In The Sounds and Seas

Galloway's first graphic novel is a wordless but entirely immersive story that won a Xeric Grant and was nominated for the L.A. Times Book Prize in an earlier, shorter edition. Gorgeously executed in black and white, repeated patterns of leaves, wings, braids, and winds embellish a world that's both strange and familiar. In a dense forest, three women sing life into being: streams of birds, fish and rabbits flow from their throats. These rivers of creatures weave together and transform, Escher-like, into the endless waves of the ocean. On the shore of this fantastic sea a young woman with long dark hair is plagued by unspoken yearnings. She and two friends make preparations for a lengthy journey. They build and supply a tall ship before setting out to sea. The ship's lines are intertwined into hair of the young woman, literally binding her to a voyage full of beauty and terrible sorrow. Divided into six equal chapters, this story contains unexpected visual twists that use a wide range of page layouts to their fullest extent. The dialogue of the friends is represented by empty speech bubbles that still manage to convey a complex and emotional narrative. (May)