Friday, June 27, 2014

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoët

I had to get this book. It was released back in February and had been on my Indigo wishlist since. I finally got a copy. This is the bizarre story of a bunch of little people and their attempt at dealing with the loss of their home which apparently resided in the body of a young human girl that is now decaying in the wilderness. I don't want to give too much away. This story is really fascinating. The author told CBR that the story takes a look at "the human psyche and the darkness that hides behind the routine politeness and meaningless kindness of civilized society." I have to agree with that statement. A lot of the story is shocking and grotesque while disguising itself as a beautiful children's fairy tale.
The disturbing part about this book is how it makes you laugh when you should be horrified. I was reading it in bed when I started giggling at the impalement of one of the characters. When I shared the scene with my boyfriend he thought I was a little well, disturbed. I believe that's because he didn't know the context of the scene but...

Just to clear this up Kerascoët is a collaborate pen name of artists Marie Pommepuy and Sébastien Cosset. I think that's a neat idea for artists who generally work together. That aside, I really enjoyed this book. It's so beautiful while being so haunting. I went through the largest range of emotions and I really cared about Aurora, who I began to believe was the good parts of the fallen girls' psyche. I'm not sure if the little people are all different parts of the girls mind or what it all means but it's certainly an accurate depiction of how people react in disasters, although largely simplified. The majority of the little people appear to have limited intelligence. Anyway, I'm already giving too much away. This is one of the best stories I've read this year. I love it.


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