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Loading... The Return of the Honey Buzzardby Aimée de Jongh
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Picked up this translation of a Dutch graphic novel on a whim, and I was really very impressed. The artwork is beautiful; the black and white drawings capture perfectly the atmosphere. It has a haunting poetry to it, and though I found the scenes in the main character's youth a little heavy-handed, the author showed great artistry both in the construction of the story itself and in its visual execution. I wish I could see more graphic novels like this on the shelves here in the US. I will keep an eye out for further releases from this author. no reviews | add a review
Simon, a bookseller, has hit hard times. The financial crisis has struck and sales have slumped; his store looks set to close, and he has become increasingly withdrawn. Returning from his storage facility in the woods, he stops at an isolated railroad crossing. There, he witnesses a suicide. The moment hits him like a bomb. Withdrawing deeper into himself, Simon is haunted by memories from his past - memories repressed, from a time he'd prefer to forget. It is only by chance that he meets Regina, a young girl who begins to provide the comfort and support he needs. But who is Regina, and can she help him come to terms with the loss of a childhood friend? A beautifully drawn and impressively crafted debut from Aimée de Jongh, The Return of the Honey Buzzard is a compelling, cinematic, and emotionally perceptive graphic novel about confronting the past and starting again. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)741.59492The arts Graphic arts and decorative arts Drawing & drawings Cartoons, Caricatures, Comics Collections European Other European NetherlandsLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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This won the Prix St-Michel for Best Dutch-language Album of 2015, and I hunted it down to broaden my knowledge. It's the story of Simon, a failing bookseller who witnesses a woman committing suicide on the train line in the Biesbosch near his storage cabin. The experience brings back his memories of the death of a childhood friend who had been bullied at school; he also gets entangled with a young student who is researching magical realism, while his wife Laura continues to press him to close the family store for good. The art is nicely done and well observed; the plot doesn't quite deliver, but it is an interesting journey. ( )