Vertigo (1937)

This largely wordless book is presented through more than 200 prints from engraved woodcuts made by the author. Written in the late 1930s, it tells the story of the Great Depression's effects on three characters - "the girl," "an elderly gentleman," and "the boy," - and how these characters' lives intersect, often without their knowledge.

The girl and the boy are high school sweethearts who want to marry upon graduation. She dreams of being a concert violinist, but her life is turned upside down when her recently unemployed father tries to commit suicide. The boy, who was abused by his father as a child, now seeks to make his own way in the world as a builder. However, he is unable to find a job that doesn't compromise his values of not breaking a union strike. Meanwhile, the elderly gentleman is wealthy but suffers from poor health. He is on the board of a business where they decide to cut jobs and wages in order to keep making profits.

The story is tragic and told in a heart-breaking way through the illustrations depicting the characters' angst and troubles. The only words used in the story are the 'chapter' breakers (years for the girl, months for the gentleman, and days of the week for the boy) and those found on signs or notices put up around town. This way of presenting the book allows the reader to interpret what is happening in the plot and how the characters react. It ends with an open-ended illustration that can be construed a number of ways, although it seems to be largely pessimistic. ( )