6 Heart Review: Exquisite Corpse by Pénélope Bagieu

Exquisite Corpse
Pénélope Bagieu, translated by Alexis Siegel

Page Count: 124
Release Date: May 5th 2015 (Hardcover)
Publisher: First Second Books (MacMillan)
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, First Second!)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

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!

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Review

Dying to be an author...

Graphic novels are always a pleasure to read, considering how rare a format they are in adult literature. Bagieu's debut is short and sweet, its cartoony, colorful illustrations being the biggest standout—everything is fashionable, yet minimalistic... think Lancôme ads (but more corrupt).

Zoe is a self-proclaimed non-intellectual, working various part-time jobs to make ends meet and totally reveling in, and simultaneously jaded with the bachelorette life. When she unintentionally stumbles into the apartment of Thomas Rocher, her unschooled lifestyle provides her no way of knowing he's the most critically acclaimed author of the 21st century. And that he "died" years ago, but is more successful dead than alive with all his "posthumous" work's publication. What a marvelous, quirky, almost fantastical plot we have to work with; I applaud Bagieu on the originality and that touch of just-crazy-enough-to-be-cute.

Disappointingly, the execution isn't as sharp. The book was very easy to get through due to its short length and simplistic structure, but I didn't find any of the writing compelling or absorbing. I'm positive (or positively hoping) that there was some tone and humor lost in translation with this book. The style was indeed unexquisite, rather blunt than beautiful—I just wasn't impressed. It was also full of run-on sentences that just tilted everything slightly off, but that's pretty typical of most French translated literature.

Zoe's entanglement in the deceit that Rocher and his ex-wife are committing is comical in a literary sense, but it's nothing that stood out as witty or clever. There's a huge plot twist at the end that I won't give away, but again, this wasn't anything that shocked me or drew me in. The book is only novella-length at 124 pages, but it's much, much less if you don't count the illustrations; I suppose undeveloped characters and a flat plot-line just come with the territory.

I feel I'd recommend this book solely on the basis of its wonderful and unique drawings, which Bagieu also did herself. The full-color pictures may convince you to pick this one up, but be prepared for a pretty underwhelming short story that isn't as exciting as the synopsis makes it out to be.

Pros

A very quick read; both short in length and in text since the graphics take up a lot of the pages // Easy to navigate; pleasant, simple, yet completely eye-catching illustrations // Quirky fairy-tale ending

Cons

A pretty passing read... not particularly memorable or noteworthy about it // The plot is too straightforward, without much emotional or suspenseful resonance to it

Verdict

Simple in narrative and easy to read, Exquisite Corpse is a book I enjoyed due to its cartoony and eccentric elements. This is definitely an adult's version of a picture book, with more mature themes of sex and deviousness running through it—at least PG-13 status, despite its frivolous, glitzily colorful drawings. Pénélope Bagieu's debut is among the easier and quicker graphic novels to read, although the short length and limited text space do result in underdeveloped story quality. As far as bande dessinées are concerned, Exquisite Corpse retains that slightly vintage Euro vibe that's classic to the genre, but still makes an offbeat splash in the scene, as it's totally minimalistic, sexy, and debauch—just as the Parisians do best 

6 hearts: Decent for a first read, but I'm not going back; this book is decidedly average (whatever that means!) (x)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: The First Escape by G.P. Taylor

The First Escape (The Dopple Ganger Chronicles #1)
G.P. Taylor

Release Date: September 1st, 2008

Publisher: SaltRiver (Tyndale House Publishers)

Page Count: 279

Source: Complimentary copy provided Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)

At Isambard Dunstan's School for Wayward Children, life is trouble for fourteen-year-old identical twins Sadie and Saskia Dopple and their friend, former thief Erik Morrissey Ganger. But what starts out as a perfectly normal day of food fights, rioting classmates, and (yawn) threats of expulsion goes suddenly and horribly wrong when a mysterious, wealthy woman appears at the school and adopts Saskia... without her sister.

On her own in a mansion full of dark secrets, Saskia stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens her very life. Meanwhile, desperate to find Saskia, Sadie and Erik escape from the orphanage with a gang of enemies in hot pursuit. Faced with perils beyond their imaginations, the trio must decide who to trust—and what to believe—if they are to survive long enough to find each other again.

What Stephanie Thinks: Graphic novels have been viewed with skepticism by literary critics, but I personally think they're amazing vessels for storytelling, especially for the sake of reluctant readers. I, as a kid, loved reading, but I know I was a part of the minority; many kids, especially today with so much 'vital' technology, are disinclined to read because they find it boring or they get restless. Fortunately, The First Escape may help invigorate such book cynics.

Set in a rather gloomy gothic setting, presumably Victorian or Edwardian Britain, The First Escape intertwines each Dopple twin's adventures after being, for the first time, parted from her lifelong fraternal counterpart. As sisters, they pretty much share the same heart, the same brain, so it's terrifying for both of them, to have to be separated. This motivates Sadie to escape the dreadful Isambard Dunstan's School for Wayward Children in order to find Saskia, and Saskia to escape her new home, as much as she is glad to have been adopted. 

The First Escape tells an adventurous and vibrant, yet at the same time, hair-raising and chilling story through beautiful and child-appropriate illustrations. This is definitely a children's novel in both content in style, but I would save it for the more mature readers, because there is some daunting material, stuff that easily-frightened children may freak out over, or find very disturbing. Just because it's a graphic novel, doesn't mean it's a picture book, or just for young kids; I would recommend it for children ages 8 to 12.

Taylor's writing is so-so, nothing spectacular, but his treading plot is full of twists and turns with a heart-pumping, completely satisfying ending, that ensures the reader that the story isn't over quite yet. I hope I do get the opportunity to read the next installment of this titillating series. I absolutely love the structure of the book. It's not just in comic strip form; the pages consist of comic panels, yes, but also straight pages of prose (as you'd see in a regular novel), as well as artistic depictions of words splayed out across pages, in swirls and shapes of all kinds, surrounding illustrations... simply beautiful. I was definitely impressed by the innovative stylistic choices of the combination of pictures and words.

The First Escape is composed of two different exploits and adventures—Sadie's story, and Saskia's—but they parallel (as well as juxtapose) one another nicely, and come together eventually to illuminate this Gothic revival-era children's story. It reads like a folk tale almost, with prevailing morals, and a Christian undertone (note: Tyndale is a Christian publisher and this book does have Christian connotation about belief in a higher power, blah blah, but I wouldn't say it is an overwhelming theme. God is never directly mentioned, so I think it's mostly up to the reader and the way he or she will interpret this message. I personally just considered the 'higher being' to be a potential version of one's own soul, although I knew it was implicating God. To each one's own). I think middle grade readers, especially those who don't like to read in the first place, will be intrigued by Taylor's exciting, eerie, and paranormal story and amazed by the earthy, but still penetrating illustrations that enrich it.

Stephanie Loves: "[Sadie's] heart still pounded, and every breath burned her lungs. But the smile that beamed across her face spoke of the hope within her heart."

Radical Rating: 9 hearts: Loved it! This book has a spot on my favorites shelf. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥