Blankets Ch.2-5

This time I'm not just going to rant and try desperately to align the story to my real life like it's some terrible romance novel that clings to vague universal experiences in an unnerving and perplexing way. I think this is better than that.

The whole winter church camp ordeal seems crucial to the beginning of today's reading. My favorite part of it, strangely enough, are the parallel scenes of young Craig and his teenage equivalent finding respite in the game room. The loud, frenetic noises of the camp first give way to the hum and whir of the heating unit, accentuated by its transcendence of the panels on p.87. This "hummmmm" also surrounds young Craig, implying some sense of relief and comfort. As with the later scene, though, this doesn't lull him to sleep, rather it allows him to think more deeply and clearly, to be somehow more present in his surroundings.
On p.118, as we revisit the area, aggressive foosball noises and pool playing and have replaced the banging, whirring machine noises of Craig's first foray into the game room. When Raina disappears, we get the same lost, frightened look on his face as seen earlier when the heater started up. This time, however, it is Raina's soft breathing as she sleeps beneath the hoop shoot game that drowns out a world of inane noise (the rest of the room fades into sketchiness). This serves first and foremost to highlight just how enamored Craig is with Raina in the most subtle way. Once the last guy has left and Craig is touching Raina's hair the furnace whir finally returns and with it the same sense of peace, rounding out the chapter on a high note.

Some other observations:
1) Is vacation girl on p.136 the daughter of that teacher? That would be so rural Sunday school. Her hoity-toity, carefree assurance combined with the resemblance of the two gave me that impression, though it's never stated and pretty much completely irrelevant.

2) I also enjoyed what looks to be one of those radical, hip teen Bibles on the table called Way.

3) On p.154 it took me awhile to understand that the snowplow was in fact covering up the mailbox, which probably explains the lapse in correspondence. I hate how snowplows indiscriminately bury mailboxes, parked cars, sidewalks, and basically anything else near the road, not to mention how disgusting they make the snow. That little detail stood out to me as so small and sad. Those three frames encapsulate the isolation of a Midwestern winter quietly and perfectly to me.

4) In her childlike fascination with the snow on p.179, Raina looks a bit like Laura which is kind of sweet.

5) From the first time we see him, Ben appears as an amazingly complex character. There's so much going on with him throughout the story. He openly feels the pain of the divorce and of Raina's coming of age experiences (which leave him behind) way more than the other characters allow themselves to. He's such an unlikely and intriguing foil.

6) P.219, the bottom panels, are hilarious.

7) What's with the creepy stuffed animals on p.223 (especially the clown)?