Graphic Reads

Yoshihiro Tatsumi has been called the "grandfather of Japanese alternative comics," and Abandon the Old in Tokyo (given starred reviews by both Publishers Weekly and Booklist) is a masterpiece of gekiga, the term used to describe a more realistic form of the popular Japanese manga. In its most simplified form, gekiga is manga for adults, though this collection of stories is so much more than their comic form.

Each story follows an adult male narrator as he goes about his daily life. Daily life for these men is nothing if not prosaic, though routine is punctuated by moments of absurdity, revelation, and desperation. The overriding theme is human frailty, failure, and isolation in urban Tokyo. Each of the men struggles for a place of his own, both literally in the overcrowded city, and figuratively. Most of the male protagonists look very similar, and Tatsumi intends for them to "represent [his] view [about] the discrimination and inequality

rampant in. . .society."

Abandon the Old in Tokyo is clearly most suitable for adult readers, and while some scenes can be downright shocking, the overall impression that the book leaves is one of great depth and power. There is an immediacy and rawness to these stories that will stay with the reader long after the last page is read. "Beloved Monkey" and "Eels" are especially powerful and will force the reader to consider whether or not the lives of the protagonists are much different from the lives of the titular animals. Very highly recommended.