giant

Reviews Aug Stone | July 28, 2026 It’s tough to put into words just how special this book is, complimented and complicated by the fact that the pages themselves are completely silent. It is, however, very evident that the emotions, like the central character themself, are too big to be contained by mere language. giant's illustrator, Mollie Ray, does an excellent job of conveying all the sadness and turmoil that come with a cancer diagnosis. Or any major family health setback, for it isn’t until the end credits that we’re informed of exactly what we’ve been dealing with. In the back pages too though it should be pointed out first thing is that “this book was drawn in biro” (the British word for ‘ballpoint pen’). An impressive feat considering the loveliness of these black and white and heavily shaded pages. The world we’re drawn into is one of rounded figures, pear-shaped or kidney bean-esque when they’re hunched over, reminiscent of Russian matryoshka dolls with tiny legs. It’s a close-knit family life as evidenced by the wall of photos on the first two pages and the book beginning proper with a large family dinner. During which an artist, one assumes our artist, returns to the fa...