The Awkwardists
Book Launch October 26, 2006
'The Awkwardists' is in the well-established tradition of
handmade artists'book art. It is a possibly tragic yet
humorous picture story book for grown-ups. There are two
short stories, both dealing with the delicate subject of social
awkwardness.
In the first story, we encounter a hapless shop assistant who,
after an accident at a well known amusement park, and
subsequent operation - curiously carried out by the park's
doctors and lasting some 24 hours, suffers a slight change of
personality, to the bemusement of those around her. The
second story features two lucky astronauts chosen to go to the
moon to service an advertising sign there. Everything goes well,
but when they fall for one another and embark on a
relationship, things go sour...
Emma Rendel illustrates these stories with a wry sense of the s
ocial discomfort of tricky social situations. The visual
characterisation of the protagonists underlines their social
ineptitude. We feel they are inferior, however confusing and
fanciful as characters they are. By blurring the boundaries
between fantasy and reality, she shows us a mirror of our own
inclinations to see ourselves as superior to others less able to
cope with life.
Her 'well-known amusement park' places the story in the here-and-now -
a commonplace setting, so that the actions of the
characters are explicable - even given that they are clearly
fantasy. We might well find The Awkwardists' bizarre life and
adventures reflect something of our own social peculiarities.
The book is the first in a series under the same title.
Buy
The Awkwardists
Paperback signed book. Limited edition of 500.
