23 Oct / Invisible Differences: A Story of Asperger’s, Adulting, and Living a Life in Full Color by Julie Dachez, illustrated by Mademoiselle Caroline, translated by Edward Gauvin [in Shelf Awareness]
In her enormously affecting comics debut, Invisible Differences, French activist Julie Dachez introduces her autobiographical stand-in, 27-year-old Marguerite. Marguerite’s daily life is most comfortable when she abides by her familiar rituals: wear soft clothes, depart for work at 7:30 a.m., grab her daily spelt roll at the same bakery en route. Any interruptions – casual conversations, too much noise, social engagements – can cause anxiety, exhaustion, immediate withdrawal. Her colleagues, her cousin, her lover seem incapable of comprehending her boundaries. Her need for “some answers” to her uncontrollable reactions eventually leads to information about Asperger’s syndrome; the recognition is instant. Cautious new hope sends her on a long journey toward diagnosis, awareness, and lifesaving acceptance.
With Marguerite as guide, Dachez, with a Ph.D. in social psychology, appends almost 20 pages about “What Is Autism,” offering history, explanations, recommendations, and resources. She finds an ideal visual partner in Mademoiselle Caroline, who initially appears on the pages as a bookseller, in whose shop Marguerite discovers a haven for information and friendship. Dachez deems Caroline the “perfect artist … able to turn [her] script into images with such fidelity and finesse.” Caroline’s brilliant use of color relies on mostly black-and-white to capture Marguerite’s routine-reliant calm, then casting various hues to enhance reactions – agitating reds, familiar blue, and discomforting yellows. As Marguerite’s self-awareness develops, so, too, does Caroline’s palette, aptly adding vibrancy in parallel with Marguerite’s growth. Beyond author and illustrator, the opening credits page is notably crowded with additional collaborators, including prodigious translator Edward Gauvin and a sensitivity read by Ashanti Fortson.
Discover: French activist Julie Dachez’s U.S. comics debut details her lifesaving Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis and its enlightening aftermath.
Review: “Graphic Books,” Shelf Awareness, October 20, 2020
Readers: Adult
Published: 2016 (France), 2020 (United States)