A Graphic-Novel Memoir That Tangles With the Puzzle of Existence

The title of Kristen Radtke’s remarkable graphic memoir almost reads as a riddle. On one hand, it seems to ask a somewhat disgruntled question: “Could you imagine wanting this, and nothing more?” On the other, the phrasing suggests, temptingly: “What if this is all you needed?” What if life, ephemeral and fleeting, could be devoid of ambition, of any desire for more? Either reading offers both gratification and emptiness, beauty as well as boredom. It’s a paradox rooted in the simple yet unanswerable question of what it means to live a meaningful life, and it’s the question at the heart of Radtke’s exploration, one that she tackles with a breathtaking mix of prose and illustration.