It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth: This Book Is for Someone, Somewhere.

Product Information

Even the protagonist of Thorogood’s first graphic novel, The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott, is drafted here as an explicit fictional proxy. In that book, Billie is a reclusive visual artist who learns she is rapidly losing her vision. She undertakes a journey of self-discovery and finds her eyes metaphorically opened to the rich tapestry of humanity. Through her art, Billie learns how to connect with others in a way she couldn’t — or didn’t want to — before. And while Thorogood was previously reluctant to say that Billie was based on herself, she is more open about the relationship in her new book. “ [Billie] becomes less like who Zoe is , and more like who Zoe wishes she was,” Thorogood observes. “ I created a version of myself that people would root for.” Thorogood approaches autobiography seriously, but not dourly. The intimacy with which she tells her story results in a book with space for surreal nightmare imagery and morbid comedy in It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth from Image Comics. I can't help but thank Zoe for creating this work of perfection. There are reasons as to why people with mental health issues do not come forward. And the 1 star rate review is a good example to why. I’d recommend this book for anyone that has a loved on that suffers from depression. But be warned, this is not the sanitized version of depression that you usually get—enough so that you understand, but not enough so that you are freaked out. This gets at how truly horrendous it is to have to live with, negotiate with, be entangled with overwhelming depression.

I had the pleasure of delving into It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood, and it's a strikingly self-aware journey. Zoe lays bare her own flaws and struggles, making this graphic novel an intimate and metanarrative exploration of her life as an artist desperately piecing it together. Reading it feels like a direct confrontation, a book calling out its creator, and it's an enthralling experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. Thorogood elevates the dark material with her expressive use of the comics medium and the urgency of her voice. One to watch for the 2020s. - Forbes I say this with the caveat that the author pulls no punches in her depiction of the depths of mental illness. In fact, she includes her own content warning. That is as good as any reason to make art. Or to be you and communicate with others. I was touched by this a lot, remembering how I used to leave paintings with favorite poems written on them on trees around my town. Mostly just as an ‘I was here’ but also to hopefully have someone pause, read, and be touched by poetry even for only a moment. And hopefully feel good about the world. So yes, I believe this to be true. Zoe Thorogood’s It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth has affected me, I think it is marvelous, and now I am passing it along through this review that might affect you. All without ever really seeing or knowing each other. But I’m also shoving this into the face of every person that walks into the bookstore and library I work at. I hope Thorogood is doing well and will create more art. We can all benefit from being affected by it.

Featured Reviews

The fact that Zoe manages to inject humour into this undeniably depressing book is a credit to her skill as an artist. To make me as the reader feel like I wanted to laugh, cry, write a poem, and punch myself in the face all at the same time is quite an achievement. Highly recommended. And yeah I guess you should read the trigger warnings if thoughts of suicide, talks about depression, sex, or anything else human bother you. However, the result is not dismal and even during the book's darkest moments Thorogood's artistic brilliance shines through as does her subtle and often self effacing sense of humor. Perhaps the best example of this is the frequent appearance of the personification of her depression which takes the form of a large looming monster that seems to be a hybrid of Ingmar Bergman's Death and a Teletubby. This method of processing life and being human is absolutely intriguing to me and I am so grateful I chose to read this.

The creator of this ... book is depressed and a rather miserable person to both herself and those around her. Being in her head was a really horrible experience and I'm sorry that she lives like that 24/7. I don't know if those who are depressed and hate themselves also are nasty and hate others and think horrible things about those around them, or if that is something else causing that for her, but it is really not great to read about. This graphic novel takes a classic approach to what art is, the reflection of our own cognition. As in, it’s not a mirror of reality, it’s not about how realistically we render an image but rather it’s a mirror of our thinking, our emotions, expressions of reality that don’t naturally have physical form. Thorogood’s cognition takes on multiple forms in this book, from a realistic rendering to a manga influence, to something formless, straight out of a Hayao Miyazaki movie. The self-deprecating, faux-narcissistic, depressive, dark humour is just too – sorry Zoe, I’m going to say it – relatable.

Creators

First, thank you to the author, image comics and netgalley for allowing me to read an ebook for this masterpiece. That range of expression gives the story multiple emotional threads to follow, taking the form of conflicting drives warring with each other. Every avatar of Zoe (the character) has her best interest at heart, to be sure, but they all exist on different levels of emotional intelligence and disagree about what the proper steps for her actually are. It's Lonely at the Center of the Earth is a deep dive into the psyche of comic artist Zoe Thorogood, and it is a beautiful, mesmerizing journey.