Dimanche

by Jon McNaught

Horizons infinis de maisons préfabriquées dans des quartiers résidentiels aux jardins soigneusement entretenus et aux haies parfaitement taillées; Dimanche nous rappelle ces lieux en apparence si communs.

Pour certains, la ville symbolise leur lieu de naissance ou de résidence, mais pour la plupart d’entre nous, c’est un lieu qui s’est construit pendant des années de dur labeur et de persévérance, pour devenir peu à peu notre lieu de vie: un endroit calme et serein, mais aux origines souvent pénibles.

Pour son premier roman graphique, Jon McNaught nous offre un portrait plein d’indulgence de tout ce que nous faisons (et ne faisons pas) lors un jour de repos, pour nous amuser et passer le temps, en laissant libre cours aux idiosyncrasies de nos voisins et à notre imagination. Ce qui rend ce livre si unique, c’est que tandis que l’on ressent la frustration inhérente de ces moments, on ne peut s’empêcher de se retrouver dans ces portraits. McNaught parvient à capturer la beauté et la tranquillité de ces instants, et nous transporte dans ces fins de journée typiques, parsemées de nuages roses, et au silence si particulier ; silence auquel on ne peut qu’aspirer après avoir passé plusieurs années en ville.

Jon McNaught a reçu un diplôme en illustration de l’université de West England en 2007. Il habite actuellement à Bristol, où il travaille comme graveur et illustrateur freelance. Il dessine aussi des bandes dessinées pour différentes publications. Magnifiquement imprimé selon le procédé unique de couleurs en tons directs Nobrow. 38 pages d’une narration graphique incroyablement sensible et élégante.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Fiction, Art, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 22, 2010

About the author

Jon McNaught was born in 1985. He lives in London where he draws comics, and works as an illustrator, printmaker and lecturer.

​His Clients include; Penguin Books, Faber, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Walker Books, Picador, and the BBC.

He is also a regular cover artist for the London Review of Books.

​He is the Author of Kingdom, Birchfield Close, Pebble Island and Dockwood (Winner of the Angouleme ‘Prix Révélation’ award in 2012).

Reviews

[Aida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jon McNaught is a genius, a magician: he can make you travel in time, and space. Birchfield Close, during a calm, relaxing sunset, is certainly a destination I will strongly recommend. A little, sweet town, I wouldn't mind to visit over and over again...

[Stephan Brusche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small, short and heartwarming visual poem. Just perfect in its wonderful simplicity.

[La petite Marianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad to have discovered Jon McNaught's work! His art style is simple yet elegant -absolutely love the color pallet and paneling and his storytelling both in Birchfield Close and Dockwood is a little melancholic and sweet at the same time.
It reminded me of one of those dull and utterly ordinary days, where you find yourself bored and somehow absentminded, doing nothing. Then for no reason, you start noticing all these small -everyday life- details in the background and this feeling you get is a little overwhelming -how important they suddenly seem and of such extraordinary beauty. A feeling that usually leaves you very calm and content.
Birchfield Close is not so about telling a story -there is no specific story anyway- rather, more about getting this sort of feelings through.
A very short but sweet read, perfect while drinking a nice cup of tea/chocolate!:)

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a beautiful little book. I was immediately drawn to it in a sea of graphic novels at the bookstore. It shows a day passing in an anonymous suburb, done in muted blue and peach, and without speech. Birds chirp, video games bloop, doors slam, a hot hair balloon whooshes, and someone coughs. No one speaks except for tv and radio voices. Tiny silhouetted figures of the suburb move through their day, mowing lawns and sunbathing. The figures are drawn as if the author is studying them from far away through a telescope. There isn't a plot--just a day passing, represented entirely by images and sounds. If you find beauty in the mundane, or in the things we take for granted, I think you will like this book.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Dockwood much better, felt like it came together far better, but this is sweet, thoughtful, contemplative in similar ways... maybe I like the more narrative structure of Dockwood, and this feels even more than that book did (because all his work feels like it, really) like lyric poetry, which may be a matter of taste more than anything else. I love the small book format. Almost wordless, but there are sounds throughout he asks us to pay attention to, in addition to (obviously), all the little things he wants us to see, all the fragile but constant beauty.

[Sarah Mansour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. McNaught takes you on a journey of what you look at but never see...

[Muireann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just lovely.

[Katie Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tiny, piercing, priceless.

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 5 out of 5]

Birchfield Close by Jon McNaught is another wonderful offering from Nobrow Press. It is a quiet work filled with noises, a Mona Lisa on a postage stamp, an epic in sonnet form, and a study in time captured in minutes and seconds. All these contradictions should make it clear how difficult it is to write about a book that’s only about twenty-five pages long, covers a brief period of time at the end of a day, and has no dialogue between characters.

Physically, the book is about the size of a typical paperback, and many of these fairly small pages have such tiny panels that a single page can have as many as twenty-six panels, though the number of pane... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jon McNaught is so good at the quiet passage of time! The muted colors, the repeating patterns, the pocket-size, and how he structures the frames and pages all make for a charming and very atmospheric story. I really loved the four wildlife guides at the end. Best. Loveliest.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the pacing suffers from the small format (unless a darting kind of reading was the intended effect), but other than that, it's peaceful and beautiful.

[K. F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, clean, and beautiful. A very quiet read.

[lucy black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet. I liked the guide to moths.

[Andrew McDonald]

A lovely little graphic story. Two characters take in the sights and sounds of their English suburb from the elevated viewpoint of a rooftop. Gorgeously designed and rendered.

[Sebastien Plante · Rating 3 out of 5]

Les illustrations sont magnifiques et l'objet est très beau, mais l'histoire, très brève, manque un peu de substance pour vraiment m'intéresser.

[Ty Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful little book.

[Alan Fricker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful little thing