One of my favorite shows of all time is the short-lived October Road. The series focused on a famous writer who goes back home and suffers the wrath of the town and its people he wrote about. The show only lasted two seasons and suffered from extended episode count fatigue. The story’s premise remained undeniable nonetheless.

It dove into why writing any autobiography can ultimately be problematic. As the intention is everything, but so is perception. Ultimately, it is how you make those people feel when you write about them, is what the main character learned right away. In Ginseng Roots #2, Craig Thompson returns home and introduces us to the people who made those summers.

We find our author flying back home to Wisconsin, where Marathon is hosting the first-ever International Ginseng Festival. We also meet our author’s sister, who was omitted from his previous work, but shares the same memories as her brothers, toiling day after day in the Ginseng gardens, but had a wholly different experience, as she often felt solitude, away from her brothers, an issue the family finds difficult to deal with at present. We also meet Harold and Judy, their neighbors who once were some of the biggest Ginseng farmers in the area, and who employed the family, to only quit because of the changing nature of the soil. By the issue’s end, we get a more complete picture of who our narrator is and what lead him to write this immensely entertaining and affecting book.

Overall, Ginseng Roots #2 is a personal issue that brings home the struggle of the working class. The story by Thompson is heartfelt. The art by Thompson is prominent and engaging. Altogether, Thompson much like Nick Garrett in October Road finds that sometimes going gives us the reason to aspire for more.  

Story: Craig Thompson Art: Craig Thompson
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

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Purchase: Uncivilized Books – TFAW