Originally written for Graphic Librarian bookstagram:
If you are not a musician but have always wondered how somebody became a musician, this is a graphic novel for you. Why ? Because Claire Fauvel, author and illustrator of La nuit est mon royaume, perfectly describes THE moment, THE emotion, that happens in every musician's life—the moment when a musician hears a song or an artist, and they know, deep inside their heart and soul, that they want to make music.
It’s a wonderful moment when everything stops, all is in balance, you hear a sound like a bottle just popped, and a MASSIVE beam of energy pulsates straight through you. And nothing is the same again. Just a second ago, you were a different person. Now, you speak a different language—music.
To me, it happened when I heard Jack Black singing and playing guitar in the movie School of Rock. Thank you, Jack <3
To our main character Nawel, it happened when she met Alice (a new girl in school), took her speakers and heard Paul McCartney singing « Jenny Wren ». The two girls became best friends, and in their shared love for Paul, it was only natural to create a band, a duo called « Nuit Noire ». Nawel is playing a synth and singing, and Alice is playing an electric guitar.
They move to Paris and start having gigs, meeting people, and living that cool artist life. But not everything goes as planned. Between her traditional Algerian parents, who don’t understand her music dream, and meeting a fellow musician, Isak Olsen, at the festival of young talents, Nawel enters a difficult period of her life that will, in the end, bring her great wisdom.
Not only is the storytelling PERFECT, so is the artwork—colourful and dark; simple and complex—successfully expressing the emotions and actions of a musician. I was completely immersed and was thinking about my friend Paul, with whom I played in a band in Paris, once...
MUST READ