'Visual novel' a letdown
Reviewer <B>Nick Smith</B>, a writer based in Charleston
MR. FOOSTER: Traveling on a Whim. By Tom Corwin. Flying Dolphin Press. 104 pages. $14.95.
This book is described as "a visual novel," suggesting that its illustrations tell part of the story rather than merely expanding on the text. The visuals are strong. Craig Frazier has created charming and innovative pen-and-ink artwork on moleskin journal paper. But they aren't strong enough to add extra depth to the story.
Tom Corwin's tentative text hardly qualifies as a novel either.
The theme is resonant: Stop and smell the roses, Corwin exhorts, tap into your sense of wonder and you'll find beauty and magic in commonplace objects. But at just over 100 pages, the theme is scarcely developed, and the hero's adventures are capricious at best.
Of course, that's the point. The protagonist doesn't have to travel far or strive hard to appreciate the brilliance of a butterfly or a sedan made from a soap bubble. Yet to dress this all-ages storybook up as a "novel" seems like a victory of marketing over Fooster-style common sense.
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