Between his second and third tours of duty, a soldier returns home.
To his former home, that is, using an old key while the new tenant is at work. Is he re-entering his old life or borrowing someone else's? Where is the line he will not cross? Each day is the same: he exists in a state of suspension, barely knowing how he passes the time - until someone else intrudes on the intruder.
Adrian Tomine, graphic master of alienation and regret, expertly expands the form to express the unsaid and the unbearable in this unforgettable evocation of a post-traumatic life.
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Between my second and third tours I came back to a bunch of bullshit and not much else.
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(Faber & Faber, 17 October 2019, e-book, 96 pages, bought from AmazonUK)
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I really enjoyed Intruders. This is a graphic novel which I don't read very often so it was nice to read something a little different and outside my comfort zone. This is a powerful piece of writing about the effects of being a soldier and taking part in conflict and a sense of alienation and displacement. It was easy to feel sympathy for the unnamed narrator. He can't quite fit into the world he's suddenly part of again, there are hints that his marriage is over and he's clinging to safety and comfort he found in the past. This is moving piece of writing.
