Big Questions by Anders Nilsen

Big Questions is another graphic novel from the 2011 Best Of lists. It's a 15-year work of love from Nilsen, about a flock of birds who dine on seeds and donut crumbs provided by an old woman who lives in a remote shack with her idiot son. Their world is fraught with natural perils such as owls and crows. On philosophical bird asks Big Questions of the others and has a hard time finding an audience for his ideas. Unfortunately he asks an owl these questions and is promptly eaten.

Into this scenario, a bomb drops (unexploded) and is misinterpreted as an egg. Later a plane crashes and the pilot becomes part of the story. Thus the birds are unwittingly part of a war, (or maybe just a wayward pilot on a practice run?) but they interpret events through their bird filter and get it all wrong.

The story is (seemingly) simply drawn and is sparsely told, having many pages with no words at all. It falls together well, though there are some digressions (such as a friendly snake with what appears to be a den of bird souls) that I am trying to understand.

Overall, Nilsen seems to be making a statement about assembling stories based on what we see. The birds do not understand the happenings around them, and some place fanciful interpretations on the events and invite others to believe and act upon these beliefs, with dire consequences. This is indeed a danger in the human world as well, but if Nilsen is trying to indict all religious beliefs, his argument is too simplistic.

It was an enjoyable book, and despite its 600 pages, it can be read in a couple of hours. I borrowed it from the library and finished it on 1/22/12.