According to its front and back covers, Murmurs of Doubt is a collection of ‘twelve skeptical (sic) graphic novellas’ and a ‘one-off literary experience’. We’re not sure that ‘skeptical’ is quite the right word because even the darkest of these wonderful, deeply human stories is infused with some kind of hope, but ‘one-off literary experience’ describes Murmurs of Doubt beautifully.
Those who are looking for superheroes need not apply, but those who are in search of meaningful insight to the universal psyche and the importance of doubt in helping us question the world and draw our own conclusions about life will find much to admire within these pages.
The stories take place all over the world: from a Buddhist monk in Northern India considering the reality of existence to a bedroom in New York City where two gay lovers discover the differences in their beliefs might be too vast to overcome… to the Greek seashore where a strange creature washes up on a beach, to a South African township where a daughter tries to coax her superstitious mother out of a witchdoctors clutches… to a yoga studio in Sydney, where the new teacher causes division among her exercise class… to a dying woman somewhere in the world realising that life is to be appreciated even as it fades… to a talking fox on the London Underground and a young woman trying to release herself from the bustling crowd who finally reaches a life-changing revelation – something it would be good for all of us to remember. And those brief synopses don’t even scratch the surface of what artist & writer Rebecca Fox has achieved here with her beautiful pen and ink illustrations and dialogue that is so psychologically true we can almost hear her characters speaking to us directly from within the frame.
This is a magical, life-affirming book that reassures us it’s okay to question life because our doubts and fears don’t isolate us; they ultimately bring us closer together. Don’t miss this – you’ll feel a lot better after reading it.
MURMURS OF DOUBT / AUTHOR & ARTIST: REBECCA FOX / PUBLISHER: OCKHAM PUBLISHING / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
