A Drifting Life (English)

It took Yoshihiro Tatsumi 10 years to complete this 800-plus-page graphic memoir, detailing 15 formative years of his life. Channeling the energy he must have felt as a young man first discovering his creative passion, innovative graphic novelist Tatsumi beautifully pens-and-inks the stories of his early efforts, influences, and success. Filled with dates of world historical events (the book starts off with the time and date of Emperor Hirohito's surrender ending World War II) and seminal moments in the history of Tatsumi's art form (the first section is entitled "The Birth of Manga"), A DRIFTING LIFE exemplifies the potential of a memoir to look beyond the author's own interiority. This is an epic work sure to interest manga and gekiga fans, history buffs, and creative types of all stripes who find inspiration in a talented artist's coming-of-age story as he works to expand his own potential and that of his art form. Selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the 100 Best Books of 2009. minimize