what I loved about this is how the drawings are essential to the narrative in the story - and there are digressions that all make sense as we work out how the girl has appeared in his photographs, and yet he has no memory of photographing her - his particular set of internal compulsions, and his interaction with NYC are peculiar to him, and distinct - yet we find them familiar - those of us who have lived in cities, esp NYC! okay at times it drifts in directions I am not certain of but the artistry of the pictures more than makes up for it. I found myself scanning the pictures closely looking for clues as he is ... really surprising and unique!

The Sound of the World By Heart is an odd and fascinating comic about humanity, sorrow and growing out of it with the help of love. A photojournalist flees his life to New York to do a photo shoot in the city full of coincidences and people who are hard to miss even if you try. His aim is not to talk for the next sixty days, but the city has other plans and the most important one of those has orange hair. The pace is quite slow at first and it takes a lot of time before this gets going, but when it does? Wow. The revelations were interesting and refreshing, I didn't see them coming, no no. Basically the best part of the comic is the end, which could've been longer. The beginning is slightly boring too and seems to go nowhere and that's a bummer. It also bothered me how this was a love song to New York without a reason behind it. Why did the journalist go there? What was the point? The comic is very meaningful and has hidden agendas, so this lack of explanation felt weird.

The art is awesome as well as the composition of the panels. The view angles were great and breathed a distinct feeling to the whole thing. I liked the eerie feeling and hollowness in this comic. The colors are steady and compliment the art well, although the whole thing feels slightly artsy and perhaps too intended? A philosophical slap against your face that you saw coming. The slice of life attitude is still the best part, really and the way Bevilacqua moves this story, so those in love with New York can surely appreciate this.

The first thing that struck me about this graphic novel is how visually stunning it is. I don't normally start off a review talking about the artwork, but this book just blew me away with beauty. I loved how the colours were so vibrant, while also looking natural and realistic. Each page was a pleasure to look at, especially the pages which featured illustrated photographs of New York, which made me feel like I was actually there with the character.

So now for the plot, which at times confused me in the early stages. We follow a heartbroken young man, as he explores New York while conducting an experiment of not speaking to anyone for sixty days. He walks around with headphones on and documents his exploration with the photo's, yet something strange starts happening. I can't go into further details than that because of spoilers, but at times the plot did make me question what I thought was going on. It did all make sense in the end though, and made for a beautiful read.

What I enjoyed most about this graphic novel, was just how real it felt, whilst being so powerful and raw. It's impressive how something with so few words can leave such a lasting impression upon a reader. I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a more quiet graphic novel, something which is both stunning and has a message behind it.

Thank you to Netgalley, Diamond Book Distributors, and Magnetic Press for an ARC of Giacomo Bevilacqua's The Sound of the World By Heart.

I have a love for graphic novels formed both from my first job ever being a comic store manager and from my absolute adoration with anything containing a Narrative Arc (thank you, English Degree thing one and thing two), but I was absolutely drawn in by the idea of a story being told, in a graphic novel, about a character who would not be speaking throughout the whole of the novel itself.

I loved that it was about pictures, memory, and feelings, how these intersected, defined, and defide language all at once. I do feel a little like the end of the story cheats the challenge, and the author lets the character off a little too easy with "giving him the right to cheat and end it earlier on, because it was just a personal challenge" (even though we're told in grand detail how much it is for the city and the magazine, especially with how much money is being paid to him and each day of the two months.

I feel like the "communication" that takes part and makes itself a conversation changes all of the end and the challenge for me, leaving it a little off kilter. But not quite enough to take away all poignant feelings I have about this world and how it moved into my heart, my chest and my head for the time while I was reading it.