Cadavre exquis

by Pénélope Bagieu

Quelle vie! Potiche d'accueil dans les foires et salons, Zoé endure le soir un mec chômeur qui dort en chaussettes. Jusqu'à ce qu'elle croise la route de Thomas, écrivain à succès en manque d'inspiration. Par l'auteur de Ma vie est tout à fait fascinante et de Joséphine, une histoire d'amour et d'ambition... à l'héroïne inoubliable.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Bande Dessinée, Fiction, Adult, Romance, France

124 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 2010

About the author

Pénélope Bagieu, (born 22 January 1982 Paris), is a French illustrator and comic designer. She became known for her comic blog My quite fascinating life.

Penelope Bagieu graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economic and Social studies, she spent a year at ESAT Paris, then at the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris and then at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. Multimedia and entertainment, where she graduated in December 2006.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Claudia Lomelí · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for the plot, but I had to add half a star because I LOVED the artwork <3.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read it for the art... and to satisfy my curiosity from a couple of years back regarding this book.

Zoe isn't exactly the intellectual type, which is why she doesn't recognize world-famous author Thomas Rocher when she stumbles into his apartment...and into his life. It's also why she doesn't know that Rocher is supposed to be dead. Turns out, Rocher faked his death years ago to escape his critics, and has been making a killing releasing his new work as "lost manuscripts," in cahoots with his editor/ex-wife Agathe. Neither of them would have invited a crass party girl like Zoe into their literary conspiracy of two, but now that she's there anyway. . . . Zoe doesn't know Balzac from Batman, but she's going to have to wise up fast... because she's sitting on the literary scandal of the century!

Exquisite Corpse is the epitome of a graphic novel set to feature gorgeous artwork with essentially no depth to the storyline. We have flat, unmotivated characters whose actions are never explored; it's somehow a given that it'll make sense for a complete stranger to let a girl into his apartment to pee simply because she rang his intercom...


Manic Pixie Dream Girl to the max. No person, especially a stranger, talks like that. 


Exquisite Corpse perfectly embodies those clichéd French novels all about Oh, Love *French sigh* that I've been warned about. It checks pretty much every mark from the mistreating old boyfriend to the oh-so-romantic new love interest to the out-of-nowhere mature ex-wives to Lolita-esque relationships (literally have way too many examples of this I'll share below). The warnings weren't for naught. So it became quite humorous when the novel tried to take itself too seriously.



This right here illustrates their imbalanced relationship. They don't view each other as equals, and the writer dude (such a bland character I don't even recall his name) is beyond patronizing.

The adults are having a conversation while sending the little girl off to bed:

 BLEH.

This 22-year-old needs a therapist, not someone twice her age preying on her.

Also: The clear contrast established between her old boyfriend and this writer dude was so forced, and it made all the "good" the writer represented (listening to her, complimenting her, etc.) seem like he was reading from a script or something he read in a magazine. IT'S NOT REAL. The artificial interactions bothered me all too much for a book that's supposed to be contemporary.

The ridiculously blown-out aspects of this book made it so I could never fully sink into the storyline. At one point I thought we were on the brink of a breakthrough when the main character finally realized what a douche the writer was and ran from him, but their relationship shouldn't have happened in the first place so there wasn't a lot of room for positive feelings. But then even that tiny revelation ruined itself at the very end with another lolita-esque relationship. S T O P.



I really wished the main character would've gotten some time alone to realize and reflect on what direction she wants her life to head into, instead of turning from one bad relationship to the other. I just felt sorry for this girl who clearly craves belonging, so she's willing to settle with anybody who can provide even a tiny slice of it. Don't settle, please.

I'll end my review on a more positive note by featuring some of my favorite pieces: 












Note: I’m an Amazon Affiliate. If you’re interested in buying Exquisite Corpse, just click on the image below to go through my link. I’ll make a small commission!


Support creators you love. Buy a Coffee for nat (bookspoils) with Ko-fi.com/bookspoils


This review and more can be found on my blog.

[Fátima Linhares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma história muito boa, com reviravoltas interessantes e que me surpreenderam.

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the most part, I felt the story was a bit too "adorable" and "cute" for its own good... until it took a rather unexpected feminist turn about two thirds into the book, that is. I found myself welcoming this turn on a theoretical level, but in terms of character development I'm afraid it did not make much sense to me. As a result, Exquisite Corpse felt a little clunky and contrived, though it is not without its charms. For a conceptually similar but more organically executed story of female empowerment, check out Lawrence Marvit's Sparks: An Urban Fairytale!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zoe’s life is much less glamorous than she thought it’d be. At 22, she’s a car show model, standing in front of expensive cars and getting her bum pinched by creeps before going back to her studio flat where her unemployed, weed-smoking asshole boyfriend gives her crap. Then one day by chance she catches the eye of Thomas, a wealthy, famous novelist, and the two begin a whirlwind romance. But why does Thomas never leave his fancy apartment?

Romance isn’t my bag but, from what little I’ve read of them, the French do it the best, and Exquisite Corpse is a pretty good romance comic. Though if I didn’t know the author was female, I’d say this was a male fantasy/wish fulfilment story: beautiful 22 year old girl with an hourglass figure falls for skinny and pasty middle-aged nerd? Hmm. Plus Thomas is basically rescuing Zoe from her crap life, sweeping her into his comfortable lifestyle while she lounges about, his muse/sex kitten. She’s a cute character but not exactly a role model for young girls.

Writer/artist Penelope Bagieu has the charming Gallic art style of many French cartoonists: melodramatic facial and body expressions, exaggerated gestures, lots of detail spent on clothes and surroundings, and the women are always drawn either as goddesses or trolls while the men are more or less bland figures. Bagieu uses the art as much as the script to tell her story and there’s a good balance between the two that leads to a quick reading experience because you get into the tale and it’s well presented.

It wasn’t an amazing story but it was fun for the most part – and then it all falls apart in the third act. Zoe’s “arc” turns out to be a pretty dismal one. She goes from independent but unhappy to dependent and happy to be used by someone to dependent and happy to be used by someone else. She learns that theft is right and apparently female sexuality is totally malleable – one minute a woman can be straight, the next they can be gay, they don’t mind!

Even with the ridiculous finale, Exquisite Corpse was enjoyable and though my suspension of disbelief was tested several times, I can’t say I was ever bored. But it is flawed, especially with regards the main character’s personality. It’s well-drawn and quite well written but plotted like a cheap and trashy romance novel that floats off into fantasy-land by the end - Exquisite Corpse is an even stupider version of Pretty Woman if you can believe that! It’s a light comic romp but definitely not a must-read.

[emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

i honestly just SCREAMED at this ending. i'm laughing so hard, this is best queer/feminist surprise i've ever had in my entire life. i thought this was going to be some mediocre love story with an asshole boyfriend glorified to seem like he was great, but NOPE. i don't want to give anything away, but if you want beautiful (really, i loved dreamy art in this) illustrations of paris, a book about books, and a good laugh at the end, pick this up. this made me incredibly happy, such a wonderful surprise--i will definitely be picking up more of Bagieu's graphic novels EDIT: except i can't, because this looks like her only release in English :-(

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Paris - yeah. This book was very surprising. This girl meets a new man who is an author with writers block. She becomes his muse and he begins writing again. She finds out that this author faked his death to sell more books and now writes from the grave. Our Zoe figures this is why he never leaves the apartment. Sounds like prison.

I love the story and the art gets the job done. I don't find it outstanding. I love the twist ending. Yes - so good.

It does make me wonder if Penelope is really the author though. You never know. Enjoy this delightful book..

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

An "Exquisite Corpse" is an old game in which people write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold it over to conceal part of it and pass it on to the next player to do the same. The game ends when someone finishes the story, which is then read aloud. There are also other books written with this title and theme, but this game has, I learned, nothing to do with the plot of this book. It just takes the title and the plot reveals a twist on the game, a plot surprise. Beginning this book, I had not thought to like it much. The initial appearance is of a book for children or YA, as the main character would appear to be a young woman, a girl, who large cartoony eyes like other French heroines: Blanche, from Hubert and Kerascoët's MIss Don't Touch Me. She also resembles Bandette from Tobin and Coover's series of the same name.

But this is not exactly a kid story: Zoe is in in her early twenties, living with an unemployed emotionally abusive jerk for no apparent reason, works as a car convention product sales rep (just to make money, she hates it). In both situations she is treated like dirt as a woman.. until she discovers by accident a man hiding out in his apartment, a rich author named Thomas Rocher. Zoe isn't a reader, doesn't know the guy, but there's a reason he's hiding out, in part involving a plot hatched by him and his ex-wife and editor. To say more would ruin the story, but let's just say this light, flippy tale turns feminist in a surprising (and sort of ridiculous) but totally fun way. It's not a kid book, as it involves "adult" scenes, and it has its problems (that problematic ending I can't reveal), but even that ending made me laugh out loud. I had fun reading it.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What cute, weird little read. I picked this up at my local library as a part of their Blind Date with a Book promotion. The blurb on the wrapping said "A young woman becomes involved with a man with secret." It sounded intriguing so I checked it out. I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I saw that it was a Graphic Novel but I decided to give it a try.

I'm happy I did because this was quick, fun read. I don't read many Graphic Novels but the ones I do read, tend to be great so maybe I should read more in the future.

No recommendation because Graphic Novels aren't my area but if you tend to like the same things I like then give it a try.

[First Second Books]

One of the reasons that I really like this book is that with all the diversity that the comics medium now has, one thing I still think we're seriously lacking in is straight-up women's fiction. If you're a fan of Emily Giffen or THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA or Jennifer Crusie, where are you going to go from there in the world of graphic novels?

There's really not a whole lot for you in the realm of narrative long-form romantic comedy (or even straight-up romance)!

So now: EXQUISITE CORPSE!

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the art of this graphic novel. I felt like the characters could have had a little more development to match the story line, but in general it was an enjoyable story. I liked the twist at the ending and felt like it made the story. This is a quick read set to beautiful art work and is definitely worth checking out.

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

زوئی از هرچیزی که توی زندگیش هست متنفره. از دوست پسرش گرفته تا شغلی که داره. ولی وقتی با توماس روشر که یه نویسنده ست آشنا میشه، به نظرش میاد که این فرد یه فرد ایده آله براش. اما بعدا متوجه میشه که این فرد دو شخصیتیه و قبلا هم ازدواج کرده. هرموقع که کتاب جدیدی هم مینویسه و به خاطرش معروف میشه دوباره، میره قایم میشه و تظاهر میکنه که مرده.
پایان واقعا زیبایی داشت. تصاویر خیلی زیبا و جذاب هستن. نثر کاملا مناسب رمان گرفیکی رو هم داره. سرعت پیشروی داستان هم مناسبه.

[Eilonwy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I've been enjoying Penelope Bagieu's Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World so much, with its entertaining and clever asides and charming artwork, I wanted to see what kind of book she writes with her own storytelling.

And this was ... just a little too weird for me.

20-year-old Zoe works as a "product rep" at trade shows, i.e., as one of the decorative young women who are supposed to make men want the products, and lives with a boyfriend who leaves much to be desired. One day while eating her lunch, she sees a man peeking through the curtains of an apartment, and invites herself in to use the bathroom. And at this point -- when she decides to pee with the door open, in a complete stranger's apartment, and makes sure he knows !!! -- I knew this book and I probably weren't meant for each other. Granted that it's set in Paris. But, um, still.

The man turns out to be Thomas Rocher, a famous and prize-winning author, who Zoe has never heard of because she's a bit of a philistine. (Her table manners are atrocious. And we readers see her first-ever visit to a bookstore over the course of this story.) He is charmed and inspired by her ignorance. They begin hanging out during her lunch breaks, during the evenings, etc. But Thomas never leaves the apartment, and Zoe wants to know why.

The story then takes a pretty big twist. And I don't want to say any more.

This was a clever story, with cute if not particularly memorable artwork. I wish I'd liked the second and third twists better than I did. The second twist is a bit of just deserts, but the third twist left me a little mystified two apparently straight women, who seem to have nothing in common beyond being cast aside by Thomas Rocher, end up with each other? On the one hand, I applaud it, because at least they get a happy ending, and being with each other sure beats being with him. But on the other hand, it just came out of nowhere, which made it feel very unsatisfactory to me.

On the bright side, this probably took all of 30 minutes to read, and was decently entertaining and unexpected. But I can't imagine ever wanting to look at it again.

[Sabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. Didn't expected that twist. The art is also easy and clean.

[Licha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accidently picked up this book looking for another book with the same title. But how could I resist the cute cover on this?

Zoe is unhappy with her life, stuck in a job she hates and in a relationship with a loser who treats her horribly. One day, as she miserably eats her lunch on a bench, she happens to look up and sees a man staring at her from an apartment building. She befriends him and before she knows it she's at his apartment everyday, for once enjoying just being listened to with no expectations. But something is not quite right with Thomas, this new man in her life. I will not give away anything else.

I enjoyed reading this quick little read. I think it took me less than an hour to finish this. The artwork is all cuteness, and it's hard not to fall for Zoe, the main character. The ending was a little delicious unexpected surprise, or maybe that's just me, cause I'm always the one who never sees the ending coming from a mile away.

Another hit for those :01 First Second books.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breezy hijinks, fun to read. Think I finished it in two sittings at most.

The author of this one is just a little older than I am, and I feel like you could psychoanalyze the shit out of what she's saying about gender in this piece. Or, more specifically, about being a woman in today's world.

Basically, there's this chick who's working as a model-of-sorts, who is kinda sick of being objectified, and falls into a relationship with an ::ahem:: reclusive author, with an ::ahem:: complicated relationship with his fame.

It's adult (nudity nudity nudity), and blends a pretty muted jewel-toned color palette over free-spirited, thin-lined drawings.

I liked it, but had to flip through it to remember what it was about, so apparently didn't find it particularly memorable.

[Kelly]

Girl meets Franzen-type author who, along with his ex who also happens to be his editor, fakes his death to keep his literary reputation high. Now on the brink of outting Franzen-man for the phony cheat he is (and oh, of course she becomes his muse!), she has to make a decision: tell everyone what she knows or use her knowledge to get back at him privately.

This is delightful with a perfect twist ending. A lot of reviewers seem to take issue with the fact it wasn't developed thoroughly to get there. That's because this is meant to be subversive and a middle finger to ideas of convention. And I love this book for those very things.

[Joana Gonzalez (Elphaba) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sucintamente, conhecemos Zoe uma rapariga na casa dos 20 insatisfeita com o seu trabalho, com o namorado e com vida em geral. Um dia, num dos muitos momentos tristeza pelo quais está a passar, vê um homem a espreitar pela janela da casa em frente ao banco onde almoça e de uma forma inusitada, pelo menos na minha opinião, toca-lhe à porta e pede-lhe para usar o seu wc, dando assim início a uma amizade que se prevê vir transformar-se em algo mais. Estranho?

Além de Zoe conhecemos então Thomas, um escritor famoso e excêntrico e a sua editora. Com o percorrer das páginas vamos percebendo que algumas coisas não fazem muito sentido e a história vai-se desenvolvendo com alguns acontecimentos que, para mim, foram pouco espontâneos e não ajudaram a narrativa a fluir. Na verdade, eu cheguei ao final e pense “como assim?”.

O que mais gostei neste livro foi a arte. Os desenhos são mesmo muito giros, apelativos, e as cores com diferentes paletas, dependendo do momento da narrativa, encantaram-me.

Dito isto, apesar de esta história não me ter conquistado totalmente, acho que se me cruzar com outros livros da Pénélope Bagieu vou ficar tentada.

[Holly in Bookland · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5 stars ✨

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short though engrossing page-turner that is a little hard to define. My first thought, and I'm comfortable with it, is to compare the tale to the classic Gothic. A woman stumbles upon a strange situation and finds herself the mistress of a reclusive author. She feels that she has become his muse. But secret after secret is let out of the bag until a couple of twists at the end left me surprised and satisfied. I really enjoyed the book and it has a dstinct Frenchness to it, also with the casual attitude towards sexuality and nudity. That, along with the language would give this a mature rating. The art is also appealing; I enjoy the cartoony style to it. The backgrounds are minimalistic yet there is still a lot of detail within each frame. I enjoyed this and look forward to seeing which of the author's books is translated into English next, this being the first.

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pénélope Bagieu ha sido todo un descubrimiento. Después de haberla visto recomendar cómics en Madmoizelle, me decidí a buscar su propia obra y así pude comprobar que es una verdadera artista. La historia, que comienza siendo aparentemente sencilla aunque enternecedora, da un giro tan radical que, de ser un personaje de cómic, se me habría caído la mandíbula al suelo. Esto es, Bagieu controla las claves de la narración. Y a este guión redondo lo acompaña un cuidadísimo uso del color y un más que estudiado control de la expresividad de los personajes.

Da gusto encontrar jóvenes artistas con tanto talento.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thinking that the book would be an exquisite corpse word/poetry game turned graphic novel, I picked this one up while perusing the library's graphic shelves.

The title is actually a play on words relating to the story itself - and it's pretty great! A quick and clever read that left me smiling and laughing the last 10 pages!

ETA 9/9/21 - Read this charming little tale last night amidst reading some of Bagieu's other graphic works. Love her style and quick wit. Even when I knew what was coming from my first read in 2018, I enjoyed re-reading this one again!

[fer · Rating 5 out of 5]

MEU DEUS QUE FINAL MARAVILHOSO!!!!!!! BISEXUAL RIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALMENTE UM POUCO DE REPRESENTATIVIDADE BI!!!!!! AAAAA!!!!!!!!!

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those discoveries that I'm thrilled to have made.

Zoé, a stewardess enduring a difficult period, is burdened with the responsibility of caring for her unemployed and rude boyfriend. By chance, she encounters a successful writer in search of inspiration, sparking the creation of an entire story from this meeting.

The result is a highly entertaining tale with a surprising conclusion.

[Eric Novello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Não sei quantas estrelas dar...

A história é bem simples e linear. Zoé leva uma vida de merda, tem um namorado péssimo, um emprego ruim e é mais do que acomodada. Um dia ela conhece um autor em crise que vive trancado em casa, tem um ego enorme e fala difícil. Como ela o ajuda a voltar a escrever, ele a enche de paparicos. E depois da fase dos paparicos, começam os problemas.

Mas o traço é muito charmoso e dá uma compensada. A Pénélope Bagieu manda muito bem nesse sentido. São pessoinhas de verdade ali. E ela trabalha os silêncios muito bem, com as melhores expressões faciais possíveis.

Então acho que 3 pra história, 4 pro traço, e daria um 3.5 aí. Com bônus de um final que traz um riso extra após uma leitura rápida e gostosa.

[Sara the Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well that was very....ummm....French?

An unlikable, unambitious twenty something falls in love with an apparently agoraphobic world famous novelist but must contend with his super sexy ex wife/editor as they endeavor to encourage him in his quest to publish a comeback trilogy. French wackiness ensues!!!

Everyone in this kind of sucks and the ending wasn't so much super twisty and cool as it was incomprehensible...

[Bren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué divertida historia, realmente me la he pasado genial leyendo esta novela gráfica, tiene un punto de humor negro bastante atrayente y de además con un final que es genial, de verdad que no me lo esperaba.

La protagonista Zoe es una chica que en primera instancia parece tan… poco inteligente, no tiene ambiciones, es infeliz con su trabajo y con su vida en general y de repente conoce a un hombre que parece tener todo lo que a ella podría hacerla feliz, un escritor.

Ahora el escritor es un personaje realmente genial, no en su personalidad si no en su creación, de verdad que me ha encantado.

Como he dicho, lo mejor de esta historia viene en su final, es tan retorcido que me hizo sacar una verdadera carcajada.

Las ilustraciones son tan divertidas como la historia, me han encantado, además es muy cortito se lee, literalmente en una sentada.

[Newly Wardell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a total heist story. This story is so stereotypically flipping French. The illustrations for this one is better than the story. The story is about a sad sack product rep who whores herself for free room and board with an absolute stranger. No joke can't believe a woman wrote this! (But maybe she didn't?) seriously this woman is with this guy for at least 6 months and she steals his work because he an egomaniac. I guess its supposed to be like female empowerment for ppl who hate themselves.

But the illustrations are pure art. Bagieu is so undeniably talented. I really hope she creates more stuff. I can believe a woman drew this. I absolutely adored this vibrant and original style. It is LUX. You know how some ppl are edgy to prove that they can be, yea she doesn't do that. Such a unique and conflicting artists. There are more boobs in this than a Marvel and DC but the art is just on a whole other level.

[Melissa Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Definitely not what I was expecting. I didn't read the synopsis before I started this graphic novel I just liked the artwork ;)

This book is about a 22 year old girl who lives in Paris. She is working as a booth girl at car trade shows and other venues. She hates her life. She wants to be swept off her feet. She is a secret romantic. Her boyfriend is gross and a big fat loser. One day Zoe meets a recluse author. Of course she has no clue who he is....but he takes a liking to her. Eventually Zoe moves in with him. She is living the dream or so she thinks for a few months. Then she finds out the truth.

Loved the illustrations. The ending was awesome. A total perfect pay back ending. It wasn't the best story ever written, but very entertaining.

[Derek Royal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A notable story for the reaction it generates: first amusement, then fascination, then expectation, and finally resignation. By the latter I'm referring to a disappointment I felt on conclusion, as if the narrative didn't fulfill its promises -- or what I read as its promises -- or/and it ended rather neatly. The biggest surprise for me was the quick disposal of the character Thomas. There was something flawed yet sympathetic about him, but his story potential was left hanging. The big draw here is Zoe, and that element of the narrative does satisfy.