Nick Drnaso ACTING CLASS

A brilliant and suspenseful follow-up to the Booker-nominated graphic novel Sabrina

“Every single person has something unique to them which is impossible to re-create, without exception.” —John Smith, acting coach

From the acclaimed author of Sabrina, Nick Drnaso’s Acting Class creates a tapestry of disconnect, distrust, and manipulation. Ten strangers are brought together under the tutelage of John Smith, a mysterious and morally questionable leader. The group of social misfits and restless searchers have one thing in common: they are out of step with their surroundings and desperate for change.

A husband and wife, four years into their marriage and simmering in boredom. A single mother, her young son showing disturbing signs of mental instability. A peculiar woman with few if any friends and only her menial job keeping her grounded. A figure model, comfortable in his body and ready for a creative challenge. A worried grandmother and her adult granddaughter; a hulking laborer and gym nut; a physical therapist; an ex-con.

With thrumming unease, the class sinks deeper into their lessons as the process demands increasing devotion. When the line between real life and imagination begins to blur, the group’s deepest fears and desires are laid bare. Exploring the tension between who we are and how we present, Drnaso cracks open his characters’ masks and takes us through an unsettling American journey.

Published by Drawn & Quarterly

Canada Import

Hardback

248 full color pages

8.5 x 9.9”

• Literary Hub The Best Reviewed Graphic Literature of 2022

• "A wholly unsettling masterclass in disquiet."—Nick Duerden, -The Independent

• "From its cast’s blank stares to the muted but sickly colour palette, Acting Class is an ominous and compelling exploration of the imagination’s darker side." - Guardian Best Graphic Novels of 2022

• "Nick Drnaso creates his own, original world with a strong point of view. I loved the setting of an acting class, where there is so little literal action and so much emotional and psychological drama. The characters are haunting." - Globe and Mail Top 100

• “Nick Drnaso uses a deadpan, quick-cut drawing style to explore loneliness, paranoia, and the subjectivity of “truth.” It’s all very mysterious, kind of creepy, and extremely suspenseful." - Elena Goukassian, Vulture

• "This fascinating tale about an amateur acting group discovering the tenuous line between artifice and reality kept me reading well into the night. It is at once a commentary on the power of art to reshape us, and on the dangers of conforming. Acting Class is uncanny, wholly original, and deeply satisfying." - Esi Edugyan, Washington Black