From the celebrated author of Blankets and Habibi comes a new graphic memoir exploring the class divide, childhood labor, family, and our globalized world—all centered on Wisconsin's ginseng farming industry
"Ginseng Roots is Thompson’s most visually arresting work so far." —New York Times Book Review
“A sweeping story, gorgeously drawn and beautifully told — this is Craig Thompson’s masterpiece.” —Joe Sacco, author of Palestine and Paying the Land
When Blankets first published in 2003, Craig Thompson's seminal memoir about first love and faith lost in rural Wisconsin debuted to rapturous acclaim. The winner of two Eisner and three Harvey Awards, it is to this day considered one of the all-time great works of graphic storytelling. Now, in Craig's long-awaited return to the autobiographical form, comes the story that Blankets left out.
Ginseng Roots follows Craig and his siblings, who spent the summers of their youth weeding and harvesting rows of coveted American ginseng on rural Wisconsin farms for one dollar an hour. In his trademark breathtaking pen-and-ink work, Craig interweaves this lost youth with the 300-year-old history of the global ginseng trade and the many lives it has tied together—from ginseng hunters in ancient China, to industrial farmers and migrant harvesters in the American Midwest, to his own family still grappling with the aftershocks of the bitter past.
Stretching from Marathon, Wisconsin, to Northeast China, Ginseng Roots charts the rise of industrial agriculture, the decline of American labor, and the search for a sense of home in a rapidly changing world.
"An engaging piece of long-form journalism . . . . Ginseng Roots is Thompson’s most visually arresting work so far . . . . His most interesting characters contain subtle subversions, have surprising motivations, or remain mysterious even to themselves."
—New York Times Book Review
"Ambitious . . . . an examination of the intricate, global web of labor, production and consumption."
—NPR
"Soulful, funny, and exquisitely drawn. Like Blankets, Ginseng Roots is a modern classic: moving, and weirdly educational – a gentle yet perspicacious story of global politics, capitalism, religion, and life at the edges of all of those forces."
—The Guardian
"An epic accomplishment . . . . Ginseng Roots is what it should be: a medicinal herb you steep in. And it’s the right medicine for the moment . . . . a layered, rhizomatic reading experience."
—Hyperallergic
"Returning to Craig’s roots in rural Wisconsin, Ginseng Roots is part systems exploration, part cultural history — but most uniquely, it is an exercise in journalistic listening as an act of devotion. Even as Craig painfully questions his upbringing and his own beliefs about work, he expresses a hope for healing and an ultimate acceptance of imperfection and grace."
—Thi Bui, author of The Best We Could Do
"Craig Thompson’s sometimes aching reflection on his roots in the soil and culture of rural Wisconsin is also a tender love letter to ginseng and to the diverse, compelling, and often quirky people who struggle to make it grow. A sweeping story, gorgeously drawn and beautifully told — this is Craig Thompson’s masterpiece."
—Joe Sacco, author of Palestine and Paying the Land
"Ginseng Roots is Craig Thompson's triumphant return to graphic memoir . . . . seeing his beautiful, detailed brushwork on every page felt like discovering the magic of graphic novels for the first time."
—ComicsBeat
"Poignant . . . the kind of book you don’t read so much as let it wash over you . . . . Though Thompson fills the book with layered yet flowing art, it maintains a lightness and teasing humor that keeps the material from being overwhelming . . . . A lovely reminder that home never can be left behind, even for those who might want to."
—Star Tribune
"Ginseng Roots is a monumental graphic art achievement."
—BookPage
"Emotive . . . detailed and meticulous . . . . visually stunning."
—Asian Review of Books
"A phenomenal work of testimony and storytelling."
—Comics Grinder
"Thompson's most ambitious work to date."
—Bleeding Cool
"Every page is different. Every page is a masterpiece."
—In Common
"Thompson makes a triumphant return with his most ambitious and profound work yet."
—Sandbox World
Poignant and memorable . . . a spectacular and inspired graphic memoir that traces the many threads of a remarkable root."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[Thompson's] signature style . . . remains as affecting as ever, creating another painstakingly multilayered title to add to shelves everywhere, including (hopefully) again, in his parents’ home."
—Booklist (starred review)
"As Thompson roves from the Wisconsin Ginseng Festival to a Korean wholesale auction and wild ginseng boutiques in China, his supple, brushy ink lines render the scenes in poignant detail. A feat of generous observation, this stands with Thompson’s very best work."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A visually rich, emotionally resonant work of true ambition and sophistication from one of the most sensitive storytellers currently working in any medium or genre."
—Library Journal
CRAIG THOMPSON is a cartoonist and the author of the award-winning books Blankets, Carnet de Voyage, Good-bye Chunky Rice, and Habibi. He was born in Michigan in 1975 and grew up in a rural farming community in central Wisconsin. His graphic novel Blankets has won numerous awards, including the Eisner, Harvey and Ignatz Awards, and has been published in nearly twenty languages. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
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