Book Review: The Ticking by Rene French

'The Ticking' by Rene French is a beautiful graphic novel about parenthood and outsiderness. 

In 'The Ticking,' the main character Edison enters the world in amidst the tragedy of his mother's death and his own physical deformity. His grieving father feels the need to protect his son from the cruelty of the world, so they move to an island and live a life of seclusion. It's a lonely childhood for Edison, but still magical in it's way. Edison spends much of his time trying to understand the world better through creating art. Edison's father wants to protect his son from the world's reaction to Edison's deformity, but he is a distant father and many of his attempts to protect Edison are far more harmful than the threats he is protecting against. His father's misguided intentions lead to him insisting that Edison wear a mask when anyone visits. Edison's father wants him to get plastic surgery, but Edison does not want to go through with it. After returning back to his home on the island, Edison's father brings home a new 'sister', a chimpanzee that wears a dress. As Edison grows older, he realizes he doesn't want to live a secluded life on an island so he leaves to lead a grown up life in the city.

Through simple and beautiful storytelling, 'The Ticking' explores the theme of how a parents need to protect their child can become more destructive than the threat the parent is protecting the child from. It was the father's need to hide Edison's difference and his insistence that Edison do everything he could to confirm that was more alienating than anything else.

The illustrations in this story are especially beautiful and add to both the charm and the sadness of the story plot. There is something magical and strange about both the story and the illustrations that accompany it. Overall, this was a very beautiful and thoughtful book that I would definitely recommend reading.