Social Blunderer

Part biography and part reportage If You Were There is an affecting look at missing people in the UK. The best non-fiction changes your perception by making you aware of things.

The difficulty of defining what a missing person is, for example. It was not something I had previously considered, but once Garcia explains why it is troublesome to characterized who is and isn’t missing, it is hard to believe I overlooked it.

Garcia explores the emotional fallout from his father walking out on him when he was a child and mixes this with interviews of professionals who work to find missing people and people whose family members have gone missing.

While reading the book, I picked up a lingering scent about the futility of looking for someone who either doesn’t want to be found or, for one reason or another, can’t be found. The sad emptiness of those left behind. Garcia talks to these people with understanding and empathy. Reading how they fill the void either with misplaced hope or the indignant desire to change things or something else was heartbreaking.

Garcia writes with clarity and does a superb job of weaving his personal accounts with those to whom he talks. It is a striking book that packs a punch both emotionally and intellectually. One of the things that Garcia eloquently illustrates is how rarely there is a clear resolution to these cases, even in those where the missing are found. It is powerful stuff.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. You can buy the book using this affiliate link.

There is gaudy quality to the palette that Albon’s employs that signposts that there is something more sinister about the book than would first appear.
As a character study on the corrupting influence that avarice can have on someone, The Delicacy is perceptive and subtle. Raised by an eccentric mother far from the mainland, brothers Rowan and Tulip have differing takes on their agricultural lives. From the off, Rowan is far more at ease farming, while Tulip is itching for more. Using an unexpected inheritance, the brothers set out to create a new life on the mainland. Rowan taking responsibility for farming their late aunties land and Tulip cooking the produce in a restaurant.
After a difficult start to their new life on the mainland, the discovery of a rare mushroom turns their fortunes around.
Much like Breaking Bad, one of the book’s central questions is: How much is enough?
The way the stakes are slowly ratcheted up makes Tulip’s actions throughout understandable if despicable. From the way he starts treating employees to the dismissive way he deals with his brother’s concerns, Tulip becomes someone for whom the appearance of success is as important as success itself.
If there is a flaw with the book is that it is somewhat predictable. How the rare mushrooms that are cultivated aren’t the shocking twist that Albon may have intended. However, some surprising revelations keep the suspense alive.
Albon’s is a perfect fit for the story. Seeing the brush strokes is a joy, and the thick lines of both the lettering and characters add heft to the page. It really is a cheerfully pretty book to look at. Everything seems so pleasant.
For me, though, the writing and dialogue are the stars. In many ways, The Delicacy reminded me of the film How To Get Ahead In Advertising. The same seam of black humour and satirical criticism is present in Albon’s graphic novel.
This is an elegantly told story with well-written characters and sumptuous art. A superb achievement.

Please buy it with this affliate link