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Ginseng Roots : A Memoir
Overview
From the celebrated author of Blankets and Habibi comes a new graphic memoir exploring the class divide, childhood labor, family, and our globalized world--all centered on Wisconsin's ginseng farming industry
"Ginseng Roots is Thompson's most visually arresting work so far." --New York Times Book Review "A sweeping story, gorgeously drawn and beautifully told -- this is Craig Thompson's masterpiece." --Joe Sacco, author of Palestine and Paying the Land When Blankets first published in 2003, Craig Thompson's seminal memoir about first love and faith lost in rural Wisconsin debuted to rapturous acclaim. The winner of two Eisner and three Harvey Awards, it is to this day considered one of the all-time great works of graphic storytelling. Now, in Craig's long-awaited return to the autobiographical form, comes the story that Blankets left out. Ginseng Roots follows Craig and his siblings, who spent the summers of their youth weeding and harvesting rows of coveted American ginseng on rural Wisconsin farms for one dollar an hour. In his trademark breathtaking pen-and-ink work, Craig interweaves this lost youth with the 300-year-old history of the global ginseng trade and the many lives it has tied together--from ginseng hunters in ancient China, to industrial farmers and migrant harvesters in the American Midwest, to his own family still grappling with the aftershocks of the bitter past. Stretching from Marathon, Wisconsin, to Northeast China, Ginseng Roots charts the rise of industrial agriculture, the decline of American labor, and the search for a sense of home in a rapidly changing world.Customers Also Bought
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780593700778
- ISBN-10: 0593700775
- Publisher: Pantheon Books
- Publish Date: April 2025
- Dimensions: 9.24 x 6.85 x 1.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.62 pounds
- Page Count: 448
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When Craig Thompson and his siblings began reminiscing with their parents about their childhood work picking ginseng in their hometown of Marathon, Wisconsin, their mother commented, “You’re not gonna put none of this stuff in a BOOK, are you?” Of course he did, and the result, Ginseng Roots, is a graphic memoir that addresses not only Thompson’s childhood experiences, but also the history of ginseng cultivation, its production and use, labor and farming economics and global commerce—all in a particularly fascinating, cohesive way.
Fans of Thompson’s acclaimed coming-of-age memoir, 2003’s Blankets, which explored his struggle with fundamentalist Christian beliefs, will find similarly honest reflections here. And just as Thompson explored Arabic calligraphy and Islamic beliefs in his 2012 graphic novel, Habibi, he incorporates Chinese calligraphy, history and mythology in Ginseng Roots. While those books included black-and-white illustrations, here Thompson also makes liberal use of red and orange tones, a technique that both enlivens and unifies its pages. What’s more, ginseng roots naturally have a humanoid shape, and Thompson cleverly personifies them throughout the book, including in its gorgeous endpapers.
As a child, Thompson spent 10 summers working in ginseng fields “swimming in dirt” instead of swimming holes. Marathon County happens to be the ginseng capital of the United States, and the commodity is highly prized in China. Although Thompson and his brother were thrilled to buy comic books with their wages, it was grueling work, at times requiring them to bury their noses in their shirts to keep from gagging from the chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Thompson’s prose is as evocative as his art; for instance, he describes the roots’ natural smell as “sweet, yet bitter, earthen . . . you can taste every essence of the soil, the minerals, and yes, that soft edge of maple syrup sweetness.” Often, Thompson draws both his adult and youthful image in one panel, highlighting how his outlook has changed.
He interviews Marathon farmers, attends the Wisconsin Ginseng Festival and travels to Geumsan, South Korea (“the Disneyland of ginseng!”), and to China to learn more about the plant’s international production and commerce. Throughout, the narrative is highly personal, including details about a debilitating medical condition, fibromatosis, that affects his ability to draw. “Each new book depletes me,” he reveals.
Thompson thoroughly explores crucial issues of the American heartland in particularly thoughtful ways. He notes the festival’s keynote “MAGGA” speech (Make American Ginseng Great Again) and describes his father’s denial of climate change. In the same breath, he writes: “I recognize my parents’ lifestyle has less environmental impact than my own. Not traveling, never flying, shopping only at thrift stores. . . . Most of all, growing their own food.” In an age of increasing political division, Thompson offers readers fodder for contemplation, asking questions like, “What does it mean to be authentic in an age of globalization?” Ginseng Roots is a monumental graphic art achievement.
When Craig Thompson and his siblings began reminiscing with their parents about their childhood work picking ginseng in their hometown of Marathon, Wisconsin, their mother commented, “You’re not gonna put none of this stuff in a BOOK, are you?” Of course he did, and the result, Ginseng Roots, is a graphic memoir that addresses not only Thompson’s childhood experiences, but also the history of ginseng cultivation, its production and use, labor and farming economics and global commerce—all in a particularly fascinating, cohesive way.
Fans of Thompson’s acclaimed coming-of-age memoir, 2003’s Blankets, which explored his struggle with fundamentalist Christian beliefs, will find similarly honest reflections here. And just as Thompson explored Arabic calligraphy and Islamic beliefs in his 2012 graphic novel, Habibi, he incorporates Chinese calligraphy, history and mythology in Ginseng Roots. While those books included black-and-white illustrations, here Thompson also makes liberal use of red and orange tones, a technique that both enlivens and unifies its pages. What’s more, ginseng roots naturally have a humanoid shape, and Thompson cleverly personifies them throughout the book, including in its gorgeous endpapers.
As a child, Thompson spent 10 summers working in ginseng fields “swimming in dirt” instead of swimming holes. Marathon County happens to be the ginseng capital of the United States, and the commodity is highly prized in China. Although Thompson and his brother were thrilled to buy comic books with their wages, it was grueling work, at times requiring them to bury their noses in their shirts to keep from gagging from the chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Thompson’s prose is as evocative as his art; for instance, he describes the roots’ natural smell as “sweet, yet bitter, earthen . . . you can taste every essence of the soil, the minerals, and yes, that soft edge of maple syrup sweetness.” Often, Thompson draws both his adult and youthful image in one panel, highlighting how his outlook has changed.
He interviews Marathon farmers, attends the Wisconsin Ginseng Festival and travels to Geumsan, South Korea (“the Disneyland of ginseng!”), and to China to learn more about the plant’s international production and commerce. Throughout, the narrative is highly personal, including details about a debilitating medical condition, fibromatosis, that affects his ability to draw. “Each new book depletes me,” he reveals.
Thompson thoroughly explores crucial issues of the American heartland in particularly thoughtful ways. He notes the festival’s keynote “MAGGA” speech (Make American Ginseng Great Again) and describes his father’s denial of climate change. In the same breath, he writes: “I recognize my parents’ lifestyle has less environmental impact than my own. Not traveling, never flying, shopping only at thrift stores. . . . Most of all, growing their own food.” In an age of increasing political division, Thompson offers readers fodder for contemplation, asking questions like, “What does it mean to be authentic in an age of globalization?” Ginseng Roots is a monumental graphic art achievement.