Kirkus
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Odd mishaps and hostile grown-ups plague a lonely child in this set of surreal episodes. Channeling the spirit of Franz Kafka in the plot and the gothic sensibility of Edward Gorey in the art, Clement alternately strands tiny schoolboy K in large, sparsely furnished rooms or sends him ricocheting through crowds of forbidding adults in finely drawn belle epoque urban settings. After skipping a breakfast of grayish porridge and sardines “swimming in oil,” then being left for eons in an empty waiting room at school by harsh Frau Headmistress Z, K meets a friendly talking bug. Another day, when he’s home alone, a flock of crows bursts in to wreck the apartment. His miseries continue as he finds himself abandoned on a class outing, accused of theft and chased by crowds of passersby—including dogs and cats—after venturing to the market, and unjustly blamed for waking up all his neighbors after he locks himself out on a snowy night. Despite the calamities, shouting adults, and lonely moments, it’s not all existential gloom—K does get a free afternoon, for instance, thanks to the bug that frightens Herr Principal Y into evacuating school. Still, there’s little relief in the general run of dismal events. Readers may have difficulty seeing K as anything but a powerless victim, despite hints of at least a lively sense of curiosity and a modicum of resilience. The cast appears white. A series opener with niche appeal. (Graphic fantasy. 9-12) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.