Why Don't You Love Me?

by Paul B. Rainey

Overview

A family gets lost in the shuffle of reimagining their lives in this dark, domestic sci-fi comedy

Claire and Mark are stuck in the doldrums of an unhappy marriage. She chain-smokes and refuses to leave the house or even change out of her bathrobe. He sleeps on the couch and can’t distinguish one day from the next. With all love lost for family life, pizza and Chinese food take turns on a nightly take-out dinner menu.

Husband and wife are plagued by the idea that this is all a dream. Why can’t Mark ever remember their son’s name? Isn’t he a barber? Doesn’t he play in a band? Why is Claire obsessively stalking her ex-boyfriend online? When exactly did she stop caring about what the kids wear to school? And just why can’t she be bothered to tell the other mums at pick-up apart? Didn’t Claire and Mark have different lives? As reports of an imminent nuclear war make subtle waves on the radio, the truth begins to dawn on them…

Paul B. Rainey’s critically-acclaimed sleeper hit returns in supple paperback with an all-new cover. Why Don’t You Love Me? is a hilariously terrifying meditation on mourning lost opportunities, rolling with the punches, and confronting reality as it turns on you—one day at a time. Rainey's tightly plotted relationship drama shifts into a science-fiction mindblower and keeps you surprised until the final heartbreaking panel.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770467576
Publisher:	Drawn & Quarterly
Publication date:	01/21/2025
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Paul B. Rainey is a British cartoonist who has been making comics for decades. He won the Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize in 2020 with the strip Similar to But Not. In it, he recounts meeting Madonna in his local pub in 1985.

Editorial Reviews

What a clever and uncompromising comic Paul B. Rainey has created.” —Rachel Cooke, The Guardian

“Claire and Mark are living in the quiet resignation of their crumbling marriage — rendered in Rainey’s clean, sparse lines — when the announcement of an imminent nuclear war spurs them to urgently reimagine their lives.” —New York Times

“[A] sly dark comedy with an eerie sci-fi twist... This one’s for curious indie-comics readers who enjoy being surprised.” —Publishers Weekly

“The first must-read graphic novel of 2023... Rainey is a seasoned cartoonist, and this book feels like ... a true masterwork, the carefully considered opus of someone who has spent years working within the medium and wants to push what it’s capable of.” —Comics Beat

“Rainey may be working in the comics form, but he leaves readers with the impression that they've just consumed a full-blown novel set in an adrift couple's world(s).” —Shelf Awareness

“[Why Don't You Love Me? is a] story about relationships, the pressures of child rearing, and the unexpected disruptions of internal and external forces in our topsy turvy lives.” —Graphic Medicine

“Rainey has fashioned a startling narrative that speaks strangely to recent pandemic experiences of isolation and parenting young children... [The] mysteries of love, the unpredictability of the world and the promise of redemption are all at play.” —The Tyee

“Why Don't You Love Me? imagines a relatable scenario turning on the everyday fears of many readers, and provides us an opportunity to consider the choices we've made, while still allowing us to... have a much-needed laugh.” —ComicBook.Com

“There’s a fascinating story here about the nature of identity and the role that chance plays in our relationships.” —Geek Dads

“In Why Don’t You Love Me?, Paul Rainey reminds us that even during the unimaginable, we can still grab hold of the reins.” —White Wall Review

“[Rainey] wants readers to ask large questions about existence and the world.” —Solrad

“A powerful, haunting work from an artist at the top of his game.” —Lindsay Pereira, Broken Frontier

“Movingly insightful and brave, Rainey’s writing is engrossing.” —Steven Heller, PRINT Magazine

“What begins as black absurdist comedy becomes an allegory for depression and mental illness, and then, heartwarmingly [a] cross-timeline love story.” —The Telegraph

From the Publisher