Raleigh doesn't have a soul. A cat stole it - or at least that's what she tells people - or at least that's what she would tell people if she told people anything. But that would mean talking to people, and the mere thought of social interaction is terrifying. How did such a shy teenage girl end up in a car with three of her hooligan classmates on a cross-country road trip? Being forced to interact with kids her own age is a new and alarming proposition for Raleigh, but maybe it's just what she needs - or maybe it can help her find what she needs - or maybe it can help her to realize that what she needs has been with her all along.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"...[the] initial stream-of-consciousness approach slowly evolves into a poignant, emotional but quiet climax that serves as a worthy payoff." -- Don MacPherson, TheFourthRail.com
"...an amazingly dense and deep book, with much revealed upon further examination..." -- Johanna Draper Carlson, ComicsWorthReading.com
"Lost at Sea quietly defies easy categorization, in the best possible way..." -- Greg McElhatton, iComics.com
"O'Malley's drawings are simply yummy, and his book captures the clumsiness, isolation, and aimlessness of adolescence." -- Craig Thompson, author of --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"...an amazingly dense and deep book, with much revealed upon further examination..." -- Johanna Draper Carlson, ComicsWorthReading.com
"Lost at Sea quietly defies easy categorization, in the best possible way..." -- Greg McElhatton, iComics.com
"O'Malley's drawings are simply yummy, and his book captures the clumsiness, isolation, and aimlessness of adolescence." -- Craig Thompson, author of --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
Bryan Lee O'Malley is a Canadian cartoonist. His six-volume "Scott Pilgrim" series was a New York Times bestseller, an LA Times Book Prize finalist, and won an Eisner Award, two Harvey Awards, a Doug Wright Award and a Joe Shuster Award. "Scott Pilgrim" was adapted into a critically-acclaimed major motion picture (from Universal) and video game (from Ubisoft) in 2010. O'Malley lives in Los Angeles.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I came to Bryan Lee O'Malley's Lost at Sea after reading his two other books (Volumes One & Two of the Scott Pilgrim series) and thus, am of two minds about Lost at Sea. This is a very different book in both tone and humour than Scott Pilgrim. It's more somber, the art and feel are less stylized, the main character is prone to multiple page internal monologues about her feelings. In light of the Scott Pilgrim series it is easy to see that Lost at Sea came first. It is obviously an early work.
This does not make it bad.
Lost at Sea is about a girl (Raleigh) whose soul may or may not have been stolen by a cat, going home to her mother with friends that she doesn't even know. It is a story about self-discovery, about finding both yourself and the rest of the world all at the same time. At times heartbreakingly earnest, at times lightly comic it is a 160 page exercise in raw emotion. It would be wrong to dismiss Lost at Sea as cliched, to look at it's basic premise (girl finds herself and her friends on road trip home) and make assumptions about what it has to say and, more importantly, how it says it. O'Malley is an excellent writer, and he handles the obvious moments in Lost at Sea without a wink or nudge, he doesn't make these characters a joke to the reader, he honestly portrays their feelings in the way that they feel them. And that is the best part about Lost at Sea, when you're 18 and lost you think you're the only one and O'Malley write Raleigh as though she is.
This does not make it bad.
Lost at Sea is about a girl (Raleigh) whose soul may or may not have been stolen by a cat, going home to her mother with friends that she doesn't even know. It is a story about self-discovery, about finding both yourself and the rest of the world all at the same time. At times heartbreakingly earnest, at times lightly comic it is a 160 page exercise in raw emotion. It would be wrong to dismiss Lost at Sea as cliched, to look at it's basic premise (girl finds herself and her friends on road trip home) and make assumptions about what it has to say and, more importantly, how it says it. O'Malley is an excellent writer, and he handles the obvious moments in Lost at Sea without a wink or nudge, he doesn't make these characters a joke to the reader, he honestly portrays their feelings in the way that they feel them. And that is the best part about Lost at Sea, when you're 18 and lost you think you're the only one and O'Malley write Raleigh as though she is.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By Nathan Avery
Format:Paperback
I maintain that Bryan O'Malley is one of the few artists actually doing something different that stands on its own merit, and doesn't try to emulate anything else that's being done right now. His art is a refreshing change of pace, and his matter-of-fact storytelling succeeds in capturing the thought processes we all have and puts them on paper. Bryan doesn't mess around. Every panel in Lost at Sea is there for a purpose, and every panel has something to say. There are no computer-colored splash pages or implied action panels, just a wonderful story backed up with a wonderful artistic style. You owe it to yourself to read this book. If you've just been a casual reader of comics until now, this might change the way you look at comic books entirely.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Tim Phillips
Format:Paperback
What really impressed me about Lost at Sea was the effortless way in which Mal blends the angst of his narrator, Raleigh, with the sardonic humour of her companions. The book is by turns hilarious, sinister, melancholy and surreal. There is a wisdom in Raleigh's comments -especially at the end- which transcends the bland self-pity that so many other introspective characters fob off as insight.
Raleigh's friends provide the perfect balance to her introspection, their meaningless arguments and amiable bickering is a constant backdrop, an intensely entertaining soundtrack to Raleigh's car journey of self-discovery. The art is perfect: strangely realistic despite its cartoony style, and unexpected details such as the health warning on the cigarette packet had me laughing out loud.
Mal has produced a compelling story, and its imagery and characters are subtle and charming enough to stick with you a long time after their crummy old car has puttered away into the night. Highly recommended.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Four college age kids are driving back home for the holidays. Three of them are good friends while the fourth, the girl and main character of the story Raleigh, is a casual acquaintance. It becomes clear from her silence that Raleigh is a troubled girl and as the journey goes on they begin to discover that Raleigh's silence is due to a broken heart from a recently ended relationship.
This is the first book I've read of Bryan Lee O'Malley and I'll say it's not bad. While the drawings are alright at best (manga heavy with few individual touches to distinguish it from other manga art), the story is at times compelling and other times cliche. The overall story of Raleigh and her internal monologue is ok, but her surreal search for a soul lends the story itself an element of intrigue.
However if you look at the rest of the book you see how cliche the rest of it is. Teen sarcasm spots the script like acne, while overly precious emo moments like waking up in the middle of the night and saying "we've got to look for my soul - I think it's in a cat" make for cringe-worthy moments. Imagine if someone did that to you - I think I'd tell them to shut up and go back to sleep. Of course that wouldn't lend itself well to the story so the four wake up and wander the town in the middle of the night trying to catch cats. Ergh.
It's these moments of unbelievably twee actions that let down the book. That and the fact that the story is centred around a broken heart. Remember that sketch from "Family Guy" where they satirise teen dramas? "Nothing in your life will ever be more important than what's going on right here, right now, by this locker!" - "High school is such a serious thing... these problems matter!". It's like that.... Read more ›
This is the first book I've read of Bryan Lee O'Malley and I'll say it's not bad. While the drawings are alright at best (manga heavy with few individual touches to distinguish it from other manga art), the story is at times compelling and other times cliche. The overall story of Raleigh and her internal monologue is ok, but her surreal search for a soul lends the story itself an element of intrigue.
However if you look at the rest of the book you see how cliche the rest of it is. Teen sarcasm spots the script like acne, while overly precious emo moments like waking up in the middle of the night and saying "we've got to look for my soul - I think it's in a cat" make for cringe-worthy moments. Imagine if someone did that to you - I think I'd tell them to shut up and go back to sleep. Of course that wouldn't lend itself well to the story so the four wake up and wander the town in the middle of the night trying to catch cats. Ergh.
It's these moments of unbelievably twee actions that let down the book. That and the fact that the story is centred around a broken heart. Remember that sketch from "Family Guy" where they satirise teen dramas? "Nothing in your life will ever be more important than what's going on right here, right now, by this locker!" - "High school is such a serious thing... these problems matter!". It's like that.... Read more ›
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
i first learned of "Lost at Sea" (and Bryan Lee O'Malley) by reading the Lost At Sea comic strips on the Oni Press webpage. after reading all of the web strips, i started visiting Mal's webpage and became an avid fan. thus, i had been waiting for this book to come out for close to two years.
its rare that i say something like this, but it was worth the wait.
i have read a LOT of graphic novels in the past few years, and the only one that moved me more than Lost at Sea was Craig Thompson's "Blankets." (Mr. Thompson, coincidentally, wrote the shining review on the back cover of Lost at Sea)
this book is both playful and mystifying. heartwarming and achingly sad. adorable and thought provoking.
the story really hit close to home for me as it reminded me very much of the relationship with my last girlfriend and many of the conversations we shared. Mal has obviously had his share of beautiful moments in relationships, because no one could write such honest and well-developed dialogue and soliloquy on these topics without having been put through it themselves.
of course, the story and the script isn't the only beauty of this graphic novel. Mal's art is superb. i don't think anyone else with any other style could have ever illustrated this story as effectively.
Mal's cartoony drawing style portrays an innocence and magical quality that is not only adequate for the themes explored, but is absolutely enchanting. the thick lines and heavy spaces reinforce the serious, unsteady nature of the lead character, raleigh. her struggle and insecurities are exemplified by mal's broad strokes and dynamic illustrations.
its rare that i say something like this, but it was worth the wait.
i have read a LOT of graphic novels in the past few years, and the only one that moved me more than Lost at Sea was Craig Thompson's "Blankets." (Mr. Thompson, coincidentally, wrote the shining review on the back cover of Lost at Sea)
this book is both playful and mystifying. heartwarming and achingly sad. adorable and thought provoking.
the story really hit close to home for me as it reminded me very much of the relationship with my last girlfriend and many of the conversations we shared. Mal has obviously had his share of beautiful moments in relationships, because no one could write such honest and well-developed dialogue and soliloquy on these topics without having been put through it themselves.
of course, the story and the script isn't the only beauty of this graphic novel. Mal's art is superb. i don't think anyone else with any other style could have ever illustrated this story as effectively.
Mal's cartoony drawing style portrays an innocence and magical quality that is not only adequate for the themes explored, but is absolutely enchanting. the thick lines and heavy spaces reinforce the serious, unsteady nature of the lead character, raleigh. her struggle and insecurities are exemplified by mal's broad strokes and dynamic illustrations.
as i said, the book is thoroughly engaging and heart-touching.
it may only be a half-hour read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
book review
my son and his friend really liked it a lot. my son passed it on to friends to read after he read it
Published 1 month ago by klyde5
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good read
This story touched me in a way that I didn't expect it to, it was a real treat. I recommend this book to young people all the time, its message and the art are great to share.
Published 1 month ago by Suzana H
2.0 out of 5 stars
random wanderings of an existential nature
Having read the Scott Pilgrim series, I saw that O'Malley had written only one other book so I decided to see if it was any different than the Scott books. It certainly is. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Nicola Manning
5.0 out of 5 stars
Weird but you gotta love it
You will go through it in one sitting, it won't take you more than 1 hour to read it but it's so amazing, it has a weird sense of humor, and the drawings are really cool and in the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Pablo Soto
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lost at Sea
Brian Lee O'Malley does it again! This is a great graphic novel that captures the heart and soothes the soul.
Published 3 months ago by Becca
5.0 out of 5 stars
Weird but interesting.
this is a story of a girl who is at the teen age crisis time when one has to decide if one is going to grow up or not. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Samuel-Louis Bandy, Jr.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not great
I am probably the hugest Scott Pilgrim graphic novel fan ever so when I bought Lost at Sea, I was expecting to be blown away but I was just left confused. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Brittany W.
4.0 out of 5 stars
You've lost your soul? So has Raleigh...
Raleigh is a soulless girl traveling with a bunch of strange people, somehow they are not that different from her. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Cesar Alejandro Gutierrez Ramirez
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book, but no Scott Pilgrim
To avoid rambling, I'll give you the bottom line first: Don't buy it unless you REALLY want it, and don't expect it to fill up a weekend of time. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars
I read it twice!
It is so unique and vulnerable. this age is great and confused. never wanted to go back and enjoy the dreams about the future
Published 6 months ago by ruslanur
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