To Read & To Write

With drawings unintentionally reminiscent of the rotoscoping technique (in such films as "A Scanner Darkly" and "Waking Life"), "The Night Bookmobile" lends itself to an honest dreamlike quality. Unclear images linger behind their clearer, striking thoughts and dialogue, giving us an idea of reality at its blunt end: that of a sadder woman living in Chicago's constant neighborhood twilight, where even daytime seems foggy and filtered, and still more so on the brightest sunny day. Her relief: the world of books and a nighttime bookmobile at an intersection that holds all the books she's ever read in her life. On that sharp edge of consciousness, readers may be able to connect with the solace and sanctuary that books offer, especially when they are connected in a collection. The mysterious owner of this particular nocturnal bookmobile isn't hiring, but being able to experience it makes it no wonder that our main character ends up working in a...