I didn't want any flowers

i didn't want any flowers
luise schaller
sb-004
published by sofort books, hamburg
first english edition, april 2024
originally self-published in german, 2023
print: risofort, hamburg ​​​​​​​

i didn't want any flowers is a graphic tale based on the poetry collection ariel by sylvia plath, weaving fragmented text and visual storytelling into a world entirely its own. we are immersed in a world of lyrical echoes and visual cues—teetering between the dreamlike and the kitsch, held back only by an underlying, elemental sense of unease: "there is something in the garden," and we’re we’re left to question whether we truly want to discover what—or who—it is.
throughout the book, luise schaller employs a faux-naïve lens to explore vulnerability. her almost childlike pencil drawings delicately trace themes of powerlessness, pain, and anger—alongside an urgent desire to escape. we meander through this two-part narrative, amidst towering plants, star-speckled skies, and literal heart-shaped hearts beating in chests. yet, it's not a conventional journey. there’s no sweeping transformation, no dramatic arc. from the very first page, the 'i' is fully self-aware, narrating their experiences with a stoic detachment: "i have become so small," leading to wry, melancholic lines like "i only wanted to lie like this."
the result is a melancholic yet sharply defined worldview, steeped in dissent and emotional clarity, one that we can't help but want to integrate into our own inner worlds.