Don't Go Without Me (Review)

Written and drawn by: Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
Published by: ShortBox

Available to purchase now

Don’t Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell is a collection of three separate stories; Don’t Go Without Me, What is Left, and Con Tremor, Con Ternura.  Each one of these tales takes a different look at connections formed between different people; exploring the ways we connect with others. In Don’t Go Without Me, the main character finds herself stranded in a parallel world, lost, and looking for her girlfriend. The world in which she finds herself is a perfect representation of the uncanny; the beings she runs into are a perfect blend of familiar and strange. In What Is Left, the lone survivor of a ship which ran on brainpower wonders through the memories of the woman whose brain was at its core. She never gets to interact with the person behind these memories, but still gets to know a sense of her through them. In Con Temor, Con Ternura a people who built their civilisation around a sleeping giant prepare themselves for the day that giant will wake up. They believe that this will bring about the end of the world, and in this end time they reach out for one another; for some final sense of closeness. 

It may be something of a cliche, but the word “bittersweet” is the most fitting way to describe the stories present in this collection. In Don’t Go WIthout Me the main character gradually loses all sense of herself, but is still moved forward by the strength of her connection to her girlfriend. In What Is Left, a woman lives on for just a bit longer after her death in the form of the memories she leaves behind; someone else is able to “see” her for the last time, but also the first. Finally, in Con Tremor, Con Ternura, a community of people react to their impending end by truly coming together as one. In each story there is a terrible situation and the characters involved feel a lot of pain, but there is a light which cuts through the pain, loneliness, and confusion each of the characters feel. That light is other people, and the connections we form with them. 

That’s what this book is about really; connection. Valero-O’Connell’s beautiful shows how important we are to one another, how we can inspire each other, and how we can comfort each other. Valero-O’Connell doesn’t spend time explaining the mechanics of how someone might get lost in another dimension, and the mechanics of “person’s brain powers spaceship” isn’t given much more than a paragraph; the reason being they aren’t what matter here. These concepts simply serve as the vehicle by which more intimate ideas are explored.

A sense of human connection breaking through darkness is further exemplified by the way that Valero-O’Connell has coloured the book. For the most part, each story is told in varying shades of one or two colours that are used predominantly, if not exclusively throughout each individual entry. Don’t Go Without Me is told in pink and grey. In What Is Left is coloured pink and blue. Con Temor, Con Ternura has the most variety in its colour scheme, but even if mostly sticks to a pink and blue format. The same character is coloured multiple ways to tap in to a variety of emotions to great effect. For example, in Don’t Go Without Me, the main character is lost and alone. By highlighting her in a different colour from the background she’s in, Valero-O’Connell pinpoints her sense of isolation. In What Is Left, the energy of the woman whose memories power the ship is drawn in pink, contrasting against the cold blue of her surroundings; a scheme which is perfectly fitting for a story about a character whose memory is kept alive in the vast expanse of space. In limiting the palette she has used,Valero-O’Connell is using colour to draw the reader’s attention to the thematic elements underpinning the book. It is a great example of how when it comes to colouring, sometimes less is truly more. 

Don’t Go Without Me is a beautiful book which is equal measures of sad, and uplifting. Valero-O’Connell utilises classic sci-fi/fantasy ideas such as parallel worlds, and spaceships to remind the reader that no matter how far into the unknown we go, what ultimately matters is how we relate to other people. The characters may be lost, their lives in danger, but this book never plunges into despair because of the relationships they build with other people. The end result is a book which is contemplative, earnest, and hopeful.