Review by Booklist Review
This compelling Belgian import tells the tale of a young man who is both the center of his social circle and its absent member. From the night Robbie disappointingly doesn't show for the party held by Gary for their former classmates to the denouement, when he takes Gary aloft in the nightclub where he works and then leaps, the reader's suspicions about how real Robbie is or isn't wax and wane. Evens threads his dialogue through full-page watercolor scenes and tiny, frameless panels: throbbing bodies, candlelit suppers, a hair salon. This isn't clear-line work but watery and softly bounded color, richly layered and finely detailed in spite of the impressionistic shapes of faces, side streets, and subway cars. The emotions, connections (both made and missed), and worries of these twentysomethings are resonant across cultures, and the stylish presentation offers something very different from more typically drawn and lettered European comics.--Goldsmith, Francisca Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
In his first English-language graphic novel, Belgian artist and musician Evens presents readers with a lushly illustrated, heartbreaking portrait of two twentysomethings living in a nameless city. Everyone who crosses paths with mysterious, free-spirited Robbie instantly falls in love; women want to capture his heart, while men go to barber shops with his photo requesting the same haircut. Robbie's childhood friend Gary has his life together, but it isn't much fun: he's luckless in love and people only come to his parties if they think Robbie will make an appearance. When the two men meet for drinks, Gary's fear of letting go and seizing the day becomes painfully obvious. Evens uses color to tell the part of the story the words don't capture-Robbie is a vivid blue, Gary is a drab gray, and the eccentric characters they meet as they roam the dreamlike bars, streets, and apartments of the city fall somewhere in between. Verdict With beautiful, frame-worthy art and astute commentary on the listlessness of youth, this graphic novel won't be easy to tuck back onto the shelf. Highly recommended for adult collections.-Ingrid Bohnenkamp, Portland P.L., ME (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
