À Travers

by Tom Haugomat

Mars 1956, Mud Bay, Ketchikan, Alaska. Un enfant vient au monde. Fenêtres, lucarnes, écrans, focales : à travers ces ouvertures, une vie défile, toute une vie. Une vie qui traverse le temps et accomplit sa boucle, pour grandir, s'étonner, partir, connaître, s'émerveiller, souffrir, partir encore, aimer, élever un enfant, transmettre, se séparer, revenir. Une vie qui traverse l'espace, se lie peu à peu à l'infiniment petit et à l'infiniment grand, à l'insecte qui remue sous la loupe, à la galaxie déployée dans la lunette astronomique ; à la maison natale au bord de la baie, et au cosmos métaphysique. Une vie d'homme, à la fois simple et grandiose. Avril 2026, Mud Bay, Ketchikan, Alaska. Un verre se brise. Maylis de Kerangal

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Bande Dessinée, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Art, Sequential Art

184 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2018

About the author

Tom Haugomat is an illustrator and animated film director based in Paris, France. His works have been shown in publications like XXI, Le Monde and many others.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Innovative minimalist comics storytelling of Rodney's life in a series of still images, one image per page, essentially tableaux, with no words, only dates and locations, as if they were snapshots of a time and place. Gorgeous five-color artwork, gorgeous NoBrow production. Without dialogue and narrative details to fill in the gaps, can a story this minimal, requiring so much reader input into the story, be affecting? I say yes: Sweet and sad. I call this art comics in that it highlights formal invention. And exquisite style. One can theoretically read it in ten minutes, but the single page images force you to slow down and read it for what the spare images give you about Rodney.

Here's a review that shares some of those images, too:

https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/...

[Ajeje Brazov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quello che ho tra le mai e che ho appena let... ops direi visionato? trattasi di un silent book, cioè un libro dove le parole non ci sono e sono le immagini a creare la storia. Caratterizzato da una stile grafico minimale, ma molto particolare ed introspettivo, il lettore o sarebbe meglio chiamarlo l'osservatore? Comunque, scorrendo le pagine delicatamente illustrate, scopriamo che...

Molti anni fa, era di moda mettere in ridicolo l'idea dell'«amore a prima vista»; ma coloro che pensano, non meno di coloro che sentono profondamente, ne hanno sempre sostenuto l'esistenza. A dire il vero le moderne scoperte, in quel che può essere definito magnetismo etico o magneto estetica, fanno apparire probabile che i più naturali e perciò i più veri ed i più intensi affetti umani sono quelli che sorgono nel cuore quasi per opera di simpatia elettrica, in una parola che i legami psichici più vivi e durevoli sono quelli scaturiti da uno sguardo. (Edgar Allan Poe)

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Real. Going to think about this one for a good long while.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was honestly one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read (?!). It’s a picture book for grownups, we follow Rodney through his life in a series of him looking through windows and screens, growing up, going to school getting married, having a child, getting divorced, losing his parents. The simplicity of the drawings I think increases the emotional impact of the drawings. I was moved to tears several times. Absolutely beautiful.

[Jemppu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply gorgeous!

Beautiful and affecting chronology of a human life, reflected through the history of significant events in space exploration. Interlaid with recognizably grateful, nostalgic nods to pop culture inspired by the theme.

Brilliance in silent, minimalist visual expression with sharp, flat color printed illustrations, laid out in pleasant balance.

Artwork of a book.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What moved me most was how Haugomat used minimalist imagery to convey such a vast theme, moving from the radiance of childhood dreams to the shadow of shattered dreams in adulthood, and ultimately to the rediscovery of beauty in ordinary life. This was particularly true of the moments where the protagonist, after the space accident, gradually finds solace in the subtle details of Earth: the light and shadow of a forest, the ripples on the water, the silhouette of a stranger... These images seem to silently ask: When the distant stars no longer shine for us, can we still see the light beneath our feet?

[Moira Macfarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goosebumps!

Rodney in the one picture, what he looks at in the next. A series of stills. One a year, each year. The only text added is the month, the year, the location. Spanning a lifetime from the womb, December 1955, up to the day he dies, April 2026, you see Rodney's life and his dreaming of what lies beyond earth's atmosphere.

I just had to slow down, there is no other way to read this very intense story of a lifetime, it really got to me.

Voor een inkijkje:
https://www.instagram.com/p/COGOmnALPIH/

[Tantravahi · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEAUTIFUL. Every frame is a mix of green, red, yellow, and black, which gives it a very Edward Hopper-esque New York feel. And it is so loudly silent, the whole book, it mutes everything else that's going on in the background in your life as you read. And as you look.

[Eric]

Love the spare visual storytelling here. Lovely.

[Joachim Stoop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glorious!

For fans of Richard McGuire's Here and Feike Hallers Honderd

[Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’est une histoire silencieuse qui ne se lit pas mais qui se regarde et quelle merveille ! Sans surprise si vous aimez déjà autant que moi le travail de Top Haugomat vous aimerez encore plus le travail graphique de ce livre illustré une nouvelle fois en collaboration avec Maylis de Kerangal au scénario. Chaque page de gauche répond à celle de droite et l’ensemble est vraiment superbe, un vrai coup de cœur pour le livre comme pour l’objet !

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely poignant, but not as existentially astounding as it felt towards the beginning. Still an interesting and very quick read, cool details allowing for a re-read, but does little else besides depress the reader about mortality.

[Jessica Haider · Rating 4 out of 5]

near perfection in its simplicity.

Through a series of vignettes we follow the life of a boy as he grows into adulthood and pursues his dream to be an astronaut. There is no dialog or narration in this graphic novel. the only words are a date and location with each vignette. Powerful in its own way.

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historia contada a través de un esquema sencillo. En la página de la izquierda se presentan estampas de la vida de una persona y en la derecha lo que ven sus ojos. Excelente narración y un dibujo minimalista y colorido que es una delicia para la vista.

[Canavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

✭✭✭✭½

[Chalemaow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une bande dessinée minimaliste qui a l’allure d’un imagier. Original, beau, et avec une narration très forte qui n’est simple qu’en apparence.
Attention, ça vous brisera le coeur.

[Sonic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.

[Lactasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pell de gallina. És fort com una cosa aparentment tan simple pot emocionar així.

[Lotte Eilers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een snelle leeservaring die bewijst dat woorden niet nodig zijn om een aangrijpend verhaal te creëren. Deze graphic novel is door het originele concept en strakke kleurschema een echt kunstwerk in je handen.

[Marianne Kasch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful graphic novel, surprisingly emotional.

[Penélope Albornoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestamente, estoy conmovida.

Dibujos minimalistas con apenas unos cuantos colores nos llevan a conocer la vida de Rodney a través de sus propios ojos (literalmente, vemos lo que él ve a través de ventanas, pantallas, etc.) desde sus comienzos hasta su fin. La simpleza con la que están dibujados, una especie de par de instantáneas por página con apenas fecha y locación, requiere que le lector llene los vacíos con la interpretación propia y hace que el impacto emocional sea más fuerte.

Es dulce y un poco amargo. Me hizo lagrimear.

[A.J. Bauers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great concept. There is no dialogue in this graphic novel, only dates and location names. On each left page in each page spread is Rodney the astronaut at some point in his life. On the right side is the view of whatever Rodney is looking at. It’s beautiful for its minimalism, and it reminds me a lot of the mobile game, Florence.

[Caterina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capolavoro. Uno di quei libri che dicono tanto anche senza parole.

[Ramu Vairavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was strolling along the aisles at the library and had a chance encounter with this book which was on display. I enjoyed it so much I ended up buying a copy!

The only words in the book are places and times, everything else is just pictures. They say a picture speaks a thousand words. Then, a 100 pictures must speak a 100,000 words - and that is indeed what this book did. It took me all of half an hour to "read" it cover to cover, but it gave me the feeling of having finished a full-length novel. One could flip through it in minutes, but the book implores you to slow down, for the slower you read, the more you gain.

The book tells a beautiful story beautifully. Haugomat plays with just a few colours to create simple yet stunning art. The overarching theme for the pictures is looking through things - could be a window, a screen, a crack. They are arranged very nicely, such that each spread is self-contained. For e.g., the picture on one side of a spread might show someone peering into a microscope and the picture on the other side might show what's being studied. This gives us dual perspectives - one capturing the character externally, and another through their eyes. The first creates expectation, and the second fulfils it - a mystery, followed by a reveal. Haugomat's finesse shows in how everything on the left is also distant and muted, while everything on the right is upfront and vibrant. I found this juxtaposing to be brilliant.

And there‘s more poetry among the pages. The coda at the end was especially bittersweet. The main character returns to his childhood home and finds solace in studying and preserving the same insects that fascinated him in his youth; he comes full circle. The end of the protagonist’s life is implied by a shattered magnifying glass. What comes right after delivers a heartbreak: full page depictions of how the world goes on as if nothing happened. House standing window ajar, birds perched lines sagging, red sky soaring plane. Perfect tableaux. Words couldn’t have expressed it better.

Finally, this book is also a nostalgic ode to space. All space lovers will have lots to appreciate in it - the moon landing, Columbia and Challenger, Ursa Minor, 2001, HST, and more. Historical events are accurately interlaced with the story adding gravitas to it.

[Marc Bosch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom Haugomat propone un recorrido a través de los hechos cotidianos y excepcionales que conforman la vida de nuestro protagonista. Sea este un astronauta de la NASA, un padre querido o cada uno de nosotros mismos.

La escena en cada página tiene una doble perspectiva que combina la mirada del lector y la del protagonista. El trazo simple y esquemático de las escenas y la paleta básica de cinco colores utilizados (rojo, azul, amarillo, negro y blanco) hacen que funcione la narración sin texto y permite al lector completar mentalmente las palabras, los pensamientos y las emociones por las que transitan los personajes sin distraerse en los detalles accesorios ni perderse en detalles.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hesitate to shelves this under graphic novels, it's more like art. This is a very minimalist and creative way to tell the story of someone's life. The entire book has no narration or words, and each two page spread is a glimpse into a moment in Rodney's life. The art is absolutely beautiful and I am amazed by how much the images convey without saying a single word. I loved that Rodney's story begins as a child, looking at bugs, exploring nature, and it closes with these same images - very poetic. The other thing that really stayed with me was the beauty of nature that Rodney saw on the day of his parents' funeral.

[Dara B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon Through a Life by chance at my local library. In fifteen minutes I was done with it and sat weeping. Because - the beauty, the shortness, the randomness, the life. This.

It won’t be fair to say that I *read* this book because there is no single word of dialogue or description in it. Only pictures with dates and places describing - as the title suggests - the life of a person.

It is minimalist and silent in the best possible sense. Just a few colors, simple but elegant drawings, uniform style. Nothing to distract your attention from the life unfolding before you. Life that is magnificent and ordinary, wonderful and heartbreaking. Unique in some of its experiences but, in a way, just like any other. Passing. Wondrous. Meaningless unless you find meaning in it.

It took me a bit to understand that each set of pages shows the protagonists and what he sees at this moment of his life. So in a way we get to both see the person and look to at the world through his eyes. And isn’t it the best that fiction can do for us.

[Makenzie Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through A Life by Tom Haugomat is a short wordless story about a boyś life from birth to death. It shows his childhood and his growing love for space and how it comes to him working for NASA and getting to go to space. His life is also like everyone elseś with a wife and a child. The art style is gorgeous with bright colors and straight lines. Every panel is a square and the images are small inside the panel. This comic does count as literature because even though there are no words it tells a story and has a setting, plot and multiple characters. I recommend this book because without the words you can still tell exactly what the story is about because the pictures are so detailed and support the story.

[Reggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con un estilo que recuerda a Jon McNaught y un ritmo cadencioso de plano objetivo-plano subjetivo, Haugomat nos cuenta sin palabras una vida. Y nos cuenta también los grandes hitos que marcaron a la sociedad estadounidense de la segunda mitad del siglo XX.

[A Yusuf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning visual book.
I borrowed it from the library but will need to buy a copy for myself.
As someone who read this during a pandemic, it's also not lost on me that the 2020 image was that of a video call. What foresight.