Adherent

This quietly captivating fable from Kim (Strays) ponders why—and to where—literature moves its readers. In a loosely postapocalyptic world where society seems to have broken apart not with a bang but with a whimper, people survive by scavenging materials from the trash that seems to be strewn everywhere. Em, who picks up books for her village’s makeshift library, comes upon a collection of journals that enthrall her with vivid descriptions of mundane life. Determined to find the author, she sets out on a journey through the wilderness and a series of other settlements cobbled together from salvage. Everyone Em meets has a different reaction to the journals, from curiosity to disinterest to hostility, and ultimately Em is faced with the question of why she’s so attached to her own response to literature. Kim’s delicate, organic art, black-and-white with moody ink washes, captures the scope of the landscapes Em traverses: shadow-dappled forests, sun-baked deserts, and lonely mountains. Long wordless passages, filled with carefully observed detail, allow the narrative breathing room. This work of sparse beauty will speak to writers and avid readers alike. (May)