological advances do little to change our mental state and needs.
The ending was abrupt; it hits you out of nowhere with a terrifying twist, which, honestly, was satisfying for a horror buff like me. The climax also ties up one of the most disjointed chapters in the novel that featured a character who didn’t have anything to do with Monica, that’s until the end comes.
Rating: 4 on 5.
Read Next: Mariko Between Worlds – Graphic Novel Review
Also Read: The Ruins Book Review – Vine-tastic Horrors (Audio Version Below)