Reviews of Seek You by Kristen Radtke

Media Reviews

Chicago Tribune Kristen Radtke... . has written and drawn an excellent new book — a graphic essay of sorts — that's expansive in its approach to loneliness... . Seek You takes the form of a kind of lyrical probe, starting with the biological then moving in concentric circles, drawing in pop culture, sociology and history, widening the lens.

LitHub A meditation on isolation and longing, examines the silent epidemic of loneliness in America, from the invention of the laugh-track to the unethical experiments of Harry Harlow. Radtke is a writer of enviable emotional intelligence, and one of our most elegant and virtuosic artists of devastation.

New York Times Book Review Radtke's aesthetic is impressive, with clean, crisp black lines, swaths of white shadow and stylized, muted blocks of color. She has a designer's eye for arresting graphics... . . Gorgeous.

The Atlantic [A] generous reading of other people and their loneliness is what Radtke's book seems to call for—a willingness to read loneliness where we might otherwise see monstrosity, to read love where we see loneliness.

Vogue Rarely has nonfiction been as topical as in Kristen Radtke's wide-ranging exploration of loneliness...Radtke expertly traces the cultural origins of loneliness...posing the question: what, specifically, do we lose—as individuals, and as a society—when we turn inward?

Washington Post We slowly emerge from a long pandemic, and writer-illustrator Radtke sees us, all of us, in our various forms of isolation. This stunning book is less a memoir than a long graphic essay, more a meditation and less a solution. How we disconnect may help us understand how to ultimately connect.

Los Angeles Times [A] resonant, haunting volume of graphic nonfiction written and drawn in the key of Edward Hopper.

Booklist (starred review) In graphic-essay style, Radtke centers her inquiry around four human behaviors—listen, watch, click, and touch—and devotes rich, meandering chapters to each...Radtke's crisp, vector-drawn illustrations more than hint at reality; rather, in their layering and arrangement, they seem to reproduce it in truer, more emotional detail. Provocative and companionable, this will spark conversation and, undoubtedly, connection among readers.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Radtke is an engaging and thoughtful guide through our fear of being alone. Superb. A rigorous, vulnerable book on a subject that is too often neglected.

Library Journal (starred review) In often poetic prose accompanied by stunning illustration, Radtke weaves together personal anecdotes and examples drawn from physical and mental health studies to create a meditation on the causes and cost of isolation...An insightful and compassionate investigation of loneliness.

Publishers Weekly (starred review) [A] gripping graphic investigation...For a treatise about the perils of being alone, it creates a wonderful sense of being drawn into conversation.

 Lauren Groff, author of Florida Seek You stunned me. Kristen Radtke, one of the best of our literary artists, shines her brilliant light into modern America's experiment in loneliness with this supremely elegant and devastating book. It was my companion during a long, dark night of the soul; I emerged grateful to have had such sleekness and wit, such calm intelligence, to guide me back to daylight.

Reader Reviews

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