Book Rec: The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8, by Thomas Ott
Wow. This was absolutely stunning. It's a wordless graphic novel (well, there are some words in the scenery, but no dialogue), but it didn't need any. This book told more of a story in 142 pages of black and white sketches than many full-length novels I have read.
A death row inmate drops a slip of paper as he is executed. On it is a number: 73304-23-4153-6-96-8. A prison guard picks it up, and the next day he begins seeing the number everywhere he goes, always in the same order. A lost dog shows up at his doorstep with 73304 tattooed on its ear, the newspaper shows the picture of a winning marathon runner--number 23. A missing poster shows the telephone number of the dog's owner is 415-3696, and she lives at 8 Beck Street. It seems to be nothing but good luck for the guard, who takes the beautiful woman out for a drink, and then out for a winning night at the casino. But in the morning when the dog and the woman and the money have all disappeared, the number might not be such good luck after all.
A death row inmate drops a slip of paper as he is executed. On it is a number: 73304-23-4153-6-96-8. A prison guard picks it up, and the next day he begins seeing the number everywhere he goes, always in the same order. A lost dog shows up at his doorstep with 73304 tattooed on its ear, the newspaper shows the picture of a winning marathon runner--number 23. A missing poster shows the telephone number of the dog's owner is 415-3696, and she lives at 8 Beck Street. It seems to be nothing but good luck for the guard, who takes the beautiful woman out for a drink, and then out for a winning night at the casino. But in the morning when the dog and the woman and the money have all disappeared, the number might not be such good luck after all.