The Thud

The Thud is a graphic novel told from the perspective of Noel, a young man who lives with his "mumsie" and is excited about his upcoming birthday and present of going to see his favorite band AC/DC. Everything literally comes crashing down one day when he hears a thud from the next room. 

It turns out that his mother had a stroke and is now in a coma. Because he is developmentally disabled and cannot live on his own, he is taken to Neuerkerod, a German village where most of the inhabitants have developmental disabilities. There, he has to learn to make sense of and live his own life.

Everything has left Noel disoriented, and it is through his eyes that we get to know the lay of the land and the locals. His friend Valentin is obsessed with dates and times, and his strictly scheduled proclivities sometimes clash with Noel's more freewheeling tendencies. Noel also develops an unrequited crush on Penelope, while another young woman named Alice, who is epileptic, tries in vain to gain his attentions. These relationships show both a relatable sense of humanity as well as humor, especially when people's intentions get mistaken. These scenes are often sweet and heartfelt, not pandering, and the humor does not come at the characters' expense.

The artwork is colorful and highly expressive. I love how the characters are distinct, with unique sizes and shapes and imbued with personality. These aspects come out strongly in the episodic fashion of the story, which is structured as a series of sequential short stories. I love how this book develops a longer narrative over the space of these stories, with the reader and Noel both getting more of a sense of this village and the people who live there. It even introduces some historical context, about this village that has existed for 150 years and the dark days of Nazism, when many of the village's citizens were deemed unfit to live. 

Finally, I loved the open-ended, powerful way that the book concluded. It is a beautiful, thoughtful, and respectful look at people who are often overlooked, ignored, and/or underestimated. You will fall in love with these characters.

This book was created by artist/scholar Mikaël Ross and translated into English by Nika Knight. Ross has created a number of comics works and received Berlin’s Senate Department for Culture and Europe’s first graphic novel scholarship. He speaks about The Thud in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Publishers Weekly called it a tale "told with an endearing combination of empathy and humor." Andy Oliver wrote, "Ross mixes poignancy with humour in a book that runs the emotional gamut, culminating in a heartrending finale where events come full circle." Kevin Wolf opined, "Everything about this graphic work is touching … emotionally … visually … conversationally between characters"

The Thud was publish in the US by Fantagraphics, and they provide a preview and more information about it here.