Barking by Lucy Sullivan: a review

I think I’m on a little Gothic fix at the moment. I’m sure it won’t take that long to pass, but I’ll be sure to enjoy it while it’s here.

            Barking by Lucy Sullivan is the story of Alix Otto. A year after her friend’s body was pulled out of a river, she’s been sectioned and is feeling incredibly isolated in her own head as she’s trapped battling her grief, demons, and delusions. This is a truly haunting story that is sure to linger like a ghost long after reading.

            The art is ridiculously amazing. Before you even get a word of text, you’re brought right into the tone and overall mood of the piece. I don’t know if this is a collection of charcoals in print form or if it’s digital art made to look like charcoal, but it’s really beautiful. The medium works so well for the tone. I bloody love it.

            The storytelling method is somewhat unusual here, but I am all here for it. It is rather scattered, but that’s actually a really good thing here. It fits the narrative really well, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before. Admittedly, I couldn’t read a lot in this style, as it isn’t necessarily the easiest style to read a lot of. I really enjoyed it, though.

            This isn’t just a book. This is a whole ass work of art; a masterpiece if you will. Due to the content, this was tough to get through at times, but I’m sure that I will be back in those pages one day. This is a definite recommendation, and it is (as always) available at Burnley Library.