By Clarrie Pope & Blanche Pope. Published by Minor Compositions. Softcover, 312 pages, B&W, 2022. Graphic novel about squatting, unrequited love and lost struggles, written with humor and driven by hope A group of squatters occupy an empty flat in a condemned tower in London, aiming to unite their neighbors to resist the demolition. Weaving together confused memories, Welcome Home moves between the squat and our protagonist’s work in a care home. The squatters aim to bring all the residents together to resist the tower’s demolition. But it’s not as easy as that. Rain is in love with her housemate Eva, who unfortunately happens to be her best friend’s girlfriend. She can’t stand Will and his try-hard activism, and is avoiding Yaz, who used to tease her at school and lives in the tower. Her life in the squat is repeatedly interrupted by her work in a care home where she has grown particularly close to Doris, a resident with dementia, who used to live in their flat. Through Doris’s stories we discover the history of the tower and another, older love triangle. Shortlisted for the Myriad First Graphic Novel Prize, Welcome Home manages to deal with the heavy topics of urban regeneration, care homes, and dementia, while maintaining a light touch. Bio: Welcome Home was written by sisters Clarrie and Blanche Pope, and is inspired by their experience in squatting and housing struggles, as well Blanche’s time spent working in care homes. They want to give readers insight into the class, race and gender politics involved in both through a humorous look at the way in which these issues affect the minutiae of people’s lives.
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