not simple

not simple has been my first approach to Natsume Ono's work. I was somewhat interested in this author due to the insistence of @DarKraD_10 and, finally, here I am, ready to review one of her unitary volumes. And, sincerely, I don't know where to begin.

The volume is organized in twelve chapters plus a prologue and an epilogue, being the prologue the first thing you read but the last one on the timeline; so the reader knows the end of the story before it has even started.

Ian is a young kid whose elder sister Kylie is in prison while their parents get divorced and he is forced to go living with their alcoholic mother in London. When Kylie gets out of prison and knows about the location of Ian, she decides to go and steal him but by the time she arrives it could be too late for Ian... Their story will go through a lot of turns making the main plot of the volume the attempt of both brother and sister of being together for good.

Natsume Ono torments each and every one of her characters making up a really harsh and cruel story. I could expend countless hours wandering about all the suffering that saddens Ian or Kylie or even Jim but is useless. not simple is this kind of story which makes you feel really sad and depressed and leaves an unpleasant feeling that remains although you already have finished reading it hours or days ago. And knowing what is gonna happen in the end, makes the whole story even more depressing.

In its barely 300 pages, the author manages to talk about sexual abuse, parental abuse, homosexuality and its acceptance, child abandonment, death (either assassination, suicide and natural death) and pursuit of goals and dreams. I rather say that I hate those stories where a terribly huge number of coincidences make unfortunates their leading characters, and not simple is one of those. Nevertheless, Ian is always fighting and confronting each setback with a smile in his face totally blinded by its goals. So, not simple is somewhat a lesson of positivism in a certain way.

Regarding the art, just by looking at the covers of other Natsume Ono's works you can realize she has a really particular style. Some people could see it like an ugly art style but I really love these giant-headed characters with very geometrical features. It is not like the drawings could disturb you from continue reading the volume, so I think it's OK to have a very characteristic style that points out that much.

So, my final verdict is that not simple is a really sad story where you would end hating so much Natsume Ono but appreciating her at the same time because of her capacity of getting inside you and make you feel like that with just some weird drawings. Highly recommendable only if you can tolerate tragic stories well.