Keeping Two
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-19 06:52:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jordan Crane
- ISBN：1683965183
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A young couple is stuck in traffic， reading a book aloud to each other to pass the time。 The relationship is already strained， but between the encroaching road rage， and a novel that hits way too close to home， tensions are running especially high by the time they arrive back at their apartment。 When one of them leaves to get takeout and a movie， each of the young lovers is individually forced to confront loss， grief， fear， and insecurities in unexpected and shocking ways。
Crane's formal use of the comics medium — threading several timelines and the interior and exterior lives of its protagonists together to create an increasing， almost Hitchcockian sense of dread and paranoia — is masterful。 But as the title hints， there are dualities at its core that make it one of the most exciting works of graphic literary fiction in recent memory， a brilliant adult drama that showcases a deep empathy and compassion for its characters as well as a visually arresting showcase of Crane's considerable talents。 Keeping Two is ostensibly a story about loss， but by the end， it just might also be about finding something along the way — something that had seemed irredeemable up to that point。 In that way， it's also a deeply romantic book。
Cartoonist Jordan Crane has been one of the most quietly influential comics-makers of the past quarter-century – in multiple senses of the word: as a cartoonist， a designer， an editor， a publisher， a printmaker， an advocate， an archivist， and more。 But Keeping Two is his biggest project in close to two decades and will be one of the most anticipated graphic novels of 2022。
Crane's formal use of the comics medium — threading several timelines and the interior and exterior lives of its protagonists together to create an increasing， almost Hitchcockian sense of dread and paranoia — is masterful。 But as the title hints， there are dualities at its core that make it one of the most exciting works of graphic literary fiction in recent memory， a brilliant adult drama that showcases a deep empathy and compassion for its characters as well as a visually arresting showcase of Crane's considerable talents。 Keeping Two is ostensibly a story about loss， but by the end， it just might also be about finding something along the way — something that had seemed irredeemable up to that point。 In that way， it's also a deeply romantic book。
Cartoonist Jordan Crane has been one of the most quietly influential comics-makers of the past quarter-century – in multiple senses of the word: as a cartoonist， a designer， an editor， a publisher， a printmaker， an advocate， an archivist， and more。 But Keeping Two is his biggest project in close to two decades and will be one of the most anticipated graphic novels of 2022。
Reviews
J。T。
，
I feel like Crane has been working on this book FOREVER！ I remember buying screen-printed minis of the early chapters and getting very invested in the story。 Some of it was serialized in his UPTIGHT series as well。 At some point， I missed a few chapters （and when I tried to find them online， they were sold out）。 It's one of those loose threads that has always nagged at me。So， I'm delighted to have the complete story collected here。 The presentation is gorgeous。 Little details like rounded corner I feel like Crane has been working on this book FOREVER！ I remember buying screen-printed minis of the early chapters and getting very invested in the story。 Some of it was serialized in his UPTIGHT series as well。 At some point， I missed a few chapters （and when I tried to find them online， they were sold out）。 It's one of those loose threads that has always nagged at me。So， I'm delighted to have the complete story collected here。 The presentation is gorgeous。 Little details like rounded corners， debossed elements in the cover， and （confusing to me， but interesting） a little author name card glued onto the endpapers show that Fantagraphics went the extra mile to highlight this being a special book。 Crane takes full advantage of the comics medium， using different style panel borders to indicate flashbacks， imagined scenarios， and a story-within-a-story， floating letters and symbols to indicate various noises， superimposed design elements to heighten confusion， distress， etc。 I should also note how much I love Crane's character design and scenery （which includes everyday objects like stoves and kitchen faucets that are drawn with equal amounts attention to detail and simplicity）。 His ability to draw feet， hands， shoes， clothes， cars， and water are unparalleled。 。。。more
Eric Benson
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Simply illustrated and colored in shades of lime green this is a beautifully sad story of two different couples experiencing trauma in their marriages。 From a loss of a child to growing divides， two couples struggle with the present， past， and future all at once。 The couples are not connected but their stories blend together in this well choreographed story。 If you are in need of reflection about your own life and relationships then I recommend this， but if you are having a bright cheery day， st Simply illustrated and colored in shades of lime green this is a beautifully sad story of two different couples experiencing trauma in their marriages。 From a loss of a child to growing divides， two couples struggle with the present， past， and future all at once。 The couples are not connected but their stories blend together in this well choreographed story。 If you are in need of reflection about your own life and relationships then I recommend this， but if you are having a bright cheery day， stay away！ :） 。。。more
Stephen Mlinarcik
，
Wholly hypnotic and entirely heartbreaking。I remember finding the first few installments of this story on Red Ink Like Blood well over a decade ago， getting roped into its central thematic mystery， and then waiting at the cold end of its trail for new footprints to drop。 Sometimes they'd appear in the form of a new post， a few dozen digital pages at a time， or I'd happen upon an actual， physical zine installment somewhere in the wild。 It felt trying to scrape together the pieces of a dream， one Wholly hypnotic and entirely heartbreaking。I remember finding the first few installments of this story on Red Ink Like Blood well over a decade ago， getting roped into its central thematic mystery， and then waiting at the cold end of its trail for new footprints to drop。 Sometimes they'd appear in the form of a new post， a few dozen digital pages at a time， or I'd happen upon an actual， physical zine installment somewhere in the wild。 It felt trying to scrape together the pieces of a dream， one I'd been having for years and would occasionally have the wherewithal to jot down （to varying degrees of success）。 For a long while， it seemed like we'd never actually get the whole story， or if it was complete， it'd exist in disparate parts， up to some kind-hearted internet denizens to re-construct for everyone else。But here we are！ Crane came through and has handed us an overwhelming tome that fluidly blends casual superstitions， emotional hardships， painful grievances， otherworldly encounters， and the futility， frailty， and finality of our bodies， all amplified by the author's sharp， graphically cinematic sensibilities。 Take it in one sitting。 。。。more
Emily Stensloff
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anxiety-inducing， heart-wrenching， and beautiful ❤️
Carmen
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TRIGGER WARNINGS: SUICIDE， SELF-HARMI went into this completely blind。 Not only is it my preferred way to go into books， but the book has no text on it。 There's no descriptions or any kind of hints as to what lies inside。 You are forced to judge it by the cover。It's very depressing。 I was surprised how dark and sad this was。 So please keep that in mind if you are going to pick this up。There are two stories - one story within another - which took a while for me to figure out。 The book isn't exact TRIGGER WARNINGS: SUICIDE， SELF-HARMI went into this completely blind。 Not only is it my preferred way to go into books， but the book has no text on it。 There's no descriptions or any kind of hints as to what lies inside。 You are forced to judge it by the cover。It's very depressing。 I was surprised how dark and sad this was。 So please keep that in mind if you are going to pick this up。There are two stories - one story within another - which took a while for me to figure out。 The book isn't exactly linear。 The MCs are a m/f couple that fight viciously。 I would go so far as to say the man is an asshole。 I wouldn't stay in a relationship with him， but YMMV。 They come home and find out that Tim's roommate's brother died and so did MC's mother's dog。 Because the MC was a superstitious little child and still retains that， he believes three people will die。 Since two 'people' - （his wife？ Girlfriend？） insists the mom's dog is not a 'person' - have died， a third will surely follow。He strikes a bargain with the woman in which he will do the dishes if she goes out and gets takeout for the couple along with a movie from the local rental store。 However， due to his conviction that deaths （or bad things） happen in threes， he becomes increasingly worried about his lover， getting frantic trying to call her， and imagining all sorts of horrible fates befalling her。 This culminates into him getting in the car to go search for her。。。。That's the basic plot。 As far as the feel of the graphic novel， it's all in a sickly green color and it is both sad and stomach-churning。 Crane revels in the darkness and delights in showing us all sorts of horrible things， many deaths， murders， rapes and suicides。。。 and other ways people can die。 Be prepared。Not only do we have our dour， viciously arguing couple， but there is a side story which apparently is a story the couple is reading which focuses on a woman who goes into labor at a grocery store while her husband is away on business。 The baby dies。 Both the man and woman are crushed and consumed with mourning， and in this mourning they lash out at each other and say vicious things to each other， accuse each other of being responsible for the baby's death。 The woman is worse off， although both carry the thought of the dead baby around with them constantly。 She vividly imagines committing suicide every single second。 Be prepared for her slicing her stomach open with a butcher knife， slitting her own throat， hanging herself， blowing her brains out etc。 etc。 etc。 etc。This gruesome tableau combined with MC's horrific fantasies （not wanted fantasies， just ones borne of worry and anxiety） of his lover being raped， killed， shot to death etc。 etc。 etc。 and it's making for pretty horrifying， dark， and dismal reading。Although the ending is not as depressing as I thought it would be， that's little consolation for what was， overall， a deeply fucked-up book that I regret reading。TL;DRNot sure what Crane's message was here。 Although the ending was hopeful and not the despair-fest I was anticipating， the overall tone of the book is quite grim。 Not only is there tons of violence and despair， but all the couples are rather hateful to each other and argue viciously with each other， even though Crane is telling us they love each other。 Does he think this is normal？ Perhaps it is normal and I have just gotten lucky。 If I argued with a man the way couples argue with each other in this book， viciously angry， cutting， and aiming to wound each other deeply， I would end the relationship， but I think Crane thinks these are strong couples who can make it。 Baffling to this reader， but everyone has different life experiences， I guess。Too violent and depressing for my tastes。 I didn't enjoy it。 。。。more
Alyssa
，
Talk about anxiety-inducing……。。！
Chris Barsanti
，
Reviewed for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune。 Reviewed for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune。 。。。more
kavi
，
I’ll never forget how this book made me feel :）
Doug Chase
，
Keeping Two is a quiet， thoughtful， impressionistic story of a couple。 The author uses the comic strip form to tell the many timelines and threads of their difficult and challenging relationship。 This deeply felt tale makes full use of the graphic novel format to pull the reader in， make the reader stop and re-read and think。 This is a smart and human book。
Andréa
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Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss。
Debbie Davenport
，
Talk about a book just riddled with anxiety！ I was more on edge after I finished it than I was when I started it。 The art is ok。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Keeping Two
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Keeping Two&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Keeping Two&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0