Author Q&A: Open book with Kevin Sacco | Books
Kevin Sacco has created a novel without words.
The part-time Great Barrington resident’s wordless graphic novel, “Josephine” (SLG Publishing), was published last October. His first major work in the genre, “The Plane Story” (IDW Publishing; 2011), had both words and illustrations. It came after years of producing advertising storyboards. “The Plane Story” focuses largely on Sacco’s father, who was also an advertising man.
“Sacco’s design and art are marvelously inventive, altering color and form to fit the story: sepia sketchwork for earlier periods, black & white wash for later decades, full color for immediate past, even faux airmail pages as Kevin tours Europe,” Publishers Weekly wrote in a review.
Sacco’s second novel draws heavily from personal experiences, too. Growing up in New York City’s Upper West Side in the 1950s and ’60s, Sacco’s parents didn’t spend much time with him.
“They were basically a little dysfunctional. They were typical of the period where they didn’t pay much attention to the kid,” Sacco said.
Instead, Sacco said “domestics” often took care of him.
“I wanted to pay tribute to them. I wanted to write kind of a love letter to them. So, I made Josephine sort of the amalgam of all those women,” he said.
In the novel, Josephine, who is black, takes an Upper West Side boy, who is white, on an adventure in nearby Harlem. She introduces him to a blind person and others in her community. But what begins as an uplifting story about the affection between two unrelated people of different races takes a grim turn later on, adding another layer (or several) of complexity to Sacco’s work. Crafting the narrative without words wasn’t easy.
“It was a challenge to me, but I was inspired by this turn-of-the-century — turn-of-the-20th-century — artist named [Frans] Masereel, who did the first graphic novel. It was all woodcuts, and the one that I loved is called ‘The City,'” Sacco said.
The author and his wife recently purchased a condo in Great Barrington; they have another home in the Upper West Side. He answered some questions by phone on Wednesday before hitting the slopes for some snowboarding at Ski Butternut.
What is your favorite graphic novel?
My favorite graphic novel is a novel by Raymond Briggs, and it’s called “Ethel & Ernest.” He’s British. It’s about his parents that lived roughly from prewar Britain to postwar Britain [World War II, that is] and just about the life that they had, going through the bombings in London. The father was a milkman. The mother was in the maid service and raising him. And it’s just beautifully drawn. … I have one other that I would love to mention, which is one by Miriam Katin, and it’s called “We Are on Our Own.” It’s about a little Jewish girl and her mother surviving World War II and being refugees from Budapest in Hungary. It’s all drawn in pencil. It’s very beautiful, great story.
Who are some of your favorite graphic novelists?
Besides those two I just mentioned, I love Will Eisner, who wrote “[A] Contract with God.” He’s one of the earliest of the graphic novelists. I would say a favorite of mine is Posy Simmonds, who wrote “Tamara Drewe.”
What are some of your favorite novels?
I like Saul Bellow’s “Humboldt’s Gift.” I love Kate Atkinson, just about anything she’s written, but there’s one [in particular] called “Behind the Scenes at the Museum.”
What is your favorite book set in Harlem?
It’s a [James] Baldwin book [“If Beale Street Could Talk”]. … It’s about two families that live across the street from each other. It’s actually now being made into a movie by Barry Jenkins, who made “Moonlight.”
What’s your favorite book — it can be fiction or nonfiction — about relationships between adults and children?
You know what I loved? I loved “Plainsong” by Kent Haruf.
What are some books that are currently on your nightstand?
What’s currently on my nightstand is Martin Amis’ “The Rub of Time.” It’s essays. And Zadie Smith, who’s written “Feel Free.” That’s also essays.
Benjamin Cassidy can be reached at bcassidy@berkshireeagle.com, at @bybencassidy on Twitter and 413-496-6251.
