Mile End

by Michel Hellman

Sur un ton fantaisiste et humoristique, Michel Hellman met en scène des anecdotes et tranches de vie inspirées par ce quartier montréalais haut en couleur et riche en histoire. Il raconte la métamorphose du quartier durant la dernière décennie en faisant un parallèle avec sa vie.

Genres: Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Humor, France, Comics, Canada

136 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Déçue. J'ai eu le sentiment que je lisais des pages cousues ensemble comme une courtepointe. Je n'ai pas eu l'impression d'être plongée dans le Mile-End ni d'en apprendre plus. Le fait d'avoir lu Nunavik juste avant lui aura fait grandement ombrage.

[Krzysztof · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this 4 1/2 stars, if there were 1/2-stars. As it is I'm giving it 4 because if I gave 5 people would think I'm just being manic and thus discount my rating by at least 2 stars, bringing it to at most 3 stars. So paradoxically, a higher rating would yield a lower result. In math this is called "a function which is not monotone". Life is weird like that sometimes.

Anyway this book is right on the money about life in Montreal, though if you don't actually live in Montreal, you might not get a kick out of that? I dunno, maybe you're really into comicbooks and then maybe you should read it anyway? I can't solve these problems for you. Sometimes you just have to solve your own problems. Sometimes life is like that, see.

Oh yeah: this comicbook is in French. If you don't know French, you should learn it before reading this book.

Oh yeah oh yeah (and this is not really a spoiler): you can read this book in one sitting. Because I did. If I can do it, so can you. I haven't read a book in one sitting since Stephen King's "The Shining" in 1987, so, you know, this is a big deal.

[Sara Houle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le quotidien dans le Mile End, il y a quelques années... Une BD réconfortante, insolite, drôle, chaotique... J'ai beaucoup aimé!

[Noémie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drôle et unique.

[Sandrine Aufildesmots · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pour un livre qui s'appelle Mile End, j'aurais peut-être aimé voir un peu plus de références au quartier !

[Benno Krojer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any comic book that is called Mile End would get 5 stars from me. Funny, down to earth, not too extraordinary tbh but just perfect for this phase of my life.

[Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This made me both homesick and glad I left.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai préféré Nunavik

[Brian Spath · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the art and the anecdotes, which, at times, are reminiscent of the margin comics in Mad Magazine. The cursive could be hard to read at times, but otherwise this was a fun glimpse at the life of an artist in Montreal.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hellman conjures up Sergio Argones (MAD) in his art style. A wonderful collection of short stories about an eclectic neighbourhood that the artist lives in. This book made me want to take a trip to Montreal this Summer and hang out here.

[Jean-Sylvain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mile-End, c’est une BD sympathique sur un quartier mythique de Montréal. Ce sont de courtes capsules anecdotiques tirées du quotidien de l’auteur et qui défile au grès des quatre saisons. C’est rigolo et parsemé de clins d’oeil historiques et sociologiques.

[Jonathan Riverin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Récit décousu. Je comprends bien l’idée du collage d’anecdotes, mais c’est justement beaucoup trop anecdotique… ça ne respire pas le Mile End…! Quelques rires, quelques petits clins d’oeil originaux au quartier et à sa culture propre, mais sans plus.

[Julien Dupont · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbe. Unassuming and brilliant.

Can be read in less than one hour.

C'est par moments touchant et ailleurs hilarant de manière inattendue.

Delightful way to spend 45 minutes, zero regrets, would do again, and highly recommend.

[Lily Strfsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A la fois leger et profond, drôle et sérieux! Un cliché représentatif du quartier et de la vie d’étudiant / thésard. J’ai beaucoup aimé !

[Richard Archambault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly amusing, mostly for the Montreal references. I'm hoping that his other book Nunavik will be better.

[Spencer Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and fun. Lovely to read about this neighborhood in montreal.

[Laurent GP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belle histoire et les beau dessin de Michel Hellman

[Terri London Mabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light, silly vignettes about a guy procrastinating from his masters' thesis. I loved the illustrations. I loved that he presented himself as a bear.

[Roxy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Correct, mais pas du tout passionant.

[Laura Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

giving paul! à la michel rabagliati :) je ne peux que être fan

[Étienne Paquette · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute

[Mish Vra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love getting to know Montreal or Quebec in general through graphic novels. I definitely recommend Mile End to fans of Paul series, or even Guy Delisle. It reads easily and made me giggle many times :)

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6 Stars

A cute, fun little look at living in contemporary Mile End (seems to be somewhere between 2000-2010), through pictures and humour. Hellman depicts a quick history of the Mile End (the devil is in the details), and what it's like to live with artists in large, crumbling apartments. He goes on a fun tangent about the terrible cold of Quebec, with a -- so true! -- bit on Montreal snow cleanup, and he has some fun side stories of neutering his cat and saying goodbye to his trusty old laptop. I can really see Montreal and the Mile End in his cartoons, albeit exaggerated and distorted with his particular sense of humour, and I really like how his own personal character is a non-human, which, as he notes, allows the reader to better connect and not get hung up on race or human looks. Not all of his cartoons or jokes work for me, and some of them seem to have been created with significantly more forethought than others. I wish it was longer with more stories to fill in the huge chronological gaps in his life, more interesting Mile End shenanigans, and fewer 'interlude' comics.

[François Vigneault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light, fun, and goofy vignettes of everyday life in a gentrifying neighborhood in Montréal. Quotidian moments are juxtaposed with absurdist humor and the occasional deeper dive into the history of the land and its people that presage the authors next work, the more ambitious Nunavik. Everything is rendered in an easy-going loose art style that brings to mind Louis Trondheim and J.J. Sempé.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little more Mile End in the Mile End book would have been nice, as well as more cohesion. Not a great fan of the myriad of books that are coming out collecting unconnected comics from blogs. However, enjoyed Hellman's cartooning style quite a bit, and his observations of Montreal were spot on!

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

very funny if you live in mile end or know anyone who does.

[Anthony Lacroix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bien. Le genre de petites bds que j'aime beaucoup. Une pointe de zviane, mais avec les yeux d'un gars. Bien bon.

[Sebastien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trop simple,léger et déjà vu. Genre de trucs à lire sur un blog a mon avis manque de cohérence pour en faire un livre .

[Joseph Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly interesting comic about life as a working student dealing with everything bu their thesis. Not super compelling or anything.

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute - wanted a little more narrative, but fun to read!