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Lucille #1
Lucille
Page après page, Ludovic Debeurme nous invite à suivre au quotidien Lucille et Arthur, deux adolescents pour qui la vie n'est ni facile, ni douce. C'est avec justesse, émotion et pudeur qu'il va faire de nous des témoins, jamais des voyeurs, de ces deux vies chahutées. À travers ce récit âpre, rigoureux et sans concession, Ludovic Debeurme ne joue pas le jeu du pathos ou du désespoir, au contraire il sait avec grand talent mettre en lumière la subtilité des sentiments de ses personnages, faire surgir l'énergie, la tendresse et l'amour qui pourront permettre à ces deux êtres en perdition de renaître. En laissant au lecteur le temps d'appréhender ces personnages, en s'attachant à toutes les complexités de leur deux personnalités, Ludocvic Debeurme réussit à nous amener à un troublant sentiment de proximité avec ceux-ci.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published June 13, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
August 5, 2015
Lucille is an anorexic French girl living an isolated life.
Arthur is the son of a drunken Polish fisherman who likes to psych out his classmates with stories about Satan.
Our story starts kind of slowly (although with 544 pages to work with, you might as well take your time), but once the connections get made, things just GO. It broke my heart to watch these two damaged kids try to come of age during so much trauma. In some ways I wish it was YA-safe, as I know many teens would connect. But I'd never give up the sexual content.
The form is stunning. Debeurme doesn't border his panels (or speech bubbles, for that matter) and that makes the story flow in a smooth, dreamlike way. The illustrations are spare, and every detail has a purpose. At the same time, Debeurme's drawings are absolutely stunning. I'm a big fan of colored GNs as a rule, but I would frame one of these panels in a heartbeat.
A review of this book would not be complete without mention of the dream sequences and elements of magical realism. Every chapter is preceded by an illustration of one of the characters with an insect body.
Stunning, people. Just stunning.
Read with Numbers Numbers 1 by Rachel Ward
Watch with Pulp Fiction
Arthur is the son of a drunken Polish fisherman who likes to psych out his classmates with stories about Satan.
Our story starts kind of slowly (although with 544 pages to work with, you might as well take your time), but once the connections get made, things just GO. It broke my heart to watch these two damaged kids try to come of age during so much trauma. In some ways I wish it was YA-safe, as I know many teens would connect. But I'd never give up the sexual content.
The form is stunning. Debeurme doesn't border his panels (or speech bubbles, for that matter) and that makes the story flow in a smooth, dreamlike way. The illustrations are spare, and every detail has a purpose. At the same time, Debeurme's drawings are absolutely stunning. I'm a big fan of colored GNs as a rule, but I would frame one of these panels in a heartbeat.
A review of this book would not be complete without mention of the dream sequences and elements of magical realism. Every chapter is preceded by an illustration of one of the characters with an insect body.
Stunning, people. Just stunning.
Read with Numbers Numbers 1 by Rachel Ward
Watch with Pulp Fiction
August 5, 2015
Terrific book, very sparely done, and the characters and their stories come together in such interesting ways. We come to care for the characters a great deal in all their damage and vulnerability and strength and humor. Not much humor, admittedly, as these are fragile, troubled teens. Complex and not easy to like, but ultimately very likeable, and their spare stories are served by the spare style. First in three books, Renee next, and I will be reading, for sure. I am mystified by low reviews about this book, because I think it is mesmerizing, completely real and rich to me. Maybe it is because it is not about Hollywood style beauty and action and happy endings... but this is rich storytelling. Great stuff.
March 6, 2016
Sparse and very Jeffrey Brown-ish when it comes to the art (I don't like Jeffrey B, btw) but it was very realistic how anorexia was portrayed. I might read the second volume because I am curious about what happens next.
April 16, 2016
Caution: plot elements revealed in this review.
"Lucille" is the first in a series of graphic novels by French artist Ludovic Dubuerme. It's an epic tale of two tragic teens who suffer from family turmoil and feel out of place in the world until they find each other and make a desperate, brave and awkward attempt to escape. Of course they carry their baggage with them and very soon after leaving home have to contend with not only their own demons, but also a cartoonishly evil brother-sister team. But more about this dynamic duo later.
While this book is called Lucille, and Lucille is the character we meet first, in the first chapter (early in the book the chapters alternate between Lucille's and Arthur's stories until the two meet), Arthur is the central character of this first installment. The book seems to me to revolve around exploration of class and masculinity, the passing down of names, occupations and/or terrible fates from father to son, generation after generation, and the impact of this pressure on a boy who is smart, sensitive, ultimately "good", but who has developed some obsessive-compulsive behavior and other debilitating coping mechanisms that make relationships challenging, and cause him to be, at times, sensitive and generous, and at other times, a danger to himself and others.
Arthur's father Vladimir (the name for generations of his family passed down from father to son after the father's death) is a depressed and profound alcoholic. He is not made out to be a villain, but it is clear he isn't a source of stability and providence. Fairly early in the book a series of unfortunate events lead Arthur's father to kill himself, after which Arthur (who is now himself Vladimir, but I will just call him Arthur the whole way though to keep things simple) tries to break out of some cycle of violence or misery or poverty, or patrilineally descending suicide, or perhaps he is mainly wanting to escape the place itself, the location of all this turmoil.
But even as Arthur travels he remains a "salt of the earth" honest worker (a physical laborer) and doesn't try to move into new class-related territory. In fact, when Arthur and Lucille are invited to a party thrown by Arthur's boss at the vineyard, Arthur doesn't want to go, because he doesn't want to wear a fancy suit, and he doesn't want to mingle with the "fancy" people.
Class lines in this book are given over to a lot of literary drama. This is not unusual of course. (Just off the top of my head, I can think of three books I've read in the last three months, "Stoner", "My Antonia", and "Amongst Women," all about people who cross over from generations of farming and other manual labor to a life that is more connected to intellectualism, urbanity and the arts. The transition always brings a sense of loss - of connection with culture and with the soil itself. In all of them, the question of loss or gain is left mysterious and philosophical.) I get the sense the author idealizes Arthur, even with the alcoholism and violence in his family, Arthur is a good and ernest and authentic guy. He's not putting on any airs. And then there is the proprietor of the vineyard, whose son Adolpho is putting on all the airs, trying to move away from the land, from a long line of successful wine-makers, in order to go to school for theater.
So, there is Arthur, the sensitive and hard-working child of a fisherman. And there is Lucille, who I think comes from a wealthier family (maybe middle-class?). Her parents are split up and her mother is overbearing and fails to connect with her withdrawn and self-destructive daughter. Lucille's isolation is to a large degree self-imposed. She struggles to connect with her peers, and has a stressful, alienating relationship with her mother. She sort of longs for an absent father, who we don't know too much about. Apparently she was close to him until she walked in on her parents having sex? (Something that destroyed her whole life? That confused me.) Ludovic presents Lucille's struggle with anorexia with some realism. It is harrowing to see her health decline. The vividness of her emaciation as expressed through sequential art is effectively harrowing. But then, it is also unclear how she survives as she starves herself. How she goes from being so sick she can barely stand, to riding on the back of Arthur's moped, and traveling by train as they try to escape their unhappy lives.
I was disturbed by the sexuality in the book. Arthur and Lucille are unsure of themselves enough to move into sexual relations at a snail's pace, until they finally hook up and Arthur to some degree forces himself on Lucille. He wants to engage in a sexual act, she says no, and he does what he wants to do anyway. This isn't addressed in any meaningful way.
It is also disturbing that the one seriously evil character in the book is a dandy trying to make it in the theater. (There is actually one other villain. The pharmacist who briefly employs Arnold as his delivery boy. He is only in a few panels, but his evil guy forehead is big enough to take over a whole page, maybe even the world.) I know masculinity in Europe is not constructed in the same way as in the U.S., but I still find it worrisome to have the proverbial "effeminate" male villain.
In fact, Adolpho and Clarissa, the brother and sister team, are in some reviews referred to as "predators", and they both have a queer aesthetic (Adolpho the theatrical, citified dandy; Clarissa, pixie-ish, with a short, alternative hair style -- she is also incestuously obsessed with her brother just to complete the cartoonish evil-ness). And that makes me deeply uncomfortable. In a book that is so focused on masculinity, it's hard not to pick up on the the differences between Arthur and Adolpho. Arthur is, as I said, represented as a "salt-of-the-earth" kind of guy. He likes to wear his work clothes. He doesn't like to dress up. He's humble and hard-working. Adolpho is always dressed impeccably, never a hair out of place. He's very urbane and pretty and sophisticated in his plans to manipulate and overtake his prey. It is so sudden and operatic, Adolpho's violent attempt to rape Lucille, and Arthur's downfall. He rescues his dear Lucille, but then proceeds to beat Adolpho savagely, perhaps to death.
As Lucille and Ludovic travel, I wonder, how does Lucille stay alive (she is not eating)? How are her bones not breaking? Is her attitude toward herself and the world significantly changing? Is there any true shifting in her perspective, self-image and self-awareness? Does getting space from her mother give her an opportunity to step out of her self-imposed-prison?
By the end of the book, when she is sitting with Arnold in the ICU (after he's tried to take his own life), I get more of a sense that this is a coming-of-age story, and that Lucille's life is changing.
What will happen next? I don't know. And I'm not sure I'm interested enough to find out. There is a lot of brilliant, nuanced storytelling in here, but it's uneven at best, and some of the attitudes and tropes are ones I've seen enough of and don't feel the need to pursue.
"Lucille" is the first in a series of graphic novels by French artist Ludovic Dubuerme. It's an epic tale of two tragic teens who suffer from family turmoil and feel out of place in the world until they find each other and make a desperate, brave and awkward attempt to escape. Of course they carry their baggage with them and very soon after leaving home have to contend with not only their own demons, but also a cartoonishly evil brother-sister team. But more about this dynamic duo later.
While this book is called Lucille, and Lucille is the character we meet first, in the first chapter (early in the book the chapters alternate between Lucille's and Arthur's stories until the two meet), Arthur is the central character of this first installment. The book seems to me to revolve around exploration of class and masculinity, the passing down of names, occupations and/or terrible fates from father to son, generation after generation, and the impact of this pressure on a boy who is smart, sensitive, ultimately "good", but who has developed some obsessive-compulsive behavior and other debilitating coping mechanisms that make relationships challenging, and cause him to be, at times, sensitive and generous, and at other times, a danger to himself and others.
Arthur's father Vladimir (the name for generations of his family passed down from father to son after the father's death) is a depressed and profound alcoholic. He is not made out to be a villain, but it is clear he isn't a source of stability and providence. Fairly early in the book a series of unfortunate events lead Arthur's father to kill himself, after which Arthur (who is now himself Vladimir, but I will just call him Arthur the whole way though to keep things simple) tries to break out of some cycle of violence or misery or poverty, or patrilineally descending suicide, or perhaps he is mainly wanting to escape the place itself, the location of all this turmoil.
But even as Arthur travels he remains a "salt of the earth" honest worker (a physical laborer) and doesn't try to move into new class-related territory. In fact, when Arthur and Lucille are invited to a party thrown by Arthur's boss at the vineyard, Arthur doesn't want to go, because he doesn't want to wear a fancy suit, and he doesn't want to mingle with the "fancy" people.
Class lines in this book are given over to a lot of literary drama. This is not unusual of course. (Just off the top of my head, I can think of three books I've read in the last three months, "Stoner", "My Antonia", and "Amongst Women," all about people who cross over from generations of farming and other manual labor to a life that is more connected to intellectualism, urbanity and the arts. The transition always brings a sense of loss - of connection with culture and with the soil itself. In all of them, the question of loss or gain is left mysterious and philosophical.) I get the sense the author idealizes Arthur, even with the alcoholism and violence in his family, Arthur is a good and ernest and authentic guy. He's not putting on any airs. And then there is the proprietor of the vineyard, whose son Adolpho is putting on all the airs, trying to move away from the land, from a long line of successful wine-makers, in order to go to school for theater.
So, there is Arthur, the sensitive and hard-working child of a fisherman. And there is Lucille, who I think comes from a wealthier family (maybe middle-class?). Her parents are split up and her mother is overbearing and fails to connect with her withdrawn and self-destructive daughter. Lucille's isolation is to a large degree self-imposed. She struggles to connect with her peers, and has a stressful, alienating relationship with her mother. She sort of longs for an absent father, who we don't know too much about. Apparently she was close to him until she walked in on her parents having sex? (Something that destroyed her whole life? That confused me.) Ludovic presents Lucille's struggle with anorexia with some realism. It is harrowing to see her health decline. The vividness of her emaciation as expressed through sequential art is effectively harrowing. But then, it is also unclear how she survives as she starves herself. How she goes from being so sick she can barely stand, to riding on the back of Arthur's moped, and traveling by train as they try to escape their unhappy lives.
I was disturbed by the sexuality in the book. Arthur and Lucille are unsure of themselves enough to move into sexual relations at a snail's pace, until they finally hook up and Arthur to some degree forces himself on Lucille. He wants to engage in a sexual act, she says no, and he does what he wants to do anyway. This isn't addressed in any meaningful way.
It is also disturbing that the one seriously evil character in the book is a dandy trying to make it in the theater. (There is actually one other villain. The pharmacist who briefly employs Arnold as his delivery boy. He is only in a few panels, but his evil guy forehead is big enough to take over a whole page, maybe even the world.) I know masculinity in Europe is not constructed in the same way as in the U.S., but I still find it worrisome to have the proverbial "effeminate" male villain.
In fact, Adolpho and Clarissa, the brother and sister team, are in some reviews referred to as "predators", and they both have a queer aesthetic (Adolpho the theatrical, citified dandy; Clarissa, pixie-ish, with a short, alternative hair style -- she is also incestuously obsessed with her brother just to complete the cartoonish evil-ness). And that makes me deeply uncomfortable. In a book that is so focused on masculinity, it's hard not to pick up on the the differences between Arthur and Adolpho. Arthur is, as I said, represented as a "salt-of-the-earth" kind of guy. He likes to wear his work clothes. He doesn't like to dress up. He's humble and hard-working. Adolpho is always dressed impeccably, never a hair out of place. He's very urbane and pretty and sophisticated in his plans to manipulate and overtake his prey. It is so sudden and operatic, Adolpho's violent attempt to rape Lucille, and Arthur's downfall. He rescues his dear Lucille, but then proceeds to beat Adolpho savagely, perhaps to death.
As Lucille and Ludovic travel, I wonder, how does Lucille stay alive (she is not eating)? How are her bones not breaking? Is her attitude toward herself and the world significantly changing? Is there any true shifting in her perspective, self-image and self-awareness? Does getting space from her mother give her an opportunity to step out of her self-imposed-prison?
By the end of the book, when she is sitting with Arnold in the ICU (after he's tried to take his own life), I get more of a sense that this is a coming-of-age story, and that Lucille's life is changing.
What will happen next? I don't know. And I'm not sure I'm interested enough to find out. There is a lot of brilliant, nuanced storytelling in here, but it's uneven at best, and some of the attitudes and tropes are ones I've seen enough of and don't feel the need to pursue.
July 11, 2021
It took me a second to get into this one, it has a very slow start but then develops into a really tender story that I ended up loving.
May 31, 2023
Read the English translation. Even for a graphic novel, this book is sparse and the sparseness works. The story follows two broken teenagers desperately trying to figure out together how to feel (be) alive. The author treats the feelings and experiences of his young protagonists with dignity and respect, which can be hard to find in books written by adults about young people.
August 23, 2011
ARC provided by netGalley
Lucille is a young, awkward teenage girl in high school who is not quite sure of herself. She just wants to be normal like everyone else and her one childhood doll. But alas, Lucille thinks she's ugly and is slowly dying from anorexia. She wants to become so thin she doesn't even exist anymore. And into the picture enters Arthur (also known as Vladimir), whose plagued by OCD, convinces others to worship Satan, and whose father is a drunk fisherman who ends up killing himself after losing his job. And the two fall for each other. They run away together in the hopes of finding love and happiness...until they reach Italy and discover that life doesn't always come up happy.
"Lucille" is a powerful story of love, life, hope, and everything in between. Debeurme creates two characters that are well developed and that you might have trouble relating to if you knew them in real life. And yet...as you read deeper into the book you find that you can relate to them. The insecurity, the loss of hope, and being lost in a world that is often confusing. It's an amazingly written story of self discovery and finding some hope in the amidst of chaos. And at the same time...it's also very familiar tale of two star crossed lovers on a journey that only ends in tears. And it's when the story gets here that it starts to suffer a bit. It's an all too familiar tale that while told decently offers nothing unique and is far to reminiscent of "Romeo and Juliet" in some ways. I know it sounds trite, but I wish that he had taken it down a slightly different path, continuing to explore the characters issues with anorexia and OCD, their journey of discovering themselves. They didn't have to be happy, but the last ¼ of the book just felt a bit too familiar.
The artwork is simple line drawings, no depth to the characters, and often no background (sometimes the characters seem to float on air.) It's very similar in style to Chester Brown. And while at first these simple drawings maybe off putting (especially to those used to more robust images in graphic novels even in Chester Brown's work) it grows on you slowly. It fits the tone of the story quite well and by the end helps the tale along.
Overall its a good book bordering on great. The characters are well written and unique and even though the ending is somewhat familiar, we're left with something at the end that is a bit unique and makes the story well worth the read.
Lucille is a young, awkward teenage girl in high school who is not quite sure of herself. She just wants to be normal like everyone else and her one childhood doll. But alas, Lucille thinks she's ugly and is slowly dying from anorexia. She wants to become so thin she doesn't even exist anymore. And into the picture enters Arthur (also known as Vladimir), whose plagued by OCD, convinces others to worship Satan, and whose father is a drunk fisherman who ends up killing himself after losing his job. And the two fall for each other. They run away together in the hopes of finding love and happiness...until they reach Italy and discover that life doesn't always come up happy.
"Lucille" is a powerful story of love, life, hope, and everything in between. Debeurme creates two characters that are well developed and that you might have trouble relating to if you knew them in real life. And yet...as you read deeper into the book you find that you can relate to them. The insecurity, the loss of hope, and being lost in a world that is often confusing. It's an amazingly written story of self discovery and finding some hope in the amidst of chaos. And at the same time...it's also very familiar tale of two star crossed lovers on a journey that only ends in tears. And it's when the story gets here that it starts to suffer a bit. It's an all too familiar tale that while told decently offers nothing unique and is far to reminiscent of "Romeo and Juliet" in some ways. I know it sounds trite, but I wish that he had taken it down a slightly different path, continuing to explore the characters issues with anorexia and OCD, their journey of discovering themselves. They didn't have to be happy, but the last ¼ of the book just felt a bit too familiar.
The artwork is simple line drawings, no depth to the characters, and often no background (sometimes the characters seem to float on air.) It's very similar in style to Chester Brown. And while at first these simple drawings maybe off putting (especially to those used to more robust images in graphic novels even in Chester Brown's work) it grows on you slowly. It fits the tone of the story quite well and by the end helps the tale along.
Overall its a good book bordering on great. The characters are well written and unique and even though the ending is somewhat familiar, we're left with something at the end that is a bit unique and makes the story well worth the read.
February 7, 2012
Mixed feelings about this one. I really liked the artwork, and I found portions of the plot captivating. However, I'm not sure how I felt about it as a whole.
Lucille is a teenage girl with anorexia. She is not doing too much to survive (she gains weight in the hospital, then takes it off again as soon as she is unsupervised) until she meets a teenage boy named Arthur. Arthur has his own problems: his relationship with his alcoholic father is very troubled. Arthur resorts to obsessive-compulsive counting to calm himself, and acts out in a myriad of ways. Overall he's not a bad guy, though.
Most of the novel is involved in setting up the moment when Lucille and Arthur first meet, and it is the set-up that is most rewarding and enthralling. After the pair meet and run away from home together, I started to lose interest. It seemed that things happened very quickly and without much context.
Apparently this is volume 1 in a series, so my hope is that the story will be further fleshed out.
Lucille is a teenage girl with anorexia. She is not doing too much to survive (she gains weight in the hospital, then takes it off again as soon as she is unsupervised) until she meets a teenage boy named Arthur. Arthur has his own problems: his relationship with his alcoholic father is very troubled. Arthur resorts to obsessive-compulsive counting to calm himself, and acts out in a myriad of ways. Overall he's not a bad guy, though.
Most of the novel is involved in setting up the moment when Lucille and Arthur first meet, and it is the set-up that is most rewarding and enthralling. After the pair meet and run away from home together, I started to lose interest. It seemed that things happened very quickly and without much context.
Apparently this is volume 1 in a series, so my hope is that the story will be further fleshed out.
July 16, 2011
The English language debut of the lauded French cartoonist Debeurme, Lucille chronicles the parallel lives of troubled teens Lucille and Arthur. Both living with dysfunctional families, the former suffers from anorexia. The latter, a burgeoning schizophrenic, struggles with the legacy of an alcoholic, prideful father. Debeurme's simplistic and elegant art slowly unveils these complex characters, deftly maneuvering them into a meeting. A powerful connection emerges as the duo travel across Europe. The subtle, intelligent, and lyrical Lucille emerges as one of the year's biggest surprises and best books.
June 16, 2016
Beautifully rendered but problematic in some of its plot points. It's easy to get distracted and carried away by Debeurme's engaging storytelling style, but that doesn't change the fact that he glosses over certain issues integral to the story, and implicitly condones some questionable behavior. Going into detail would spoil the plot, though, and I don't feel particularly compelled to explain it anyway. Instead I recommend reading this review if you don't mind plot spoilers and are interested in finding out some of the problems with the story.
February 18, 2016
I didn't read this book when it was first released, but I have done so now in anticipation of Debeurme's new work, Renee. This is a solid story, and the art reminds me (at times) of Jules Feiffer, especially in those moments where the illustration is more iconic and the characters are represented in full form and with minimal context.
February 5, 2017
500+ pages, but a very quick read nonetheless. Admirable story, sparse artwork. Not perfect, but a good few hours of engagement and I imagine a decent (if limited) representation of what it's like to live with anorexia.
There's a part 2, and I may read it, but I haven't decided yet. Hm...
There's a part 2, and I may read it, but I haven't decided yet. Hm...
October 6, 2012
I personaggi sono linee che delimitano il bianco del foglio, mai vista prima tanta delicatezza, grazia e sofferenza per descrivere l'adolescenza. Una grande graphic novel.
May 9, 2015
A very touching portrayal of an adolescent's problems with dysfunctional families, and of self-discovery. I especially loved the dream interpretations.
May 12, 2012
I picked up this book recently because many of the reviews I read compared it to "Blankets". While I didn't adore "Blankets", it had a certain appeal to me that I still haven't been able to put my finger on. I thought that maybe this book would have that same appeal. Unfortunately, I felt that it had all of the negative aspects of "Blankets" and none of the positives. I know I shouldn't compare it to another work, but even on its own I found it lacking.
The graphic novel follows Lucille who is a troubled anorexic teen with few friends. She struggles with her relationship with her mother and often feels alone in the world. Her only confidante is an older woman in the geriatric unit of the hospital. At first, it seems that she is just your average conflicted adolescent. However, it becomes clear that she is suffering from numerous issues that are rooted in her unhappiness for herself. The second main character in the graphic novel is Arthur who is also a troubled youth. We first meet him when he is trying to convince one of his peers to sell his soul to Satan in exchange for a date with a girl and good grades. It is soon revealed to the reader that Arthur is dysfunctional because of his father's alcoholism and rage. Though Arthur loves his father, he is pained by his father's violent actions. Of course Arthur and Lucille meet and they are able to find in each other the love and acceptance that no one has shown them. That is until they journey out on their own and realize that the grown-up world may be even less forgiving than their adolescent world.
While I think the story was interesting, I feel like plots centered around misunderstood teenagers is a bit hackneyed. We have all seen it before in graphic novels, movies, TV, and literature. While I am always looking for people to put a new pin on it, "Lucille" does not do that. Additionally, I felt like the characters were beyond depressing. I love dark stories and crave unhappy characters in my novels. Yet, this went even a bit too far for me! I typically love simplistic graphics when reading a serious novel. Unfortunately, these illustrations seemed to make the story even more drab and depressing. Granted, the final page states that it is the end of part 1; therefore, one can assume that there will be multiple parts to this story. I hope that the future parts are a bit more developed than this installment and that the author turns away from the cliched plot of the poor outcast kids finding each other. Still, if there is a part two...I doubt I will pick it up.
www.iamliteraryaddicted.blogspot.com
The graphic novel follows Lucille who is a troubled anorexic teen with few friends. She struggles with her relationship with her mother and often feels alone in the world. Her only confidante is an older woman in the geriatric unit of the hospital. At first, it seems that she is just your average conflicted adolescent. However, it becomes clear that she is suffering from numerous issues that are rooted in her unhappiness for herself. The second main character in the graphic novel is Arthur who is also a troubled youth. We first meet him when he is trying to convince one of his peers to sell his soul to Satan in exchange for a date with a girl and good grades. It is soon revealed to the reader that Arthur is dysfunctional because of his father's alcoholism and rage. Though Arthur loves his father, he is pained by his father's violent actions. Of course Arthur and Lucille meet and they are able to find in each other the love and acceptance that no one has shown them. That is until they journey out on their own and realize that the grown-up world may be even less forgiving than their adolescent world.
While I think the story was interesting, I feel like plots centered around misunderstood teenagers is a bit hackneyed. We have all seen it before in graphic novels, movies, TV, and literature. While I am always looking for people to put a new pin on it, "Lucille" does not do that. Additionally, I felt like the characters were beyond depressing. I love dark stories and crave unhappy characters in my novels. Yet, this went even a bit too far for me! I typically love simplistic graphics when reading a serious novel. Unfortunately, these illustrations seemed to make the story even more drab and depressing. Granted, the final page states that it is the end of part 1; therefore, one can assume that there will be multiple parts to this story. I hope that the future parts are a bit more developed than this installment and that the author turns away from the cliched plot of the poor outcast kids finding each other. Still, if there is a part two...I doubt I will pick it up.
www.iamliteraryaddicted.blogspot.com
May 3, 2011
Durante quinientas y pico de páginas el autor nos narra la conmovedora historia de Lucille, una chica con anorexia, y cómo va pasando del autorrechazo a la aceptación en parte gracias al autodescubrimiento de si misma que logra a través del amoramor. El dibujo no es muy rico en detalles que digamos pero cumple su función narrativa más que bien. Particularmente agradable es la metamorfosis de Lucille, que pasa de ser un bicho feo a una chica bonita, que supongo será un recurso del autor para mostrarnos cómo cambia su imagen de ella misma. Aunque, por supuesto, mi personaje favorito es Vladimir, su novio, que aparece casi desde el principio pero recién a mitad del libro adopta ese nombre (por espoileras razones que no pienso develar) y poco después la función de "novio".
La historia no es demasiado vueltera y resulta bastante tierna sin recurrir a demasiados golpes bajos. La parejita principal es muy querible y es muy fácil sufrir con ellos, sobre todo cerca del desgarrador y horrible final. ¿Dije final? Perdón, quise decir cerca de ese gigantesco CONTINUARÁ con el que cierra el libro. La verdad que no me esperaba que cerrara así un tomote tan abarcativo, pero se ve que el autor decidió que la grilla de tres viñetas (si se puede llamar así los dibujos secuenciales desperdigados por la página) le quedaba tan cómoda que en ningún momento quiso meter un cachito más de historia por página. Sin duda si un día sale la continuación lo leeré con mucho gusto, pero espero que ahí sí cierre la historia de una buena vez, que uno no gana para disgustos.
La historia no es demasiado vueltera y resulta bastante tierna sin recurrir a demasiados golpes bajos. La parejita principal es muy querible y es muy fácil sufrir con ellos, sobre todo cerca del desgarrador y horrible final. ¿Dije final? Perdón, quise decir cerca de ese gigantesco CONTINUARÁ con el que cierra el libro. La verdad que no me esperaba que cerrara así un tomote tan abarcativo, pero se ve que el autor decidió que la grilla de tres viñetas (si se puede llamar así los dibujos secuenciales desperdigados por la página) le quedaba tan cómoda que en ningún momento quiso meter un cachito más de historia por página. Sin duda si un día sale la continuación lo leeré con mucho gusto, pero espero que ahí sí cierre la historia de una buena vez, que uno no gana para disgustos.
January 29, 2022
This was... surely a book. I like the fluid storytelling style, the way the unsaid and the images was so often used to convey emotion and messages. The lack of borders, together with the insect people illustration, gives the book a poignant sense of dream-like magical surrealism. The book treated themes like mental illness and generational trauma in a very delicate way, too.
As for other things... connecting with the characters was hard, even with 500 and something pages. The pace was also slow, though I'm not sure that is a fault in itself, since it helped contribute to the overall feeling of the book. The villanization of effeminate, queer coded characters was... yikes. Same for the lack of consent that was never properly addressed, and treated almost as ok in the sex scene.
In the end, I think this an "ok" book. Enough elements I like for me not to say I hate it, but I don't exactly like it that much, either.
2.5 stars.
As for other things... connecting with the characters was hard, even with 500 and something pages. The pace was also slow, though I'm not sure that is a fault in itself, since it helped contribute to the overall feeling of the book. The villanization of effeminate, queer coded characters was... yikes. Same for the lack of consent that was never properly addressed, and treated almost as ok in the sex scene.
In the end, I think this an "ok" book. Enough elements I like for me not to say I hate it, but I don't exactly like it that much, either.
2.5 stars.
November 3, 2013
A $30 softcover book with beginner doodles. Not professional cartooning, not fine art, not even great doodles...BEGINNER DOODLES...the kind someone makes when they first decide to start drawing. And you don't even get many of them! They're strewn casually here and there across way, way, way too many pages. A trained artist or professional illustrator, teamed up with a worth-a-damn editor and letterer would have told this same exact story, word for word, in 1/3 of the space. (We're talking about trees being killed needlessly, people).
What's it about? Primarily teen angst and teen drama disguised as adult problems.
I can't say I hated it, but I can't recommend it.
What's it about? Primarily teen angst and teen drama disguised as adult problems.
I can't say I hated it, but I can't recommend it.
July 21, 2016
interesting, very interesting. very French.
am very mad that it's one of two, and only the first is translated to English. I WILL NEVER LEARN WHAT HAPPENS (unless i become fluent in French and track it down -- more likely that i will just never know.)
Fuck.
am very mad that it's one of two, and only the first is translated to English. I WILL NEVER LEARN WHAT HAPPENS (unless i become fluent in French and track it down -- more likely that i will just never know.)
Fuck.
February 4, 2017
Stunningly beautiful and practically impossible to put down.
September 23, 2015
Interesting book
September 29, 2025
È una graphic novel intensa, disturbante, e a tratti spiazzante. Mi ha lasciata perplessa, non tanto per la qualità del racconto, quanto per la sensazione di disagio che mi ha accompagnata durante la lettura. La storia segue due giovani, Lucille e Vladimir, entrambi segnati da un passato difficile e da un presente che non offre appigli. Lei lotta con un disturbo alimentare e un senso di inadeguatezza che la isola dal mondo, lui è figlio di un padre problematico e vive una rabbia che non riesce a contenere. Si incontrano, si riconoscono nel dolore dell’altro, provano a stare insieme, ma la loro relazione è tutt’altro che salvifica. È un continuo rincorrersi tra fragilità, dipendenze emotive e scelte sbagliate.
Il tratto di Debeurme è essenziale, quasi scarno, e questo amplifica il senso di vuoto che permea tutta la narrazione. Non ci sono colori, non ci sono fronzoli: solo bianco, nero e tanto spazio bianco che sembra urlare il silenzio dei protagonisti. Mi è piaciuta la parte iniziale, dove si delineano le due anime in difficoltà, ma andando avanti ho faticato a trovare empatia, soprattutto per Vladimir. Proprio non mi è piaciuto.
Spoiler: quando Lucille dice chiaramente di no al rapporto e lui lo fa comunque, ho provato un senso di rabbia e frustrazione. E lei che non lo lascia, che resta lì, mi ha fatto sentire impotente come lettrice. È una scena che cambia il tono della storia, che mette in discussione tutto quello che si era costruito fino a quel momento.
Non so se ci siano parti biografiche, ma il dolore che traspare è talmente autentico da far pensare che almeno qualcosa venga da esperienze vissute o osservate da vicino. È una lettura che non lascia indifferenti, ma non so se la consiglierei a cuor leggero. Sicuramente non è una storia che consola, ma una che mette a nudo le crepe dell’animo umano.
Già prenotato il seguito per scoprire se Lucille riuscirà a trovare un po’ di pace.
Il tratto di Debeurme è essenziale, quasi scarno, e questo amplifica il senso di vuoto che permea tutta la narrazione. Non ci sono colori, non ci sono fronzoli: solo bianco, nero e tanto spazio bianco che sembra urlare il silenzio dei protagonisti. Mi è piaciuta la parte iniziale, dove si delineano le due anime in difficoltà, ma andando avanti ho faticato a trovare empatia, soprattutto per Vladimir. Proprio non mi è piaciuto.
Spoiler: quando Lucille dice chiaramente di no al rapporto e lui lo fa comunque, ho provato un senso di rabbia e frustrazione. E lei che non lo lascia, che resta lì, mi ha fatto sentire impotente come lettrice. È una scena che cambia il tono della storia, che mette in discussione tutto quello che si era costruito fino a quel momento.
Non so se ci siano parti biografiche, ma il dolore che traspare è talmente autentico da far pensare che almeno qualcosa venga da esperienze vissute o osservate da vicino. È una lettura che non lascia indifferenti, ma non so se la consiglierei a cuor leggero. Sicuramente non è una storia che consola, ma una che mette a nudo le crepe dell’animo umano.
Già prenotato il seguito per scoprire se Lucille riuscirà a trovare un po’ di pace.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2023
En voyant le nom de l'auteur, j'ai voulu emprunter cette BD (je connais Ludovic Debeurme car j'ai lu sa BD "La cendre et l'écume"), malgré le fait qu'en l'ayant ouverte, je n'aimais pas beaucoup le graphisme. Et, j'ai bien fait ! Encore une fois, l'habit ne fait pas le moine et, pour moi, le fond est plus important que la forme.
Ici, l'auteur nous conte l'histoire d'abord séparée de deux âmes solitaires, celle de Lucille et celle de Vladimir. Elle, est confrontée à l'anorexie ; lui, à l'alcoolisme et aux violences physiques/verbales de son père. Elle a une relation compliquée avec sa mère, lui avec son père (mais ce n'est pas non plus au beau fixe avec sa mère ni avec son frère…). Les parents de Vladimir ont une relation très conflictuelle. Bref, pas grand chose ne va. Le père de Vladimir se suicide. À l'hôpital, Vladimir rencontre alors Lucille qui y est hospitalisée car elle ne s'alimente plus du tout. Dès lors, une belle histoire de complicité va naître entre ces deux adolescents qui s'accordent une confiance réciproque et un soutien émotionnel.
Une très belle histoire de vie où l'on voit une grande évolution chez les personnages.
En arrivant à la dernière page, j'ai compris qu'il s'agissait "uniquement" la 1ère partie, alors je vais m'empresser d'aller emprunter la suite ! (Disponible puisque "Lucille" est sorti en 2006…)
Ici, l'auteur nous conte l'histoire d'abord séparée de deux âmes solitaires, celle de Lucille et celle de Vladimir. Elle, est confrontée à l'anorexie ; lui, à l'alcoolisme et aux violences physiques/verbales de son père. Elle a une relation compliquée avec sa mère, lui avec son père (mais ce n'est pas non plus au beau fixe avec sa mère ni avec son frère…). Les parents de Vladimir ont une relation très conflictuelle. Bref, pas grand chose ne va. Le père de Vladimir se suicide. À l'hôpital, Vladimir rencontre alors Lucille qui y est hospitalisée car elle ne s'alimente plus du tout. Dès lors, une belle histoire de complicité va naître entre ces deux adolescents qui s'accordent une confiance réciproque et un soutien émotionnel.
Une très belle histoire de vie où l'on voit une grande évolution chez les personnages.
En arrivant à la dernière page, j'ai compris qu'il s'agissait "uniquement" la 1ère partie, alors je vais m'empresser d'aller emprunter la suite ! (Disponible puisque "Lucille" est sorti en 2006…)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2025
After finishing White Oleander, I figured I’d give this another shot since I’d already made it through the first twenty pages or so. Honestly, based on the cover, I expected Lucille by Ludovic Debeurme to be just another graphic novel heavy on sex and shock value. But it’s really not that at all. It was very dark.
Lucille is a French teenager struggling with anorexia, living a quiet and withdrawn life with her mother. Arthur (Vladimir), on the other hand, is dealing with OCD, a drinking problem in his family, and what looks like mild depression. Their worlds collide in a way I didn’t see coming. The story is gritty and honest, digging into the messy lives of two teenagers desperate for something different at home.
I appreciated how real and layered the characters felt even if I disliked most of them. No one’s simple here, and that kept me interested. At the same time, I had a hard time with how predatory Arthur came across at points. It honestly made me uncomfortable, especially when he would pressure Lucille during intimate scenes. I wanted to root for him, but those moments pulled me out of the story. The visuals are strong and the story has depth, but I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the next volume.
Lucille is a French teenager struggling with anorexia, living a quiet and withdrawn life with her mother. Arthur (Vladimir), on the other hand, is dealing with OCD, a drinking problem in his family, and what looks like mild depression. Their worlds collide in a way I didn’t see coming. The story is gritty and honest, digging into the messy lives of two teenagers desperate for something different at home.
I appreciated how real and layered the characters felt even if I disliked most of them. No one’s simple here, and that kept me interested. At the same time, I had a hard time with how predatory Arthur came across at points. It honestly made me uncomfortable, especially when he would pressure Lucille during intimate scenes. I wanted to root for him, but those moments pulled me out of the story. The visuals are strong and the story has depth, but I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the next volume.
July 2, 2019
uma história de violência e falta de confiança.
entre os protagonistas adolescentes e suas famílias há faltas de comunicação, de afeto, de futuro e humanidade. as dores e sofrências parecem muito removidas. cada um deles duvida da realidade dos outros e acaba uma pessoa miseravelmente solitária.
uma narrativa sem motivos e repleta de consequências implacáveis. curiosamente retratada em traços leves e páginas quase brancas, sem requadro. vemos cenários e personagens como se tivéssemos catarata e quase não fosse possível separar uma coisa da outra. pouco sangue, muito movimento e muito osso aparecendo através do corpo sem muita carne. anoréxico em vários sentidos.
um quadrinho impressionante e depressivo. particularmente europeu, apela para um contexto pobre e ignorante da população. acho que nunca vou ler a continuação.
entre os protagonistas adolescentes e suas famílias há faltas de comunicação, de afeto, de futuro e humanidade. as dores e sofrências parecem muito removidas. cada um deles duvida da realidade dos outros e acaba uma pessoa miseravelmente solitária.
uma narrativa sem motivos e repleta de consequências implacáveis. curiosamente retratada em traços leves e páginas quase brancas, sem requadro. vemos cenários e personagens como se tivéssemos catarata e quase não fosse possível separar uma coisa da outra. pouco sangue, muito movimento e muito osso aparecendo através do corpo sem muita carne. anoréxico em vários sentidos.
um quadrinho impressionante e depressivo. particularmente europeu, apela para um contexto pobre e ignorante da população. acho que nunca vou ler a continuação.
December 8, 2024
These two intertwined tragedies are quite interesting and worth exploring on their own, but I am not that sure about mixing them in just one volume. One is a real-life tragedy, smelling like vomit; the other is rather a Greek myth of destiny where the tragedy passes across generations. The first is too real, the second too fictional. Mixing the two makes the first story somehow unrealistic, and the second one ends up breaking the rules of classic myths, particularly when it speeds up towards its own end.
That unnecessary mix result is an expensive, ginormous volume of over 500 pages, with some threads that go nowhere and a naïf style of drawing that feels like a waste of paper. I am glad of having read it, but even happier to borrow it from the library.
That unnecessary mix result is an expensive, ginormous volume of over 500 pages, with some threads that go nowhere and a naïf style of drawing that feels like a waste of paper. I am glad of having read it, but even happier to borrow it from the library.
March 13, 2019
Poor narration mixed with weak illustrations. When drawing is not your thing the story can save your book, clearly this book is not a good example. Way smarter authors out there like jason (hey wait) or chaboute (alone). Lucky i got it from the library and i didnt buy it. Dont waste your time like me. Im not a hater, i just didnt like it at all, as an author you need to aim a bit further i believe.
August 13, 2020
Lucille is a French coming of age graphic novel about an anorexic girl and a suicidal boy who find love for each other in their uniqueness. The first part of the book is depressing in it's description of how these young people became so seriously troubled. This is followed by an uplifting middle as they find meaningful companionship despite their problems. Illustrated with black and white line drawings that are expressive despite their simplicity.
August 10, 2018
O forte do Debeurme é o controle que ele tem da historia, ele cria links, faz umas associações sensacionais entre desenhos-aquele da mãe de lucille deitada na cama com uma moneca,como se fosse um preludio do futuro cabível a lucille ao tomar aquela atitude- enfim Graphic novel sensacional, a espera do lançamento de renée.
September 17, 2024
questa prima parte è stata terribile, e non terribile perché non mi sia piaciuta, ma perché ci sono tante cose che fanno male e che leggi mentre ti ripeti 'no dai' nella testa perché sei così tu lucille che fa quasi paura. in me nasce comunque spontaneo il timore per la seconda parte che può solo distruggere ancora di più qualcosa che non è assolutamente già intatto.
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