Review by Frank Plowright

Wretched lives up to its title in presenting a hallucinogenic nightmare world of an American woman trapped in a country where she doesn’t understand the language and can’t contact anyone for help. Told in a series of single page illustrations, the imagination is evident from the second page and nonsense dialogue spoken by the waiters very evidently about the main character.

There’s an unusual synthesis between the creative partnership of Henrik Rehr and Jan Solheim, which is a rare collaboration transmitting as the work of single creator, and the result is similar to the supernatural shaggy dog stories concocted by Richard Sala. The lost character moves from one situation to the next, never in control. At best where she finds herself is unappealing, and at worse it’s brutally unpleasant. Is it real, though? Does it matter?

Solheim’s illustrations diminish the margins of safety, constantly placing the woman in precarious situations as she attempts to navigate a world where logic exists, but perhaps not if the language can’t be understood. The people reflect their characters, the woman worn and haggard, the actor she meets bulky and predatory and father figures comfortingly old.

It’s about the only form of comfort to be found in a distressing and disturbing tale. At points it seems it might all be allegory, but not enough evidence backs that up. Is it the hallucinatory experiences of a woman on the verge of death recapping her life until arrival at that point? Possibly. However, reasoning isn’t essential when we’re left with a brilliantly conceived crime story offering little sentimentality or comfort to the lead character or readers.