Welcome to my stop on the review tour for Exquisite Corpse by Pénélope Bagieu! Today, I'm going to be sharing my thoughts on the book with you, and there is a giveaway provided by our friends at First Second Books!
Title: Exquisite Corpse
Author: Pénélope Bagieu
Publisher: First Second (Macmillian)
Release Date: May 5, 2015
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.
Zoe doesn't know Balzac from Batman, but she's going to have to wise up fast . . . because Rocher has a terrible secret, and now Zoe is sitting on the literary scandal of the century.
My Review
I'm relatively new to the graphic novel thing, but since we're always needing ideas for new ones to order for the library, I jumped on the opportunity to read and review Pénélope Bagieu's Exquisite Corpse. Unlike the few other graphic novels that I've read, Exquisite Corpse has nothing to do with superheros or fairy tales - it is just a story about a twenty-two year old girl who is trying to figure out what she wants out of life in Paris.
I was surprised by how connected I felt with the main character, Zoe. Though I'm a few years out of the "new adult" area, I keenly remember those awkward years in my early twenties. Exquisite Corpse shows (without telling, mind you) the struggles young people have figuring out how to navigate their newly acquired adulthood. Zoe had a dead-end, crappy job, an asshole of a boyfriend, and absolutely no idea where she was going to go from there. That is, until she happened to make eye contact with a stranger staring out his window at her from a nearby apartment building. The frustration and jealousy that followed in her new relationship with Thomas resonated sharply with me because that is another aspect of "new" adulthood that I remember, and despised, all too well.
The illustrations in Exquisite Corpse are quite lovely. I don't know enough about art to tell you anything about the terminology or anything, but I liked them. There were several individual frames(?) that made me laugh out loud. There is one scene in particular that I had to snap a picture of and send to my co-blogger, Amber, because I'm going to mail her my copy and force her to read it now. It was one that I thought was particularly funny, though she probably thought I was insane emailing her some random graphic novel frame at 10:30pm.
I may not know a lot about graphic novels, but Exquisite Corpse has definitely inspired me to read more because they can also be stories about everyday people. (Don't get me wrong, I love some superheros, too.) That being said, I hope that Pénélope Bagieu has more of her work translated, because I would love to read other books that she has to offer. Even if you're not a fan of contemporary or graphic novels, I urge you to give Exquisite Corpse a chance because it's beautifully drawn, funny, and something that can easily be knocked out in one setting.
Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond
Google Books | IndieBound | Kobo
Blog Tour Schedule
The Book Wars
Tuesday, May 5
Fly to Fiction
Wednesday, May 6
Bumbles & Fairy Tales
Thursday, May 7
Good Books & Good Wine
Friday, May 8
Working for the Mandroid
Monday, May 11
Alice Marvels
Tuesday, May 12
The Book Rat
Wednesday, May 13
Bibliophila, Please
Thursday, May 14
Miss Print
Friday, May 15
The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia
Monday, May 18
Love is Not a Triangle
Tuesday, May 19
Dana Square
Giveaway
As I said before, thanks to our friends at First Second and Macmillan, I have a copy of Exquisite Corpse up for grabs for one lucky winner. All you have to do is fill out the little Rafflecopter form below.
Ends at 12:01am CST on May 28th
a Rafflecopter giveaway
To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received a copy of the novel from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. It has in no way affected the outcome. All expressed opinions are awesome, honest, and courtesy of me.
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You are going to put words in my box?! *squeezes you* Now I shall stalk YOUR blog!