Vertigo: A Novel in Woodcuts #[nn]

In a quiet town gripped by the weight of the Depression, a girl and a young man stand at the edge of their futures, their dreams tied to the promise of a better life. As the world around them unravels—jobs vanish, hope fades, and a father’s despair leads to a devastating act—the girl must face a reality far colder than she ever imagined. Waiting in line for relief, she holds onto something fragile, something that might not be enough.

An elderly gentleman, devoted to beauty and quiet refinement, finds his world upended when his corporation’s fortunes wane. As he responds with increasingly harsh measures—cutting wages, replacing workers, summoning strikebreakers and soldiers—the line between artistry and authoritarianism blurs. In the aftermath of his collapse, the system he once controlled quietly resumes its course, leaving the cost of its survival unspoken.

In a quiet, rain-slicked city, a boy drifts between memories and desperation after saying goodbye to the girl he loves. When he becomes the only witness to a fatal crash, he steals the victim’s clothes and returns to the streets, haunted by the choices he can’t make—refusing to break strikes, too afraid to steal, until he sells his blood to a dying elderly gentleman. With just a few coins in his pocket, he finds the girl again, not in a moment of reunion, but on a slow, downward spiral of a roller coaster, where everything feels like it’s already ending.