The Book of Murmurs is an exquisitely illustrated dive into a fantasy world that, unfortunately, was hard for me to keep up with. But it’s a beautiful book with colorful imagery, stories-within-stories, and lovely language that certainly captivates with its fairy-tale qualities.

Little Moon’s parents have disappeared thanks to the monster Shenk, and the Book of Murmurs has been stolen by the catwitch. The Shenk is a monster that threatens to steal names, and in the world Little Moon escapes to, names have meanings, and “the nameless are lost.”

I needed help from the official book description to write that little blurb because I couldn’t remember the lead character’s name or figure out exactly when Shenk became Shenk. That’s the thing about this gorgeous comic–things bleed from one image into the other, and the storytelling is very much the same, so it’s hard to keep a track of things and characters when there are no transitions or clear lines. This is my only complaint of the comic.

The idea of names having power is one of the oldest in storytelling. And consider how beautifully written this is: “This is what becomes of you if you survive losing your name. You slowly dissolve into something that hisses and howls but doesn’t know why it cries so.” The importance of names and identity is reiterated throughout the book effectively.

I’m so torn as how to score this one. My initial gut wants to give this three stars because at times I found the story incomprehensible, but overall the book leaves me with a warm feeling and a desire to dive into fairytales, especially when the book contains so many. The art is gorgeous, too. So…I’m giving this a four.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fantagraphics for a digital ARC.