The Underwater Welder [Paperback]

I had lofty expectations for this book which is never a good thing, but Lemire rarely disappoints. For a large page count the read is actually quite quick. I think my first reading took about an hour and a half. Oddly enough after that I knew I liked it, but it was not until a day later as I was still thinking about the powerful imagery, characters, setting, and situation did I realize how much. I started the second reading the next day and I found myself lost in the story once again.

The story is essentially a tale of fathers and sons, and how ones' decisions can affect the other. A common theme that everyone should be able to relate to in one way or another. Jeff Lemire takes this theme and adds a very sureal, believable twist that will not soon be forgotten by this reader. The images and emotions presented by the story teller and characters fell very real throughout the story.

I can't say enough good things about this story. I will simply say this story is special and deserves to be read.

Here are three things that make Jeff Lemire one of my favorite authors.

- His loose art style. Literally anybody can learn to draw realistically having the time. But it's much more important to go further and find your own view on reality. Find your personal expression. Lemire seems to be doing just that with his art style.

- Deep and personal stories. Lemire often puts a lot of his personal memories and feelings into his stories and when any artist does that you just feel that the story is more meaningful then if it was fully made up.

- The sense of mystery. Lemire is very good with uncovering the whole picture detail by detail, playing with reader's curiosity and satisfying it in a meaningful way.

This book has all those features I've mentioned.
It is truly a work of art.

Water. H20. The liquid of life. And sometimes it brings about death.

The symbolism of water and its many functions is a backdrop for the emotional journey envisioned in The Underwater Welder. This gripping graphic novel, written and drawn by Canada’s own Jeff Lemire, is his latest magnum opus.

We start off with Jack and his wife, who are very close to the arrival of their first child. Jack works as an Underwater Welder on an oil rig located just off the shore of his Nova Scotian village. Unfortunately a ghost from his past infiltrates the here and now, causing dysfunction in the present. Will the memories of his negligent father, and the eventual truth about his passing, cause Jack to conquer his own inner demons?

Lemire straddles his story very evenly between Jack dealing with his baggage, while trying desperately to continue functioning in his day to day life, and the Twilight Zone like world Jack spirals into. Is this trip in Jack’s troubled mind, or an actual journey to some other realm where hopeful catharsis is the order of the day? You must, as the reader experiencing this story, decide for yourself what to believe. The real to the surreal are both on display here.

The storytelling style used by Lemire is one he has mastered throughout his career. Quiet, still pages, filled with distance from love and understanding are keenly juxtaposed with sections brimming of character moments. Pacing is a strength Lemire has in his very impressive arsenal, all in service to the story.

All this takes place in, around, about, or immersed in water. The free flow of this wondrous element compliments the feelings Jack is buffeted by. The cover image, the sorrowful Jack slowly having the water fill his helmet, with the concern not over the imminent drowning, the logical thought, but of the vision before him. The symbolism of water here is overpowering and all encompassing. Even the trip to the netherworld for Jack involves healthy and copious amounts of water being used physically and metaphorically.

This latest addition to the pantheon of Lemire’s works is spellbinding. Jack, our intrepid Underwater Welder, grows and learns, all while navigating the flood of memories smashing his current life. Jack must learn to swim into himself. And we all hope he does.