With this project, my main objective was to get out of the traditional children’s book format, which I explored for the past couple of years. Jane, the Fox & Me is a really special book to me. Somewhere, 10-year-old me is most definitely smiling through her caramel-laden teeth. That it is now translated (with great skill by Susan Ouriou and Christelle Morelli) and published in the UK is the cherry on top of this anglophile’s cake. I could not have wished for a better rendition of it. Hélène’s story is a story of humble hardships and quiet salvation, put into multi-layered, soulful images by the wonderful Isabelle Arsenault. It is, above all, a plea for patience, and hope, and courage, for true friendship, when it finally arises, gives meaning to the whole painful and exhilarating journey. It is also a tribute to Jane Eyre, the headstrong, intense, modest, feminist, driven and fragile literary heroine who cradled my adolescence and still brings me comfort to this day, reminding me that coming into one’s own doesn’t have to involve diets or « makeovers ». It is the story of a mother bone-tired, of a daughter filled to the brim with dreams and disillusion, and of friends turned into tormentors. It is the story of a childhood fractured by loneliness and self-hatred and longing for conformity while simultaneously fighting conformity.
Hélène’s story, in many ways, is my story.
I already knew that beautiful offers like this one are not to be missed – and I also knew which story I would tell.
I was intimidated and excited, but I was also uncharacteristically calm. Frédéric Gauthier, editor extraordinaire at Montreal’s La Pastèque publishing house, was asking me if I wanted to write a book. They both agreed to share their side of the story behind this incredibly unusual and uplifitng graphic novel.įirst came the call. Today I am delighted to welcome both Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault, author and illustrator of the wonderful Jane, the Fox & Me, which I reviewed last week.
0 kommentar(er)
