I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Select a format:
Publisher's Hardcover ©2021--
To purchase this item, you must first login or register for a new account.
W. W. Norton
Annotation: In this graphic novel, what begins as an affectionate reminiscence of the author's 1990s teenage infatuation with the late actor River Phoenix morphs into a remarkable, sprawling account of the city of Portland and state of Oregon's dark history of white nationalism.
 
Reviews: 2
Catalog Number: #354144
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Special Formats: Graphic Novel Graphic Novel
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Copyright Date: 2021
Edition Date: 2021 Release Date: 03/23/21
Pages: 227 pages
ISBN: 1-683-96410-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-683-96410-0
Dewey: 979.5
LCCN: 2020942306
Dimensions: 24 cm
Language: English
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Murphy-s piercing debut, originally self-published as zines, unfolds a disquieting narrative that opens with a rumination on the death of their childhood icon River Phoenix and progresses through a history of white supremacy in Portland, Ore. They document Phoenix-s rise to fame in Gus Van Sant-s My Own Private Idaho (set in Portland); the bisexual actor-s close, erotically charged bond with Keanu Reeves; and his 1993 death by overdose. Murphy also suggests Van Sant -fancied troubled boys- and ingratiated himself with Reeves, Phoenix, and the sex workers he incorporated into his films. They move on to tell the life story of another youth befriended and filmed by Van Sant: white supremacist Ken -Death- Mieske-and this leads into a history of Mieske-s role in the 1988 racial murder of Mulugeta Seraw and an exploration of the white nationalist roots of Oregon itself. The art is unnervingly intimate if not always technical masterpieces, and its often uncanny quality is appropriately unsettling. Murphy-s contemplation of the intersections of pop culture, exploitation, and racial politics digs ever deeper, and the epilogue delivers a chilling analysis of Geraldo Rivera-s infamous 1988 -Young Hatemongers- segment, which -became a catalyst for the -coming out- of radical white supremacists.- Murphy-s elegaic treatment grants a sobering reflection on the depth and deadliness of American intolerance. (Mar.)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
ALA Booklist
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Bibliography Index/Note: Includes bibliographical references (pages 222-226).
Reading Level: 6.5
Interest Level: 9+

This work of graphic nonfiction, told in the style of an illustrated diary, begins as an affectionate reminiscence of the author's 1990s teenage infatuation with the late actor River Phoenix but morphs into a remarkable, sprawling account of the city of Portland and state of Oregon's dark history of white nationalism.


*Prices subject to change without notice and listed in US dollars.
Perma-Bound bindings are unconditionally guaranteed (excludes textbook rebinding).
Paperbacks are not guaranteed.
Please Note: All Digital Material Sales Final.