Product Description

The story of Raymond Briggs's parents' marriage, from their first, chance encounter to their deaths. Told in Briggs's familiar strip-cartoon format, with nothing embroidered or altered, the book is also a social history of a kind, embracing such events as World War II and the advent of television.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #267956 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10-13
• Released on: 1998-10-13
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 8.94" h x .31" w x 6.02" l, .92 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This wonderful book by noted children's author/illustrator Briggs (The Snowman) is something quite new: the story of his parents' quiet lives, played out against the stirring events of the century, done as a comic strip. Ethel was a rather timid ladies' maid, Ernest a dashing milkman, when they first saw each other in 1928. He swept her off in a whirlwind courtship, and they bought the little London row house where they were to live the rest of their days. In pictures exquisitely attuned to the niceties of English domestic architecture and period clothes, Briggs takes Ethel and Ernest fondly through the decades. He is born, a source of great joy, but it's a difficult birth and Ethel is told she can't have any more children. World War II approaches, and little Raymond is sent off to the country as an evacuee. After the war, Ernest, an ardent Socialist, believes that utopia has arrived, while the more cautious and conservative Ethel keeps bringing him back to earth. Then come the wonders of their first car, the advent of television, Raymond's eventual marriage in the swinging '60s and the aging couple's gradual decline into senility, floowed by their deaths within weeks of each other. The dialogue is heartbreakingly accurate, the pictures cinematic in their conveyance of delight and drama; the whole book is not only a deeply moving testament to "ordinary" folk but a precious piece of social historyAthe essence of a lower-middle-class English life over seven decades. This was deservedly a bestseller in England and warrants no less here. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Briggs (The Snowman, When the Wind Blows) is possibly the premier cartoonist publishing exclusively with a major publishing house, and any new work of his deserves a very careful look. Here, we are presented with a story for adults, the cartoon version of Briggs's parents' lives. What comes across is a social history of Britain from the years prior to World War II to the death of both parents in 1971, as they and their son are caught up in larger political events. Because of the brevity of the narrative, we are only allowed glimpses of what Briggs's parents were like; unfortunately, they are cast too neatly as opposites, with one rigid and the other more spontaneous. There is also a bit of sentimentality in the presentation of struggling young artist Raymond Briggs. The artwork is sure, easygoing, and playful; clearly, Briggs is on top of his artistic and storytelling abilities. The question is whether his medium is subtle enough to carry his message. This book will interest Briggs's many fans as well as readers interested in modern British history.AStephen Weiner, Maynard P.L., MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-An engrossing and revelatory picture story. After a brief courtship, Ethel, a ladies' maid, and Ernest, a milkman, married and bought a house. Much bemused at the size and amenities of this dwelling, they settled in to make a home. After some years, their only child, Raymond, was born and the small family moved through the world of working-class England before, during, and after World War II. Ernest's strong socialist bent contrasted with Ethel's admiration of the vanishing aristocracy. The Depression years, Raymond's evacuation during the war, the Blitz and the extended rationing, and the new socialistic government policies and the relative security of the '50s are realistically portrayed in both colored pictures and text. While presenting this story in a comic-strip format, Briggs doesn't flinch at revealing personal details; at the end, readers see his mother's disease-ravaged corpse and his father's inability to carry on. This is a vivid chronicle of a time and place not very far past and the life story of an average, but loved and loving couple. As a memoir, as a graphic novel, as an invitation to participate in someone else's memories, it is most successful. A quick but haunting read that's sure to involve anyone who picks it up.
Susan H. Woodcock, Chantilly Regional Library, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.