Debeurme, Ludovic – Lucille

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Lucille

I doubt that Scott McCloud was the first one to mention it, but his comment about the real action of comics all taking place between the panels really came back to me while I was reading this book. This is the story of two teens who feel completely abandoned by the world. Lucille is anorexic, disgusted by the act of eating and is basically trying to disappear. Arthur (later Vladimir, which would be a spoiler if you already knew all the details of this story) makes himself more important to the other kids by pretending to have a direct line to Satan, giving kids advice and “telling their future” in exchange for their souls. Both have troubled relationships to their parents, with Lucille constantly annoyed by her mother (even though she seems to want the best for her daughter, but what teenage girl ever accepts love like that?) and Arthur trying but failing to develop some kind of love for sailing so that he could be closer to his father. The power in this comic comes from the quiet moments in both of their lives, as Lucille tries to find a reason to keep going or ever take her medicine, while Arthur deals with a life or death decision that he’s forced to make while working alongside his father on a ship. It isn’t until about halfway through this gargantuan book that these two finally make a connection with each other, and it doesn’t take long for them to see each other at their lowest points. What follows is an eerily accurate account of the problems and pitfalls facing two young people who are exploring a relationship for the first time, with things happening later that I’m not even going to touch here. This won all kinds of awards in France before finally being translated and released by Top Shelf, and I can see why. It’s always a good sign when images or pages pop into my head unprompted hours after reading a book, and that’s been happening to me all morning. The structure of the whole book is deceptively loose, as Ludovic doesn’t care for panels, but make no mistake: this book is intricately plotted, with even the seemingly unconnected and brief dream sequences eventually playing a major role. There is also a sequel out in France, but so far it hasn’t been translated into English (as of 10/12). Still, I’m absolutely hooked on this story and will be checking in with Top Shelf every now and then to see if the next book is available. This book, by the way, is damned near flawless. It’s not light reading by any stretch of the imagination, but who wants all of their entertainment to be light and fluffy? This takes on huge life problems in interesting ways and, while not always finding the answers, is going to leave you thinking about them long after you’ve finished the book. Read it, is what I’m saying. $29.95 (or cheaper if you were smart enough to pick it up during Top Shelf’s yearly sale).

 

 

Posted on October 30, 2012, in Reviews and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink. Comments Off on Debeurme, Ludovic – Lucille.

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