Myriam is a woman who sees things a little differently from other people. Strange figures in garish costumes accompany her to the post office, wild exotic plants sprout from supermarket shelves and phantom walls rise up to block her path. Her husband Fred doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Whenever he looks there’s nothing there, and besides it’s no excuse for his breakfast not being ready on time.

But when Myriam sees a young boy shut up in the house next door, who is apparently being held captive, she is determined to investigate, much to her husband’s fury. Soon he brings in reinforcements – their daughter, Clare – who is concerned about her mother’s state of mind, and the state of her inheritance. Myriam’s only ally is her four-year-old grandson, Jack, who is more than happy to see things her way.

A wonderful work… such a powerful take on suburbia and marriage. Brookes is an observer of rare and delicate insight.” Meg Rosoff

A Thousand Coloured Castles is a graphic novel where the sleepy suburbs of southern England melt into a world of hallucination, taking the reader through the doors of perception into a life where the surreal co-exists with the banal. With his customary wit and unique artistic approach – here using a wax crayon scrape-back process – Brookes conjures both sympathy and despair for his characters trapped by the routine of daily life.

 

Gareth_Brookes_colourGareth Brookes was born in Woking and studied Fine Art at Newcastle University and The Royal College of Art. In 2012 he was the winner of the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition, with an extract from his graphic novel The Black Project (Myriad Editions, 2013), a book executed in lino-cut and embroidery. In other works he has used textiles, stenciling and pressed flowers, and much of his self-published output is handmade. He has delivered workshops at The Eden Project and elsewhere. A Thousand Coloured Castles is out now from Myriad Editions.
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