Review by Frank Plowright

Sometimes a single incident can transform a life. Elizabeth Trembley was walking her dogs in the woods when she came across the corpse of someone who’d seemingly been murdered. It’s a terrible shock, not least for eradicating what had previously been a safe space, and Look Again relates how she processed the incident, and how the brain can suppress and erase details. To this day Elizabeth actually has to research the date to jolt to her memory.

The event and its aftermath is approached in several ways, with the first supplied as Elizabeth imagines herself with two cartoon avatars in her head advising caution when dealing with the officer responding to her emergency call. Will he suspect her of murder?

While a very personal interpretation of events, there’s also a universality to it. People in shock don’t respond with logic or awareness, not all police are to be trusted and miscarriages of justice are only rectified years after the fact, and sometimes never. The internal voices represent the fears many people would have in the same situation. By the time Elizabeth has returned home to let people know what she’s seen, those recalling her conversation later remark on clarity, but dark moments await in the future.

Trembley’s art is functional rather than decorative, although the graphic variations are ambitious. Sometimes the standard cartooning is replaced by what may be scratchboard illustrations or digital equivalents.

There’s an acknowledgement of a lack of logic in what follows. Elizabeth has walked her dogs in isolated areas her whole life, and continues to do so, but she’s unable to return to the traumatic spot. Her father’s a psychologist, and stresses she has no connection with the dead person and it’s a random unfortunate coincidence that she found the body, but fears remain. It’s not until several years later that the complete story emerges along with traumatic extra details adding to each retelling.

All versions are presented, ending with considerations of what was previously absent to present cohesive thoughts of disassociation. Despite the same ground being covered again and again, there’s never a moment of tedium at the repetition as the explanations and assessments tumble out and what they eventually prompt is really surprising. Look Again’s intelligent exploration makes for a compelling investigation of trauma, providing a first rate extrapolation of complex feelings, of what we bury and why.