Between the Keys

Madness

Insanity

Instability

Music

Love

Desperation

Identity

These are the words that came to mind after I finished Chopsticks, by Jessica Anthony. Trying to explain it in any kind of more complete thought, backward as this may sound, feels insufficient.

This book was gifted to me by my sister and ended up sitting in my bookshelf for quite a while. I knew it would only take one sitting to read through, as it is mainly images. This was exciting for me because it was so different. How would the storytelling process be changed by combining mediums?

It turns out the answer was me sitting and rapidly trying to process the story for several minutes after finishing it. I hadn't had a reaction similar to that since I finished reading Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series after growing up with Percy Jackson.

I don't think there is much I can say about the content without taking away the experience of reading this for yourself. I'm not even sure if I liked it but I am glad I read it. I almost want to say I want a movie or something based on this story but I truly don't think it would translate exactly as well in any other form. In that, I see its beauty.

I am currently starting to get into hermit crab essays, where writing and storytelling take on the form of other kinds of documents such as lists, letters, and guides. I love the idea of reading between the lines and weaving visual art with words. Chopsticks had a great balance of directing the plot while still forcing the reader to fill in their own questions, comments, and threads.

Any story that is released to be read will be a different experience for every reader. The author relinquishes the story, in part, because it will no longer solely their own. Chopsticks especially so, since there are so few explicit words. This is what makes it so memorable and certainly one I want to return to someday.