You have to see the big picture to build a sand castle... But you have to appreciate the small picture to understand the sand.'

Genius is a graphic novel masterwork when the proper lenses are worn. I read it years ago and again last week. Both times, my heart hurt afterward, but the first time, my head space was not the same. It was a 'good not great' offering which I enjoyed but had no need to discuss. My life was less complicated and I was closer to my Big idea years.

Now I have children and global fears that live in the spaces of my heart where I once held invincibility and cast iron resolve. I understand the narrative of Genius so much better than I really want to.

I never wrote a review before because I was only seeing the sand castle, not the components that allow the castle to exist.. Hats off to Steven Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen for this amazing graphic novel.

Details matter, so here are a few.

Ted was always 'Smart'. The terms brilliant and genius were tossed around and his parents skipped him grades to ensure he would not get bored. When school was over and he was adequately debased by his older peers, his genius presented itself as unique ideas and perspectives. He landed in a think tank to take on concepts which would advance humanity through the evolution and revolution of our culture states.

Quantum Physics... Big ideas, Big sand castles, Big impact.

As Ted watches his career falter, he watches his worth be replaced by younger fresher minds. He learns something which will change his world and provide laser focus on the small picture, the sand itself.

His ailing father in law tells him he knows a secret. Francis, was a body guard for Albert Einstein, and over the years they would chat to pass the time. Albert shared with hime a secret that he could no longer bottle up, sharing it instead with a man who could never understand it and would never disclose it.

Over the years, Ted himself has evolved. He evolved from single to married, childless to fatherhood. As he ages and his life becomes more complex, the creative faucet turns off and Ted's Big ideas become fragile. They crumble and fall apart, or never arrive at all.

Perhaps this secret could change everything.

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Disclosure: This Graphic Novel was provided to me by the publisher for review purposes. Recieved in 2013 but didn't write a review till 2017.. Sorry about that, but resonance matters and no resonance existed. Had it continued to 'not click', the missing review would continue to exist rather than the non missing review which replaced the nothingness. So kudos, this review is unofficially metaphysical. ( )

Quantum phyiscist Ted Marx is overwhelmed by the demands of his job but then discovers that his wife's father once knew Einstein and claims that Einstein entrusted to him a final, devastating secret, and Ted tries convince his father-in-law to tell him what Einstein had to say. ( )

Failing to live up to the promise he brought to the Think Tank as a graduate student and weighted with the responsibility of providing for his teens and ailing wife, Ted clings to fantasized conversations with Einstein in the hopes of coming up with something big enough to keep his job. ( )

Ted Marx is a genius. Not like when your mom says that your baby brother is a genius cause he figured out how to work the iPad at the age of three, but a real one. He skipped grades in school and he's a quantum physicist at a think tank. But lately...everything is beginning to overwhelm him. He's having trouble making the next big leap at his job, he's being passed over by the younger kids, his kids are growing up way too fast, his wife is seriously ill, and his father-in-law who is senile lives with them. What's a genius to do? But then...he discovers that his father-in-law knew Einstein himself! And even more than that Einstein shared his greatest discovery with him. Can Ted get the secret for himself? And if he can...what will he do with it?

For such a short book Steven deals with a lot of complicated topics ranging from aging in-laws, illness, being smart but not smart enough, and most importantly of all...what do you do when you've been told the greatest secret known to man? It's like the parable of the gold pieces from the Bible, but in this case letting the secret go to seed maybe the best thing to do with it. This is the question that Ted struggles with, all the while trying to deal with normal life and the pressures of his job. And it's the story's greatest strength. We see Ted as neither a hero, or a villain, or even someone to aspire to be like. He's just...like the rest of us, struggling to deal with life and everything that is thrown at him. There is no neat and tidy ending with this book. No question is every truly answered and we don't know what Ted may do with the secret. Instead the book is just like the real world...gray and unclear, with hints of light.

One of the things I struggled the most with this book were the illustrations. It took me a while to realize why everything was gray and somewhat fuzzy, with hints of green and light running through it, is that Teddy is mirroring what we see in the storyline, he's mirroring life. It's not supposed to be clear and rosy, instead it's muted and unclear, with those hints of light shining through every once in a while, like a bolt of genius out of the gray. The one big issue I have with the book, is the type choice. It was at times difficult to read and made for some interesting... confusion, such as where it looks like the father-in-law is calling Albert Bett instead of Bert.

Overall while I enjoyed the book, I found it difficult to grasp until the 3rd or 4th reading. And I think that's because the author paralleled life so closely, creating a character that we can't but help find uncomfortable because he's so like us and he struggles with the same things that we do. And yet...that's also the biggest selling point of the book. This is a good book for adults and I give the it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

ARC provided by Gina at FirstSecond ( )