Portugal

by Cyril Pedrosa

Overview

From the author of the acclaimed Equinoxes comes a return to roots that serves as spiritual renewal. Comics artist Simon Muchat is stuck. Suffering writer’s block, uninspired, vegetating as a school art teacher, he is losing direction and his taste for life, until one day he is invited to appear at a comics convention in Portugal, the country his family came from and which he hadn’t seen since his childhood. Even though he is a foreigner there, so many elements of the country are familiar to him. Meeting its lively citizens and recounting early memoreis brought by back his distant yet welcoming family all prove reinvigorating—the breath of fresh air he so badly needed. Based on his own experience, Pedrosa narrates this return to his roots in a deeply compelling and warmly human way. This bestselling graphic novel has sold more than 100,000 copies in France and a has won many prizes, including Best Graphic Novel at the Angouleme Festival and FNAC Best GN.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681121475
Publisher:	N B M Publishing Company
Publication date:	12/01/2017
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 12.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Cyril Pedrosa has worked on Disney animated feature films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules before meeting writer David Chauvel, who inspired him to turn to comics. His work is a product of his animation background combined with his literary influences of Borges, Marquez, and Tolkien.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/01/2018
A note for all blocked artists: when in doubt, uncover your roots in a foreign country. That’s the magic formula followed by Simon Muchat, the cartoonist beset by midlife ennui in this tour de force from Pedrosa (Equinoxes). A bestseller in his native France, Pedrosa’s semiautobiographical graphic novel unpacks a layered story of memory and identity, following Simon’s creative reawakening through the discovery of his family’s past. Things start accidentally for Simon: in a career slump, he attends a comics convention in Portugal. The country of his parents’ origins, only vaguely remembered from childhood visits, reignites his curiosity and drive. Back home, he discovers shards of family history at a raucous wedding party, enticing him to return to Portugal and extract more lore from distant cousins. The emotionally affecting journey hinges on the unique local characters, who immediately call Simon one of their own. Pedrosa’s loose, expansive writing style is perfectly complemented by his lush, lightly lined drawings, in which people and their stories overlap each other with discursive enthusiasm. Everybody has a lot to say in this graphic novel whose gorgeous art is as full as its story. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

STARRED REVIEW “A tour de force! Pedrosa’s loose, expansive writing style is perfectly complemented by his lush, lightly lined drawings, in which people and their stories overlap each other with discursive enthusiasm. Everybody has a lot to say in this graphic novel whose gorgeous art is as full as its story.” —Publishers Weekly


"Pedrosa's book works as a piece of art, so beautiful are the contents." —The Beat 


"Pedrosa keeps the book moving briskly thanks to his facility with dialogue, skill with visual pacing and genuine affection for his characters." —High-Low Comics 


"Thoughtful and well executed. The color work is exceptional." —Booklist


"A fine example of how graphic fiction can indeed be literature." —ICv2


"Ambitious and beautifully drawn. Worthy of recognition for comics as literature." —Foreword


"Quite simply put, Equinoxes may just be one of the most important books you read this year. It is that damn good." —Broken Frontier 


"With this graphic novel, the master cartoonist lays it all bare. Like an overstimulated genius infant still fresh and new. " —Comics Grinder 

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2018
Cartoonist Simon Muchat is drifting through his 30s, stuck in a rut. His work has stalled, owing to a lack of inspiration; his relationship with longtime girlfriend Claire is falling apart; and he's wasting his time working as an art teacher to make ends meet. Worst of all, Simon doesn't seem to mind that he's going nowhere. An invitation to attend a comic book convention in Lisbon, Portugal, where he lived briefly as a child, stirs something in Simon, encouraging him to visit his somewhat estranged extended family. A summary of the plot here doesn't quite do the book justice, as it isn't what happens to Simon that makes this semiautobiographical tale from award winner Pedrosa (Equinoxes) special. It's the way Pedrosa allows Simon's story to build slowly, creating scenes in which characters speak and interact with a naturalism rare in any genre, resulting in absolutely brilliant, lively illustration that threatens to leap off the page. VERDICT Expectations for this volume, already a best seller in France, will be high. Luckily, this masterpiece is actually even better than the hype.—TB

Library Journal

03/01/2018
French cartoonist Simon is depressed. He's muddling his way through writer's block by teaching art to children. Faced with the prospect of buying a house with his girlfriend, he can't commit, and they break up. When wine and family secrets flow at a cousin's wedding, Simon's relatives relate tales of his grandfather Abel's arrival in France from Portugal. He came with his brother, but only Abel stayed. Why did Simon's great-uncle return? Why did Abel remain? To answer these questions, Simon travels to Portugal to connect with distant relatives. As he pieces together the story of his family, he reignites his artistic passion and starts to create, ostensibly, this very book. Pedrosa's dynamic illustrations deftly convey Simon's emotional state. A drab stillness underscores his stagnant depression. When he arrives in Portugal, the artwork becomes effervescent, swinging and glowing with the music of the city. The drawings are architectural and sketchy, like a glimpse into a cartoonist's sketchbook. In dynamic, busy city scenes, characters and backgrounds overlap. Readers won't be surprised to discover that, as the back matter notes, Pedrosa began his career in animation. Much of the Portuguese text remains untranslated, and readers will empathize with Simon's bewilderment. Younger teens may grow impatient with the slow pace, but the dreamy drawings and hopeful narrative of family and creativity will resonate with many. VERDICT For Europhile teen readers with an artistic streak.—Anna Murphy, Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn

School Library Journal