I found this to be quite the marvel. There is so much care and attention to every word, and it was really inspiring to me to read this simply for the craft behind it. I think the book reflects what the narrator has to say about the titular painting, "It’s there in the light-rinsed atmosphere, the brush strokes he permits us to see, up close, for exactly what they are—hand worked flashes of pigment, the very passage of the bristles visible—and then, at a distance, the miracle, or the joke," the seeming pains taken with every word, like a visible bristle of Fabritius' brush, all to serve, in her case, a sprawling coming-of-age story with a bit of crime to color the character-driven narrative. I was certainly hooked by the plot throughout, but ultimately, it was those brushstrokes, her choice of words, and careful construction of prose that I will take with me.

Reviewed on Saturday, January 6th, 2024, 6:14am.

Enjoying how things are paced in this series so far, where each issue is a major page-turner while still being somewhat of a slow boil so far. Great backstory on Marko and his family/race while introducing some new characters and really setting all the major players on their trajectories towards one another. I really enjoy how any given page could have a wild new creature/character and just how inventive the whole thing is.

Reviewed on Saturday, January 14th, 2023, 2:38pm.