290 HOGARTH, BURNE
As a graphic crime novel, A History of Violence bears closest comparison to Road to
Perdition , although the latter is set nearly 70 years earlier. Both texts revolve around
protagonists with secret lives of violence. Both texts include villains of a similar type:
the psychopathic son of a corrupt businessman. Th e black-and-white drawings in both
novels are similar in style. While the two texts share these traits, A History of Violence
poses a diff erent set of questions for its characters and for its readers. To what extent
can a person escape his past? What causes violence? Is violence the only way to address
some problems? How can a person recover from a violent past?
When Tom tells his wife about his past, she learns that he has lied about his identity,
that he was involved in a mass murder, and that he has endangered her life and the lives
of their children. He asks, “Do you forgive me, Edie?” To which she replies, “You’re still
the man I married—the man I love.” Unlike the mob, she entirely forgives any trans-
gressions. Her automatic, unbridled loyalty at this point seems reductive, simplistic,
and unconvincing. Notwithstanding this shortcoming in characterization, A History of
Violence is a rollicking story that builds momentum in a way that makes it diffi cult
to put down, and the art and dialogue off er many pleasant surprises, while posing a
number of complex questions.
Anthony D. Baker
HOGARTH, BURNE (1911–96). A widely infl uential cartoonist, illustrator, teacher,
and author, Hogarth was born on Christmas Day, in Chicago, where he grew up. His
Stephen McHattie as Leland, gets the drop on Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall, in the 2005 film
A History of Violence, directed by David Cronenberg. New Line Cinema/Photofest
