In a thoroughly modernized, constantly updating society, where can true connection be found?

The bodies of citizens and the infrastructure surrounding them is constantly updating. People can't recognize themselves in old pictures, and they wake up in apartments of completely different sizes and shapes. Commuter routes radically differ day to day. The citizens struggle with adaptability as updates happen too quickly, and the changes are far too radical to be intuitive. There is no way to resist--the updates are enacted by a nameless, faceless force.

The narrator of Familiar Face works in the government's department of complaints, reading through citizens' reports of the issues they've had with the system updates. The job isn't to fix anything but rather to be the sole human sounding board, a comfort in a system so decidedly impersonal. These complaints aren't mere bug reports--they can be anything: existential, petty, just plain heartbreaking.

Michael DeForge's ability to find the humanity and emotional truth within the outlandish bureaucracy of everyday life is unparalleled. The signatures of his work--a vibrant color palette, surreal designs, and a self-aware sense of humor--enliven an often bleak technocratic future. Familiar Face is a masterful and deeply funny exploration of how we define our sense of self, and how we cope when so much of life is out of our control.

Author: Michael Deforge
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Published: 03/03/2020
Pages: 176
Weight: 0.9lbs
Size: 6.40h x 5.60w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781770463875


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/06/2020
Library Journal 02/01/2020 pg. 74
Booklist 05/15/2020 pg. 38

About the Author
Michael DeForge was born in 1987 and has written eight books, including Ant Colony, Big Kids, Sticks Angelica, and Leaving Richard's Valley. He has been a celebrity judge for the Midland Butter Tart Festival. He is currently on a treadmill.