29 Apr / The Peanutbutter Sisters and Other American Stories by Rumi Hara [in Booklist]
Rumi Hara’s sophomore title (after Nori, 2020) is another shorts collection, featuring seven stories predominantly in black-and-white, interrupted by interstitial scenes that when puzzled together form “The Builders,” a nearly wordless narrative drawn on a black background yet bursting with vivid blooms. These eponymous builders clad in furry bodysuits (with strategically placed openings) most resemble “The Peanutbutter Sisters.” The siblings’ late father “wanted us to have a true American name. A name that evokes heritage and love in this country. So he ditched his foreign name and made us the Peanutbutters.” The trio sell dump-foraged treasures on eBay, travel on hurricanes, and return home via whale hitchhiking – although this time, they must resort to danger-riddled land travel.
Most of the “Other American Stories” prove fantastical: two trees making “Tree Love”; an orgy hallucinator in “Verti-Go-Go”; naked vigilantes with explosive heads in “Bombadonna.” The single realism-based story, “Walking with Tammy Tabata,” introduces two students researching a Noh project, who decide “there can be different ways to be Japanese” – and, by implication, American.
Beyond words, Hara’s clever visuals underscore climate change, predators, mutable identities, and the longing for “home sweet home.”
Review: “Graphic Novels,” Booklist, April 15, 2022
Readers: Adult
Published: 2022