28 Jan / The Parakeet by Espé, translated by Hannah Chute [in Booklist]
*STARRED REVIEW
Penn State University Press, already a publisher of award-winning graphic titles, launches a new imprint, Graphic Mundi, showcasing comics intent on “drawing our worlds together.” Among its inaugural line-up is French comics artist Espé’s spectacular, autobiographically inspired homage to a childhood haunted by mental illness.
At 8, Bastien already knows his mother has been in so many “psych homes” that he “wonder[s] if she’s earning points on a rewards card or something.” With Mama often institutionalized, Bastien lives with his father, next door to his maternal grandparents, with whom he also regularly stays. Despite all attempts to protect him, Bastien has seen too much: his mother’s horrific removal in “the shirt with belts,” her violent hallucinations, her unreachable disconnection. But he also remembers her warm devotion, their delightful outdoor adventures, her lucid moments of such love. His imagination, his friends, his father’s unbending determination will save, at least, the boy’s life.
Originally published in France in 2017 and affectingly translated into English by Hannah Chute, Espé’s artful volume presents his memories in vibrant chapters, saturated mostly in single colors with shades of oranges and reds reserved mostly for his mother’s illness. Despite the terror of a child witnessing the failure of his mother’s mental healthcare, Espé brilliantly succeeds in creating a tender, gorgeous tribute. The genesis of the title, revealed in the final chapter, proves heartbreakingly bittersweet.
Review: “Graphic Novels,” Booklist, January 1 & 15, 2021
Readers: Adult
Published: 2017 (France), 2021 (United States)