A Bubble

by Geneviève Castrée

The artist and musician Geneviève Castrée’s last work—an expression of love, meant to last longer than words

Drawn near the end of her life, surrounded by the nature and calm of Anacortes, Washington, Geneviève Castrée drew one final gift for her two-year-old daughter, the stunning board book A Bubble. Leaving behind a last note for a young child is an incomprehensible task; Castrée responds with grace and subtlety. Using precise, exquisite drawings of herself and her daughter, Castrée depicts changes in their daily routines as a greater story unfolds. Mother and daughter float from page to page, encased in a bubble that protects them from the outside world. A contemplation of love and loss, A Bubble is a lasting declaration, a final memory, a comfort for others experiencing grief, and a beautiful archive of one of the world’s most talented cartoonist’s final artistic achievements.

Known for her hauntingly beautiful music (under the names Ô PAON and Woelv), engrossingly detailed album illustrations, and delicate, subtle comics, Castrée’s previous graphic novel, Susceptible, shows her rare ability to handle difficult personal material with intimacy and honesty. A Bubble acts as an extension of her life story and the final chapter of a beautifully full existence. Castrée passed away in 2016 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Comics, Death, Graphic Novels, Grief

16 pages, Board Book

First published June 5, 2018

About the author

Geneviève Castrée was born in Québec in 1981. She started inventing and drawing characters at the age of two. She did not learn it in school. At the end of High School, she took her diploma and disappeared. Impatient and lazy, Geneviève did not study "art". She made books and had exhibitions in countries such as Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan.

Castrée added music and performance to her work from time to time. She made records and played concerts under the names Ô PAON and Woelv.

Geneviève Castrée lived in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States with her husband, musician Phil Elverum. In 2015, she gave birth to a daughter, Agathe, and was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer just a few months later. She died in 2016.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geneviève Castrée died from cancer a couple years ago at 35. She left this board book for her daughter, 2, and it isn't quite finished. It was her last work, and of course heartbreaking to read for all those reasons. It's a sweet love letter about the love bubble they were in together, and sweetly drawn, and something her daughter and family and all in similar situations can read again and again. I don't think of it now as a kid book, primarily, but as a board book for adults, mainly, a way to leave "last words" to your kid, as horrific as this sounds on some level. Unthinkable that she should die at such an earlier age, and so loving her kid, her little daughter, of course. But it happens, it happened, and she wrote this as one of the last things she had strength to do.

About five years ago, in 2013, when it was released from Drawn & Quarterly, I read her short book about growing up, Susceptible, and was impressed especially by the lovely drawing, contrasting the awful experiences she had growing up. I just read I am Not Okay with This by Charles Forsman and it reminds me of that. Some people are tough, and can handle hard things easier. Some are "susceptible" to damage. Yet Castrée kept creating, as illustrator and musician. Having finally read this, I want to read every thing she wrote and produced, a few short things.

I read a lot of books about grief, some of them for kids. But in reading this I was reminded of Anders Nilsen's Don't Go Where I can't Follow, by Anders Nilsen, which he in part constructed for his girlfriend as she was dying from cancer. Very intimate, not written for us to see, it's none of our business, but finally a privilege to see, something from which we can gain insight.

A link to Pampelmoussi, some music she did accompanied by drawings, which I am considering buying, but you get to hear some of the haunting music here:

https://www.discogs.com/composition/f...

[Mir]

How do you rate an unfinished book that a mother was making for her baby as she waited for death? You can't. Such a shame.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful little children's book with fantastic artwork about a mother who lives in a bubble.

Great artwork by Castree with some finishing touching by Anders Nilsen.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author was working on this children's board book about a sick mother's relationship with her daughter when she passed away from pancreatic cancer. I think it will be very valuable to people who find themselves in similar circumstances but may be too much for those who want to live in their own bubble where children need not think of such things.

[Ruby Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing short book. The theme of death, especially of somebody especially close to you, such as a mother can be really difficult for children to explore. However, Castrée uses soft edges of a bubble to make readers feel as though they are welcome to engage in the emotion presented between her dying self and her child; a safe environment. It is then made evident by the bubble popping that her mother is lost, her round-edged soft world broken. However, the message remains that people live on in our thoughts and memories.

[Amy Carter]

What a heartbreaking but incredible short story. I thought the idea of her ill mother being surrounded or perhaps trapped by a bubble was very clever and the short sentences made the message of the book come across clearly and effectively. This is a great book to discuss themes of death and grief to younger children and to show that people will always live on in our memories.

[Alex Rudolph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Put off reading this, bought it a week ago, it was perfect, I can't bear to have it on my shelf

[Liz Yerby · Rating 5 out of 5]

<3

[Armen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful and deeply personal book.

[Annelise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I picked this up to inflate my end of year Goodreads stats and here I am crying. This is a gorgeous little book.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her last work, cartoonist Castrèe, knowing that she is dying of cancer, says goodbye to her young daughter. Beginning with a kiss, with mother and child sheltered by a security blanket, and ending with the pair holding hands and walking off to find ice cream, we see the effort to bring comfort to her child and to herself. Her illness keeps her in a bubble, sometimes busy with her work, and sometimes burdened with tears or tubes for breathing; but words of love, in English and French, remind her child that Maman will always be there for her. The art is eccentric and personal and finely drawn, with loving detail, showing that life is beautiful before death, and after it. Adults will see a loving farewell by a mother to her child; I think children will see love and family.

[Nick Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Beauty, dignity and love in the face of death.

[Gustavus Cliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Along with Robert Munsch's famous Love You Forever - this is a book that no parent should ever read unless they're prepared to cry. While Munsch's book is rooted in the pain of still birth, A Bubble. expresses the pain of dying slowly and unexpectedly young, leaving your beloved child behind. It's a triple kick to have the story appear to have a happy ending, then to read on the last page that the artist passed away, and before she even finished the book.

Certainly, a book I may never again sign out of the library.

[Frances Coe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a horrifically sad story. Written pre-covid times but could be relatable. There is instantly a sense of warmth, love and compassion for Maman, living in her bubble and her daughter. Written from the child's perspective there are sweet moments with accompanying pictures of the two of them having breakfast together, drawing in the bubble, or having a precious nap. But these are accompanied by really awkward, uncomfortable moments of reading too. The page where Maman can't go and play with her daughter and the dad - there is a discreet tear in her eye, but its overshadowed by how scary the dad looks. Clearly unintentional, but the style of the illustrations makes him look dishevelled and creepy. Then the ending, where the bubble bursts and they get to go for ice cream providing some hope to the story... However from reading the inside back cover the bubble bursting is not the story if hope at all. Not an enjoyable read for me

[Kate Atherton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just when I thought I could not love Genevieve Castree more and, just when I had come to peace with her not being able to create more work, I saw that there was a final project of hers going to be released. This book is simple, sweet and beautiful. Perfectly painted and brilliantly told so that, really the complexities of a mother dying and leaving her daughter are boiled down into the basic elements ; unwanted separation, togetherness when possible during an illness, and the inevitability of loss, represented by the bubble popping. I was, on a personal level, extremely touched by the portrayal of Castree with an oxygen mask on as, my dear aunt who I was very close to who died several years together had LAM and always wore an oxygen chord like this.

[Ville Verkkapuro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously, this is a very short book. A kid’s book one might say, but with all the context it is not.
Geneviève didn’t get to finish the book and it is heartbreaking, one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard.
I’ve written about her and about Phil. I hope all the best for them. I will read this book to my daughter one day (if I’m blessed with one) and tell their story.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/12 books of Christmas ❄️🎄

Deeply moving, an incredible last letter to the authors small daughter. Picked up tonight to read with Isobel, ignorant of the ending, and burst into tears at the comic book store we found this in.

[Ellie L · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most difficult books to finish. A Bubble is a beautiful gift from a mother who knows that she will soon have to leave her child. Written during tragic circumstances, Castrée's work is filled with an urgency to love and cherish.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adorable love letter to a child from a parent who won't be there to see them grow up. It's both cute because of the light tone, but heartbreaking because you, the reader, know the ending won't be a happy one.

[Rachel Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

:'((((((((((( <3

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

She didn't get to finish.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, but so sad to think about how it came about.

[kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

sweet, sad

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

when you turn the page and there is nothing.... still feel that

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking & beautiful.

[BrookesEducationLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a deeply personal book, a love letter of goodbye from a mother to her child.

[Sebastian Song · Rating 4 out of 5]

What remains after death? Castree's hauntingly beautiful gift to her daughter is a true testimony of the will of a mother and her immense talent as an artist.

[Neha Thakkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about a relative that lives in a bubble (is terminally ill). It is very sad and touching. Would be great for a child working through this with a relative.

[Louis-Nicolas Dolbec · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Alyssa Haverfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute and heartwarming, albeit sad. Wonderful illustrations and note at the end.