Pittsburgh
by Frank Santoro
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Description
"Frank Santoro faces a simple but sad reality: His parents, once high-school sweethearts, now don't speak to each other--even though they work in the same building. Trying to understand, Santoro searches through his memories and builds a portrait of their lives together and apart, past and present. Using markers, pencils, scissors, and tape, drawing in vivid colors and exuberant lines, he brings to life the mundane and the extraordinary: his parents' wedding; his childhood mishaps; his show more father's trauma in Vietnam; the rise and fall of his home city, Pittsburgh; even the exploits of his dog Pretzel. Santoro, the acclaimed author of Storeyville and Pompeii, has created a masterpiece. Pittsburgh is an extraordinary reimagining of the comics form to depict the processes of memory, and a powerful, searching account of how families take shape and fall apart"-- show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Frankie's parents marry when his father returns from Vietnam. His paternal grandparents are happy with the marriage as she becomes the daughter his grandmother always wanted. His material grandmother was not happy with it. Frankie grows up in the Pittsburgh suburb, Swissvale. After Frankie graduates from high school and leaves Pittsburgh, his parents divorce and don't speak to each other. Eventually his mother gives him his grandparents' home, hoping to bring him home. He learns a lot of family history at that time. It changes how he looks at things.
I liked this story. It is in comic book fashion. It is bleak and gritty which is what is happening in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas in the 1980's as the steel mills close and people show more leave to follow the jobs. He is what people from Pittsburgh were thinking at that time--nothing here but we hate leaving Pittsburgh. Once a Pittsburgher, always a Pittsburgher.
He does a good job of showing what the town and the time were like. This is worth reading if you're from the area. show less
I liked this story. It is in comic book fashion. It is bleak and gritty which is what is happening in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas in the 1980's as the steel mills close and people show more leave to follow the jobs. He is what people from Pittsburgh were thinking at that time--nothing here but we hate leaving Pittsburgh. Once a Pittsburgher, always a Pittsburgher.
He does a good job of showing what the town and the time were like. This is worth reading if you're from the area. show less
Ratings
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Lists
Literary Pittsburgh
45 works; 1 member
Author Information
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Frank Santoro
- Important places
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Classifications
- Genre
- Graphic Novels & Comics
- DDC/MDS
- 741.5 — Arts & recreation Drawing & decorative arts Drawing Comic books, graphic novels, fotonovelas, cartoons, caricatures, comic strips
- LCC
- NC1764.5 .U62 .S262 — Fine Arts Drawing. Design. Illustration Drawing. Design. Illustration Pictorial humor, caricature, etc.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 54
- Popularity
- 566,703
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.45)
- Languages
- English, French, Swedish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 4
