Why I Killed Peter

Why I Killed Peter
By Oliver Ka
ISBN: 9781561635436 (Hardcover)

This is another translation of a French work. And while comparisons can be made to Miss Don't Touch Me, they really are in different categories. The French do have different cultural standards than Americans, which should be noted early on.

To sum: This is probably more non-fiction than fiction, being based on the author's life, but we have it classified as fiction. Oliver begins each chapter with "I killed Peter because I am X years old" and then highlights what happened that year, focusing on events that lead up to a priest sexually abusing a boy, as well as the effect it had on the boy's life into his adult years.

The Art: The art works well. Subtle changes happen as the story goes on. I love the final picture as well. Things are depicted both casually, and with great care, depending on what is required. The use of color is also well done.

Things to watch out for: This is for mature readers, which is says right on the back. The actual incident of sexual abuse is done in panels that are almost completely blacked out. It does focus the reader on the words, and what is happening without actually showing anything. However, people flipping through will probably focus on the drawings of naked bodies - male and female. Oliver's parents lead a hippie life style, and Ollie as a young boy was often around naked adults. Also, there is talk about Ollie's father having many girlfriends - along with stylized drawings of women.

Another thing that may offend patrons is there's a lot of discussion about religion - Oliver's parents are described as hippies and anti-religious, while his grandparents are depicted as very religious. Oliver talks about the confusion that created. And then there's the priest, Peter, who sexually abuses Ollie.

This book also talks about a lot of different sexual situations besides the incident with Peter - Ollie's parents are depicted as having an open marriage as well as Ollie's first sexual experience with a girl is depicted.

Should I have it in the library: There's a lot that can be discussed about what lead up to it, and how it could have been prevented, what people could have done differently. How Peter "trapped" Ollie into agreeing to the sexual incident is probably textbook on how it is done, but important all the same.

While all that is good, the main reason I purchased it was for those that may also have been abused. There is something powerful about finding yourself, or a situation you were in, in a book. It maybe that they have never talked about it. It maybe that a family member may see this and realize that something happened. Almost as important, in my mind, is that it shows the impact that one incident had on Oliver's life and how it changed his relationships from that moment on.

Who Would Like This: Fans of biographies, especially graphic novel adaptations. If they like Blankets, this would probably be a good one to recommend as it has a similar vein of themes - but different treatments.

Where to shelve: This one, powerful as it is, is definitely adult.

Things that may get questioned: I showed this to my boss when I wanted to order it, and she flipped through it - and stopped. Near the end, Ollie goes to confront Peter some 20 years later. Ollie and his collaborator Alfred took photographs of their trip to the summer camp where the sexual assault happened. My boss asked me if that was normal, and while it isn't, we are seeing a bit more of photography and photographs being used in graphic novels - most recently in The Photographer. It's only a few pages, but it may catch people off guard.

How I heard about it: A good review in Booklist, or Library Journal. A professional catalog gave it a good review and it looked interesting.

Reviews:

http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/content/why-i-killed-peter-review
http://comicsworthreading.com/2009/03/09/nbm-releases-little-nothings-2-miss-dont-touch-me-why-i-killed-peter-first-time/
http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2009/01/06/2198/
http://www.readaboutcomics.com/2009/03/06/why-i-killed-peter/
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/01/10/why-i-killed-peter-ogn-review/

from the publisher:
http://www.nbmpub.com/comicslit/whyIkilled/whyhome.html