Salmon Doubts

by Adam Sacks (Illustrator)

Beautifully illustrated and deeply imaginative, the cast of conversing fish in Salmon Doubts philosophize about the meaning of life as they make their ultimate journey upstream to spawn. Set in a two tone-oceanic world with uproarious humor, intricately imagined settings, and striking, inventive page layouts.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Animals, Sequential Art, Young Adult, Comic Book

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet but inconsequential graphic novel about the life cycle of the salmon.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the oddball graphic novels that I find at my library. I'm not always willing to commit to yet another series but I'll pick up a stand alone book in a heartbeat. Salmon Doubts by Adam Sacks is one of my latest impulse picks.

Salmon Doubts follows a school of salmon from hatching through spawning. As they grow up and form friendships one fish decides to question the purpose of life. He follows his own path, constantly questioning the accepted norms of salmon life.

It's a short but thought provoking graphic novel. The salmon aren't anthropomorphized at all. Nor is their life cycle cheered up any. If you know salmon you know they die right after spawning. So along with the inevitability of life and death comes the message of life choices.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't think that a book about the life cycle of salmon would manage to eek any emotion out of me but the drawings are so stark and the meaning of the salmon life so pointless that this story manages to tug out melancholy from the array of emotive possibilities. I think I'd prefer a fanfiction account of Geoff's oceanic life but am still impressed that Sacks could provoke thought via salmon.

[lucy black · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this. It is a cute and interesting short read. It sort of felt like a music video.

[Kalynda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it would be a fun optional book to support a salmon unit, that would appeal to a diverse audience...but then it used the word "retarded" and well...no.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I appreciate the art. It's not a piece I would go back to. The theme is neat and it makes the salmon cute vs scary. Feels like a storyboard for possibly something bigger but is really a lesson in the short lived life of Salmon

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun little salmon story!

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Jacki · Rating 1 out of 5]

OPL 2021 Reading Challenge - Read a Book about Animals

[Hendrix Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Random

[Shannon Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, pretty dull and unimaginative but i like the art and i like fish 🐟

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked in the first couple pages, when shortly after hatch, two young salmon make friends and then salmon Henry is disappointed as his new friend swims off to meet other people.

On the surface, yes, this book is exactly as it appears: a story about salmon having doubts. But it's also about life, about existence and existentialism. The two main characters, Geoff and Henry, swim through the ocean and try to decide if procreation is all one should aspire to, or if there's something else to live for. It's a short, sweet, poignant tale that raises big questions without the need to pass judgment.

Plus, the art is beautiful and I'm going to love having this piece on my coffee table. I anticipate some interesting discussions in the future.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Extremely simplistic yet incredibly philosophical. Starts with a fish hatching from the egg and ends with the same fish dying after spawning. This is the story of the friendship of Henry and Geoff. Henry follows the other salmon and has the same urges while Geoff is different, curious and wants to see the world. Simplistic discussions on the purpose and meaning of life and why bother living when you are going to die anyway. Through naive discussion they make salient observations. The art is really cute too!

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was adorable! i picked it up because the title was close enough to douglas adams' the salmon of doubt that i figured it must be intentional and the author must therefore have good taste, at least. it's a graphic novel about the socially inept young salmon, henry, and his friend, geoff, who thinks there might be more to life than spawning. i thought it was just going to be cute, but it was a very poignant story about the meaning of life. read an excerpt here.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The life cycle of a salmon serves as a metaphor for the human condition in Salmon Doubts. Fish struggle to survive hatching, make connections, be unique, explore the world around them, hit puberty, try to fit in, find a mate and return home to die. Focusing on basic questions such as “Why am I here?” this philosophical tale with its themes of identity and purpose in life will have special appeal to teens. Very highly recommended - a real quality addition to your graphic novel collections.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took approximately 10 minutes to read. It's a graphic novel - aka a comic book. I had to read a graphic novel for one of my grad. classes.

This book depicts the life cycle of a salmon. It's told by a salmon who is supposed to be like a middle school aged boy... it's kind of funny. A bit different, but funny.

[Emilia P · Rating 2 out of 5]

Salmon Doubts, you were fine, I didn't hate you. But I wanted to learn about salmon, and not about men (and ladies I guess) in general. Silly me, wanting to get educated. But it looked good, it's true. Just in the grand scheme of this comix binge it was a weaker one.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uses the lifecycle of the salmon to explore life choice (for humans). A pair of salmon make friends and one follows the traditional path, and one chooses to skip the long hard road to spawn. Simple, nice. Well illustrated. Didn't get me excited, but definitely an interesting read.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Im not really sure what this book is trying to get back. It seems to me that being different is good, ans challenging the norm results in great adventure. Oh, and if you are a sperm, you need to be confidant to make a baby salmon...

[Marfita · Rating 2 out of 5]

They do all look alike. Henry, tho', is the doofus salmon, while his friend, Geoff, swims his own course. They run up against Louis, the lead salmon, and Henry tries to make time with Samantha. It turns out that Henry's sperm is as much a doofus as he is. Heh!

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great way to show themes and tensions in adolescence. I would highly recommend for teenagers to read this, it would be a great way to open a discussion. The pictures were clean and simple, and the coloring helped to show different areas of their world.

[Liz Gabbitas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not intended for kids, but juvenile in concept, art, dialog, execution, etc. I didn't find anything particularly compelling about the story or characters, and the artwork was nothing to get excited about.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing profound. Worth a read.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Salmon have many hard life decisions to make.
Or... perhaps this is some sort of crazy metaphor for all the hard life decisions people have to make! Oh no!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the whole thing while Charles was going to the gas station. I felt different from when he left!

[Kelsey O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny (but also a little sad) short about the simple lives of salmon.

[Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty, but fairly useless.

[Lauren Naylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Heather Hay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple. Concise. Profound. Perfect.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and silly.