Acting Class
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
A brilliant and suspenseful follow-up to the Booker-nominated graphic novel Sabrina.
"Every single person has something unique to them which is impossible to re-create, without exception." —John Smith, acting coach
From the acclaimed author of Sabrina, Nick Drnaso’s Acting Class creates a tapestry of disconnect, distrust, and manipulation. Ten strangers are brought together under the tutelage of John Smith, a mysterious and morally questionable leader. The group of social misfits and restless searchers have one thing in common: they are out of step with their surroundings and desperate for change.
A husband and wife, four years into their marriage and simmering in boredom. A single mother, her young son showing disturbing signs of mental instability. A peculiar woman with few if any friends and only her menial job keeping her grounded. A figure model, comfortable in his body and ready for a creative challenge. A worried grandmother and her adult granddaughter; a hulking laborer and gym nut; a physical therapist; an ex-con.
With thrumming unease, the class sinks deeper into their lessons as the process demands increasing devotion. When the line between real life and imagination begins to blur, the group’s deepest fears and desires are laid bare. Exploring the tension between who we are and how we present, Drnaso cracks open his characters’ masks and takes us through an unsettling American journey.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Drnaso follows Sabrina (the first graphic novel longlisted for the Booker Prize) with an unnerving, mind-bending third outing, featuring an ensemble of aspiring thespians in an acting class led by a mysterious teacher named John. There's strained couple Rosie and Dennis; physical therapist Danielle; nervous and awkward Angel; nude model Thomas; stressed single mom Rayanne; friendless Lou, who suffers from night terrors; among others. The class begins with simple role-playing and improvisation, but soon the exercises become more involved and immersive (with Drnaso presenting fictional situations as reality on the page), and the limits of truth and performance—as well as what's real and what's imagined—begin to blur. With deliberately choppy jumps in the narrative, questions mount: How far will these characters wander into their own minds? What effect will these journeys have on their real lives? And who, exactly, is John? Drnaso masterfully digs into the group's psyches, unearthing their deepest desires, anxieties, and troubled backstories: Angel suddenly becomes excessively confident; Lou takes refuge in pretending to be a dog who's treated affectionately by people. Drnaso's signature flat art and homogenous expressions gets established then strikingly interrupted by wild, imaginative depictions of the surreal scenarios. The result is a provocative portrait of the search for connection and meaning in modern life.
Customer Reviews
Wow.
Read the sample for this book. I was hooked by the third page. Drnaso unveils the bare world to us, piercing through societal etiquette and our deepest hopes and fears. This book is brilliant and transformative.