The "Book of Hours" draws us back through time and into the intimate routines of daily life in the hours before the onslaught of 9/11. Here Walker expresses through images what is too horrific for words, and although the inhabitants of the "Book of Hours" can't imagine the tragedy about to befall them, the reader must dread the slow, uneven countdown that weaves between the pages. The "Book of Hours" juxtaposes the normalcy of telephones, cubicles and sex with the catastrophic consequences of 9/11, and Walker reveals the individual lives and stories affected by and hidden beneath global politics. Through a careful, reverential representation of all the minor tasks that make up a day, the "Book of Hours" pays homage to the small rituals that grant our lives some stability and meaning in the midst of horrific, incomprehensible events. This is not only a remembrance of innocence lost but also a recollection of the historical activism and art genres that had such an important influence on today's graphic novel. Walker contributes to the great woodcut tradition established by the likes of Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward and Otto N?ckel, and shows the endless need to expose and question social injustice through art and narrative.

ジョージ・A・ウォーカーが刻むこの言葉なき小説は、木版画という肉体的な技法を通じて、9.11直前の何気ない日常を崇高な祈りへと昇華させています。マセレールらの伝統を継ぐ力強い彫り跡は、卑近な営みがいかに壊れやすく尊いかを雄弁に物語ります。静寂の中に響く彫刻刀の軌跡が、迫りくる悲劇を予感させる読者の鼓動と重なり、圧倒的な緊張感を生み出しています。 本作の本質は、巨大な政治の影に隠された個の物語への徹底した敬意にあります。無垢な日常に潜む社会的不条理を突きつける本作は、絶望の中で私たちが縋る小さな儀式を慈しむための熱い宣言です。ページをめくるたび、失われた無垢への哀惜と、芸術が社会を問い直す力強い意志が、読む者の魂を激しく揺さぶることでしょう。