GRAPHIC NOVELS

Ginseng Roots: A Memoir

by Craig Thompson
Pantheon. Apr. 2025. 448p. ISBN 9780593700778. $35. MEMOIR
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Bestselling Eisner Award winner Thompson (Blankets) offers an introspective examination of his childhood in rural Wisconsin, exploring his family’s experiences working in the ginseng industry, a demanding yet humble line of work that profoundly shaped his upbringing. Beyond the book’s memoir aspects, Thompson also delves into the global history of ginseng, exploring its significance in Chinese culture and its economic role in shaping rural American communities. Thompson’s detailed, delicate art captures both the intimacy of family life and the broader implications of labor, exploitation, and the interconnectedness of cultures, contrasting the simplicity of small-town life with the complexities of global trade and showing how a humble plant can create deep ties between distant parts of the world.
VERDICT Thompson fuses lyrical reflections on his childhood with a thoughtful exploration of economic and cultural exchange to create a poignant meditation on labor, family, and the many ways in which global and personal endeavors intertwine, often unexpectedly. 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.
Reviewed by Tom Batten , Dec 01, 2024
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