Media Reviews
Poignant and memorable ... a spectacular and inspired graphic memoir that traces the many threads of a remarkable root." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[Thompson's] signature style ... remains as affecting as ever, creating another painstakingly multilayered title to add to shelves everywhere, including (hopefully) again, in his parents' home." —Booklist (starred review)
"As Thompson roves from the Wisconsin Ginseng Festival to a Korean wholesale auction and wild ginseng boutiques in China, his supple, brushy ink lines render the scenes in poignant detail. A feat of generous observation, this stands with Thompson's very best work." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A visually rich, emotionally resonant work of true ambition and sophistication from one of the most sensitive storytellers currently working in any medium or genre." —Library Journal
"Returning to Craig's roots in rural Wisconsin, Ginseng Roots is part systems exploration, part cultural history — but most uniquely, it is an exercise in journalistic listening as an act of devotion. Even as Craig painfully questions his upbringing and his own beliefs about work, he expresses a hope for healing and an ultimate acceptance of imperfection and grace." —Thi Bui, author of The Best We Could Do
"Craig Thompson's sometimes aching reflection on his roots in the soil and culture of rural Wisconsin is also a tender love letter to ginseng and to the diverse, compelling, and often quirky people who struggle to make it grow. A sweeping story, gorgeously drawn and beautifully told — this is Craig Thompson's masterpiece." —Joe Sacco, author of Palestine and Paying the Land
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Reader Reviews
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Maria P. (Hillsboro, VA)
Beautiful and moving graphic memoir I had a hard time writing this review because I don't know how to talk about such a beautiful book. I can't do justice with words to Thompson's art, so I'll just go with how moved I was by the combination of narration and illustration. Memory and history circle and meld seamlessly, through childhood, family, travel, and the devastating history of the Hmong people. Thompson looks at human foibles (including his own) with honesty and sympathy, inspiring in me feelings of tenderness and rage and humor and more.
The history, culture and cultivation of ginseng are slipped into the story line with relevance, so the information never feels dry or pedantic. It doesn't hurt that the ginseng are ridiculously cute!
I look forward to reading more of Thompson's work, especially Blankets which I've already ordered.
Claire M. (Wrentham, MA)
Ginseng Roots: A memoir Ginseng Roots is a tour de force graphic memoir. Craig Thompson tells many overlapping stories in this volume, formerly published as a12-issue comic book series. In revealing his personal search for meaning and purpose he explores his roots, which are contained within the story of ginseng farming in America.
He details the travails of midwestern small farm life through the story of his own family farming history from migrant workers to farm owners with farm neighbors, the religious life of his family, his relationship with his parents and siblings, and his struggle to build a life separate from the farm. Part of that story is told in his previous work, Blankets published in 2003. Over 20 years later the sweeping story is brought forward to 2023.
The artwork is highly detailed and deeply personal. The shared moments with his brother and sister, his interviews with the ginseng farmers of Wisconsin and their counterparts in South Korea and China, are all revelatory in their own way. When he shares the health crisis that impacted his life's work, I marveled at his dedication to both his art and his search for meaning.
Thompson, in this deeply personal memoir, encompasses the history of the world through the labor and sacrifice to the farming and commerce of this prized ancient root.
Marie M. (Rochester, MN)
Ginseng Roots Having grown up in Wisconsin, I enjoyed the setting of this book and the interplay with China. I haven't yet read Blanket, but this autobiography peaked my interest to explore further. Thompson is an engaging writer and I enjoyed the growing up that he shared.
Melanie B. (Desoto, TX)
Thoughtful Cultural and Educational History of Ginseng I was not expecting this graphic memoir to be highly educational and meaningful. The history of ginseng and its cultivation is not a subject matter I would have easily understood had it not been written in this format. The illustrations brought meaning where words alone would have failed to enlighten me. I enjoyed this book and will recommend it for book group discussion.
Marion M. (Mishawaka, IN)
Ginseng Roots : a Memoir Ginseng Roots : a Memoir by Craig Thompson. Pantheon, 2025.
Graphic artist and author Craig Thompson returns to his roots to share his memories of growing up in central Wisconsin. But, he also returns to ginseng roots, a medicinal and aphrodisiac herb cultivated in central Wisconsin, that form so much of his childhood memories. Thompson's memories are intimately entwined with the root. A renewed interest in cultivating ginseng as a lucrative cash crop occurred about the time the Thompson family moved from Traverse City, Michigan. To earn money Thompson, his siblings and mother cultivated the fields (they didn't own the fields, but worked them) each summer from age 10 until 20 when he left home. It was hard, back aching work requiring long hours of stooping over plants surrounded by straw and frequently sprayed with pesticides. Thompson and his brother hated it. Their escape was comic books, and soon the brothers were drawing their own cartoons. Originally these chapters were published in serialized form as comics.
Criag Thompson's graphic artwork is detailed and fine tuned, using colors often associated with comics, red, white, black and orange. Red is the color of the ginseng flower; red is a favorite color in China where much of the U.S. ginseng is consumed. There are intricate drawings of the plant during its four to five years of growth, of the seeds, of the rows of plants and straw, of the awnings and covered gardens, of assorted machinery. The little village of Marathon City comes alive from its entrance bridge across the Rib River to the businesses, groceries, churches, and schools. Red barns, tall silos, gravel roads, woods, and local folks connected with local ginseng business are recognizable as is Wausau, Wisconsin's main street and square. He even picks up on the language of the locals," ya know." A little ginseng root comic character scurries around in and out and up and down the illustrations on many pages reminding the reader that the book is about ginseng root, too, not just Thompson's childhood memories.
Thompson doesn't stop with Wisconsin where he interviews old neighbors and present ginseng growers and dealers to learn contemporary growing practices and business policies. He travels to South Korea and China to study current and traditional ginseng cultivation and use. He learns about the use of herbs and ginseng in Chinese medicine as he tries to find relief from hands that have crippled. On extravagantly designed pages, Chinese dragons and fabled characters appear, connecting Asia and Wisconsin. Intermixed the reader is surreptitiously introduced to Thompson's philosophy and politics and other writings: corporate agriculture, work ethic, global economy, environmentalism, plant based healing, class division, parental relationships and religion.
The result is an adult graphic novel with substantial information about a unique crop that has connected North America to China since the eighteenth century. This reviewer, who is from the same county in Wisconsin and whose father and later cousins grew ginseng, found the work fascinatingly accurate. Readers exploring graphic novels, herbal medicine, and Asian and American culture revolving around ginseng would also find that analysis true.
Ann W. (New York, NY)
Graphic, pictorial family biography Craig Thompson while family were ginseng farmers. It's a very important ingredient in cooking. However, the actual process is quite arduous. However, as we much agricultural produce, there are many not only physical, medical and psychological stresses. Money was always a problem. Parental problems, constant moving. As a psychologist, I knew there would be problems, each person.
That was mother, father, 2 sons and a daughter. It is part an exploration of their lives. It is both an American story, the power of stereotypes, expectations. A perfect book illustrating listening, documenting and using words and pictures in a meaningful while.
...3 more reader reviews
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