And swoon I did. A beautiful book from a major new talent A Taste of Chlorine (Jonathan Cape) by Bastien Vives follows a young man under orders from his chiropractor to take up swimming for the benefit of his back. He goes through the motions like a surly teenager until one week he meets a girl who offers him advice on improving his technique. As our young hero becomes more proficient at swimming he grows more confident. He is clearly smitten with his unofficial tutor though we are unsure of her feelings towards him and this is where the drama grows within the story.
Given that the book is really just a gentle observational piece which almost solely takes place at the swimming pool, it's thoroughly engaging and but for an ending which may be a touch too open ended, utterly flawless. The artwork is stunning; fluid, delicate, evocative and utterly immersing (so to speak).
There's not too much to be found about Mr. Vives but he has a blog (see here) and it's worth looking at a 24 hour speechless comic story submission he made last year (see here).
No comments:
Post a Comment
Don't worry! Your comments will appear soon