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Building Stories #[e]
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThis oversized, boxed collection from Chris Ware assembles fourteen distinct printed pieces—ranging from broadsheets and booklets to a hardcover volume and a fold-out game board—that together form an interconnected narrative exploring the lives of residents in a Chicago apartment building. Rather than a traditional graphic novel, it offers a modular storytelling experience where readers can engage with the fragments in any order, gradually piecing together the emotional histories of characters like a lonely young woman, her elderly landlady, and a struggling married couple. Published by Pantheon in 2012, it won the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album and was widely acclaimed for its innovative format and poignant examination of time, memory, and connection.
A quiet, deeply personal meditation on memory and time, Building Stories #e unfolds through the shifting perspective of a landlady reflecting on the dolls that marked her life—from childhood to middle age and beyond. Written and illustrated entirely by Chris Ware, the issue’s intricate, layered storytelling captures fleeting moments with emotional precision, all rendered in Ware’s signature detailed, introspective style. The cover by Chris Ware complements the story’s intimate, reflective tone.
In "null," the landlady’s quiet stillness in her chair becomes a portal, tracing her life backward from old age to infancy—each moment a silent echo of who she once was. The story unfolds in just two pages, a quiet, intimate journey through time seen through her eyes.
In "null," the landlady reflects on the dolls she’s collected across decades, her memories shifting through different stages of life—from childhood to middle age—each moment framed by the quiet presence of these silent companions. The story unfolds in a gentle, introspective rhythm, tracing how objects from the past echo through time.
In this quiet, introspective two-page story from Building Stories, the landlady reflects on her youth while working in a department store, recalling fleeting moments that came close to love—brief, tender, and tinged with the ache of what might have been. Written and illustrated with subtle emotional depth, it’s a tender portrait of memory and longing, rendered in the distinctive style of the series.
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Reprinted in Building Stories #5, Building Stories #5
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