Romance

by Blexbolex

Au commencement de l'histoire, il y a l'école, la maison, et le chemin qui les relie. Chaque soir un enfant, le lecteur, parcourt ce chemin et observe ce qui l'entoure. L'accumulation de ces observations, au fil des jours, rend le chemin plus long et plus compliqué, car de menus incidents, d'étranges rencontres, s'y produisent. Progressivement, les personnages croisés deviennent des protagonistes. Ainsi, l'inconnu croisé au début devient le héros qui devra affronter le monde de la sorcière pour sauver la reine...

Car, petit à petit, l'enfant se fait rêveur et poursuit son trajet sur des pistes imaginaires.

Cet « imagier des histoires » en sept séquences se construit, page après page, comme une suite arithmétique : la séquence initiale comporte trois images et pour les six séquences suivantes on place une nouvelle image dans chaque interstice. Le principe de répétition fixe la concentration, et chaque nouvelle image peut faire basculer le récit. Très vite la petite histoire devient gigantesque, mais quoi qu'il advienne, on finit à la fin par retrouver la maison... Avec ce nouvel et dernier imagier Blexbolex interroge à la fois sur le fond et la forme : comment repousser les limites d'un système, l'imagier, et qu'est-ce qu'un récit ? Il nous offre pour y répondre une oeuvre unique, merveilleusement illustrée et géniale d'intelligence et de simplicité.

Genres: Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Childrens, Fiction, Art

284 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Blexbolex is a French comics artist and illustrator. Born Bernard Granger in Douai, he studied screen printing (sérigraphie) at the School of Fine Arts (L’école européenne supérieure de l'image) in Angoulême. His first works were self-published, and later he contributed to Popo Color, Fusée, and Ferraille. His highly stylized, ligne claire illustration, inspired by the films of Jacques Tati and whodunits of the 1950s and 1960s, gradually gained an audience. In Germany, he directed an art studio at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee (School of Art and Design Berlin-Weissensee) and he also worked regularly with a number of editors, including Thierry Magnier, Pipifax, United Dead Artists, Les Requins-Marteaux, and Cornélius. Blexbolex has contributed to the American publication The Ganzfeld.

In 2009, he received a prize for “Best Book Design of the World” for his L'Imagier des gens (2008) at the Book Fair of Leipzig.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this because it's on the NY Times' Best Illustrated Books List. Blexbolex's illustrations are amazing, of course. Many words like assault, plea, hex, and ascent seem too difficult for very young readers. Don't assume because of the length and illustrations that this is a primary book. This is a sophisticated book meant for older readers.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely beautiful piece of work but an awkward book to categorize or generalize. This has been nominated in the graphic novel category for the Cybils but mostly as it fits there better than anywhere else. It's not going to appeal to the average graphic novel enthusiast though. I'd describe this as a long picture book, illustrated artistically, with as much, if not more (?) appeal to the older reader than a young child. Text and illustration go hand in hand here with the illustration being the prime mode of storytelling and the text mostly short two words in a stylized cursive font. This is a piece of art. The story is whimsical. The kind of tale children make-up in their heads as they play (or used to before internet), of bandits and dragons and queens, kidnappings, witches, spells and heroes. A joyous fairy tale! And again to show how hand-in-hand the text and illustration are the text mimics the art; when the world goes upside down so do the words, when the crowds and people get jumbled up so do the words and when the scenes are hidden in the dark the words are missing too. This is a very unique experience and will not appeal to those interested in a normal reading experience but if you enjoy something unusual, avant-garde even don't hesitate to read this little treasure.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite. Its post-modern narrative won't be for everyone but I have not read anything like it. Ever. And I love it for that alone. Its play on traditional story tropes is so clever and its presentation and play with narrative quite remarkable.

[Lucas Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puro juego, pura celebración del color y la palabra. María estuvo enamorada de Romance desde la primera vez que lo vio y finalmente este año pudo traerlo a casa. Lo abrí sin saber que entraba en una cascada, en un laberinto, en un carrusel. Porque este libro es fresco y bullicioso, y es caótico y ordenado, y es juego y música. Sobre todo, lo último. Sobre todo, juego y música. Lleva la repetición a la hipérbole del estilo y el diálogo entre palabra e ilustración es un canto a muchas voces. Disfruté mucho mirando, llenando la historia, siguiendo al desconocido y al duende preso y a la bruja y al dragón y a la princesa y al pueblo entero. Para terminar de sumarle atributos, la impresión es un vértigo. Romance es uno de los libros más bonitos que hay en casa.

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ballad is a beautiful oddball of a book that I found highly enjoyable and engaging. While listed as a children's book I found genuine appeal in it as an adult.

Firstly it is a beautifully presented book, a small, thick hardback. It's an enjoyable and comfortable book to hold in your hands. This may seem an unnecessary observation in a book review but it is an inviting book to pick up and hold which contributes to its overall appeal.

The narrative is a mysterious unfolding of events, a brief fairytale that opens up into an interactive adventure that compels the imagination and invites engagement. There is an elegance to the simplicity of the story which is really something far more complex that has been pared-down by the overall presentation of the book and its use of image and text together. There is a subtlety here which is not often encountered.

The visual elements of the book are beautiful and attractive with the illustration and typography ultimately motivating the narrative a great deal as it continues to unfold. The illustrations are simple and clear and are rendered dynamic through their sequential use and their pairing with text. The presentation of text itself is an aesthetic element through the typographic choice of an elegant cursive. The use of these visual elements stimulate and encourage the development of a high degree of visual literacy.

This is a thoughtful and captivating book. Every aspect appears to have been scrutinised and carefully crafted to compliment the overall appeal of the finished product. Everything works in concert. The narrative, the illustrations, the text individually only work through the support of the others and all come together to define the book in its final form.

This book has the strange merit of being compelling across a diverse age range. It would be an engaging and imaginative book to read with a child but could equally be enjoyed alone by an adult.

[Phoebe Ledster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fantastically unique book. It’s unlike any other that I have read and the way it pulls the reader in to actually be part of the story is incredible. It was so fun to read and the way it builds up is really well done. You can tell how much hard work has gone into the illustrations and making sure that it works just right...! Definitely would recommend reading this book- it’s mischievous, fun and I think children would love to read and create with this story.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the trippiest little book I've seen in a long while, but I enjoyed the uniqueness of the reading experience.

Don't be fooled-- though this was cataloged as a picture book and shelved in the children's section at my library, this is most definitely NOT a children's book. Neither the narrative nor the typography nor the language nor the illustrations are friendly to children. In fact, I'd say that in terms of putting this story together, readers will require exceptional visual literacy skills. (Those of at least a humanities-educated or otherwise acutely-intellectual adult.)

What I like most is that the book provides the picture book experience for sophisticated adult readers. The rhythmic language and illustrations were appealing to me in the safe and comforting way of a picture book, but at a higher level.

If you come across a million books each day like I do, this one really offers something different. Adult readers might wish to curl up on a rainy afternoon with a cup of tea and this book. Get yourself a cup of tea and relish this one for a good hour on the couch.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming, intriguing book that feels vintage to both the hands and the eyes. My first reaction is that this is a (print) book lover's book, and while it is definitely that, it could also be a jumping off point for wonderful interpretations of what's going on in the story. I imagine a series of discussions and speculations between an adult and a child in the context of bedtime reading. I can also see a lively class discussion after students fill in the blank words mad-libs style in fifth or sixth grade. The art is amusing and gives plenty if ideas about what lies " between the lines." That being said, I'm not sure most elementary students would know quite what to make of it. I'm going to order it for my library anyway!

[نسيبة العزيبي · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multilayered and quite sophisticated.. adults will enjoy reading it too and the illustrations are a treat for the eye.

[Catupecita · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Es una historia tan antigua tan antigua como la vida: vuelve a empezar cada día."

[sena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mükemmel çizimler

[Noah Sterba · Rating 5 out of 5]

This came into the bookstore & put me under its spell for 10 minutes. hands down the greatest adventure ever taken & told.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small, unique treasure. Childish story-building in the way a preschooler will ramble on freely tossing in story elements, mixed with a kind of children's picture book format - a picture and a caption, a picture and a caption etc - with a kind of gentle yet not soft-filtered grown up experimentalism. There's a school, a home, streets, cars, a stranger, bandits, an omen...read it again and again. Or rather, let the strangely flat yet layered art draw you/into it's romance.

[Bloom · Rating 3 out of 5]

És molt inspirador i suggerent pel que fa a possibles activitats per fer, pro se m'ha fet un xic feixuc a nivell narratiu

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as this book confused me at first, the more I read, the more I appreciated the genius behind it. What we have here is a fairy-tale style story told in a way that we are not used to. It starts with a simple walk home, but each day there are more and more parts to the journey that eventually create this tale of witches, magic, danger and even some romance.

The way we see the words on the page changes as the witch casts her spells; upside down, jumbled and at points, words are completely missing. It feels like it shouldn’t work but it does and really effectively too. The illustrations are a similar style to pointillism paintings and to me it gives the book the feel of a story passed through time, like tapestries that depict historical stories and events that we often see in museums. Very clever indeed. Now I’ve finished it I just want to know who the child was that went on this walk home everyday.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blexbolex has created a trilogy of extraordinary children's books -- really palimpsests for an interaction with your child -- a guided choose your own adventure. Ballad is the scariest -- based on fairy tales and full of calamity and danger. Don't read it to an anxious child. But do read it with your (healthy) child, getting him/her to take part and create your story together. The graphics are beautiful and the experience will help develop your child's creativity (and yours). Wonderful.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating little book. Does require some effort/input/imagination on the part of the reader/viewer. It's need the way it builds from chapter to chapter. This is one to spend time with and talk about. I'm sure I still have much to discover.

One of the New York Times Best Illustrated Books of 2013.
First published in France in 2013 as Romance by Albin Michel Jeunesse. Translated by Claudia Z. Bedrick for Enchanted Lion Books.

I *love* Enchanted Lion Books!

[Christiane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very odd. I liked it and then I didn't. Then I did. It is a very different sort of book. Though it looks a little like a picture book (and we have it as a reader, which it is not!) it will appeal more to older readers who can read the small, cursive text, and follow the sometimes quite confusing illustrations.

[Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read aloud with my eldest. I read the chapter pages and helped her read the rest. She finds cursive easier to read than print so this worked well and the repetition was good too. Great for early graphic novel readers.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if this is an acid trip freak-out memory or a kids book? Either way it was pretty amazing. What does it all mean, Basil?

[Maria Victoria Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not only for children. Please if you can look at it. Its gorgeus and was an inspiring experience.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.pussreboots.pair.com/blog/...

[Lina Ma GH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hermoso

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting little book with few words, but the story grows as the book progresses. Each page has an image and one word, but a story is created out of this format.

[Becky B · Rating 2 out of 5]

A town's peace is disturbed as a stranger wanders through, bandits come in, a curse wreaks havoc, war breaks out, and a kidnapping happens.

Hmm, this was odd. The audience is most definitely not the typical picture book audience. Due to the war, the magical conflicts involving demons, and the amount of background knowledge necessary to interpret the illustrations, I'd say it is middle grade on up. Each chapter starts with one page vaguely outlining what's to come and then 1-2 word pages with simple illustrations. From this, the reader is expected to fill in the gaps and tell the story. It almost feels like the author was too lazy to write out the story and just used really simple outlining notes as the text. I can see it possibly being taken as a bold experiment, but I don't think it works. The color palette is also somewhat garish (florescent orange is combined with milder greens, yellows, and blues). Perhaps the disconnect is a cultural gap since this was originally published in French. Personally, I'd just skip reading this and I won't be recommending it for our school libraries for purchase.

Notes on content: Battles depicted, kidnapping depicted, and magical battle involving demons depicted.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blexbolex seems to be intent on making every one of his books unique, separate from each other textually and aesthetically. This one creates a kind of narrative challenge for the reader, which is why I really don't think it is ideal as a children's book. Some of the language is challenging for even older kids, but the real challenge is the innovative approach to the story:

It builds page by page, over seven sequences. The initial sequence consists of three images: beginning, middle and end of a journey. The following six sequences take up this same story, but with new details and extra images added each time. The story just builds and builds as the number of new images doubles with each sequence.

Is it a ballad? I guess. I only thought of the title just now. But it's definitely fantasy, with individual pages depicting places and key objects and characters. An inventive approach to story-making, with beautiful artwork on every page, the images propelling the narrative forward, with increasing suspense.

[Ruth Govaerts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit boek is visueel enorm aantrekkelijk. De illustraties zijn meesterlijk. Blexbolex studeerde zeefdruk en is een krak in zijn vak. Ik vind het heerlijk hoe je kan zien waar de kleurvlakken elkaar overlappen. De kleuren van de prints zijn prachtig en de textuur van het gekozen papier is perfect. Ik wil de bladzijden lekker aaien, maar ik doe het beter niet voor ik het meesterwerk beschadig!

Ik vind het fijn dat het boek een soort brainstorm-sessie is van allerlei dingen die zouden kunnen gebeuren in een sprookje. Je weet niet wat er exact aan de hand is, maar je kan zelf verbanden leggen. De typografie past helemaal in het geheel. Soms stond hij op zijn kop of sprong alle kanten uit, net zoals de krachtige tekeningen die elkaar een voor een opvolgen.

Aanrader!

[Anni · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you do when you're at work and there is nothing going on?
Right, you grab a book from the shelf and read the whole thing in one sitting.
Not that hard with this book, but... This is probably the coolest fairytale I've ever read.
It doesn't use many words, but tells the whole story all through its picutures, each a story for itself. It's not only fun to read and look at, but you also can put all your own imagination into it.
This was just so much fun and completely different from what I expected!
Hey, still nothing going on... We have more books from Blexbolex... Let me have a look at them!

[Francisca den Otter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit was een zeer bijzonder boek, het begon met een kort verhaaltje en een tekening op de naastgelegen bladzijde. Daarna kwam dat nog een paar keer voor en verder waren er heel veel bladzijden met een woord onder te afbeelding die met die afbeelding te maken had. Ik vond het nogal een vaag verhaal, mysterieus ook want op een aantal bladzijden was het woord wat onder de afbeelding hoorde weggelaten maar stond er wel een komma zodat je kon uitvogelen hoe lang het woord moest zijn wat onder de afbeelding moest staan. Mij was dat niet altijd even duidelijk en ik vond het derhalve maar een vaag en mysterieus verhaal.

[Child960801 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very strange book. The author has experimented with form a lot in this book and it's really interesting to see what he has done and why. The design elements of the pictures are lovely.

This story is told over 7 sections/days. In the first one, there are three pictures, words, pages. In each section after, a new page with a new picture and word is placed between the ones that were there before. So, section one is 'The school', 'the road', 'home.' Section two is 'The school', 'the street', 'the road', 'the forest', 'home.' And so on.