Temperance

the long version

"Do concepts life war and enemies hold a people together? Does conflict have an irresistible cultural momentum? These are the questions the cartoonist Cathy Malkasian explores in Temperance. After a brutal injury sustained in battle, Lester has no memory of his prior life. For the next thirty years his wife does everything to keep him from remembering-- and re-constructing-- a society, Blessedbowl, that has since elevated him as a hero. Blessedbowl is a cultural convergence of lies, memories, stories, and beliefs. Its people thrive on ideas of persecution, exceptionalism, and enemies, persuaded that war lurks just outside their walls. Lester's gradual emergence from his amnesia signals a crisis for the people of Blessedbowl, as their illusions become less and less sustainable. The story of Temperance is an account of recovery and awakening. Malkasian creates a densely tetured social context, masterfuly conveying the idiosyncratic physical domain with its spiraling structures and quasi-medieval architecture along with intimate yet plastic portraits of her characters in a rich, tonal pencil line" --P. [4] of cover.