The lure of a social experiment in isolation, particularly in a city as bustling with life as New York City, made this book sound thought provoking and interesting. The art on the cover spoke to a certain level of depth as it was neither too cartoon-ish nor hyper realistic, finding just the right balance to tell the story.

It was here, however, that the positive aspects of the story began to wane and I fell out of love with The Sound of the World by Heart.

The story itself suffered from trying to be, what I feel, something too philosophical. It reached too far and by doing so lost any connection with the reader that would have made the journey of the main character meaningful. I didn't get a sense of what this experiment was actually doing for or to him, so it's purpose was ultimately meaningless.

There were points in the storytelling that didn't make much sense either, such as the mindreading that the main character initially thought was a painting speaking to him (which is a whole other oddity). This loose thread and others like it had me staring at the book at the end wondering, really, what had I just read?

A somewhat redeeming factor of the book was the art style. It really was very good and I hung on through the book because of it. I'd like to see the author do another graphic novel because of this kind of quality artwork, but maybe paired up with a storyteller who has a history of a more cohesive storytelling style.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.