Ordinary Victories (Paperback)

~ (Author) "...SO THAT'S WHY I'VE DECIDED TO STOP MY THERAPY..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This graphic novel won top honors at France's Cannes-for-comics, Angoulême, and it's easy to see why. French cartoonist Larcenet has created a leisurely story about Marc, a 20-something photographer, who is embroiled in crisis in both his life and art. His artwork is not satisfying him; his elderly parents and working-class childhood are weighing on him; and his crippling panic attacks have become more frequent. On the other hand, he falls in love and hatches a new photography project aimed at exploring and redeeming his shipyard roots and ailing father. But this is not just another coming-of-age tale. Through his characters, Larcenet presents a vision of French politics, history and society, weaving all of these strands together to create a multilayered book. The dialogue is insightful and sometimes painfully realistic; the artwork firmly roots readers in the French landscape and milieu while maintaining a cartoonish distance with the character designs and expressions. Marc is rarely pleasant and not terribly likable, but his conflicting feelings about love and family, politics and class, and art and money are universally recognizable; the reader respects him even without liking him. The complex characterization and breadth of scope make this a compelling, insightful story that rewards careful attention. (June)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* After many years, photojournalist Marc is quitting therapy--and Paris. He still has debilitating panic attacks, but he needs to refuel his creative drive. He moves to the countryside, where an elderly neighbor befriends him. In the wake of an unpleasant encounter with another neighbor, who objects to Marc's trespassing cat, Marc meets Emily, an attractive veterinarian, and starts an affair with her. When Marc visits his parents, his father reveals that he is refusing treatment for Alzheimer's. Marc launches a pet project, for which he has already obtained a place in a gallery exhibition, of photographing workers at the shipyard from which his father retired. Brother George, his wife, and their baby visit. The first prints in the project dismay Marc, and he starts over. He and Emily scrap and decide to look for a place together. Several developments resolve by book's end; meanwhile, Larcenet realizes Marc's world in a wealth of particulars--Marc and George's brotherly routines, the elderly friend's link to Marc's father, the obnoxious photographer who is the star of the exhibition, and many more. The combination of cartoony but individualized characters and backdrops ranging from blank spaces to near-photographic outdoor settings, and the division of major narrative sections with single-page, bichromatic montages of photorealistic portraits and interior details heighten the sense that this is a genuine and consequential graphic novel. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: ComicsLit (May 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561634239
• ISBN-13: 978-1561634231
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #415,518 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Lot from a Little Book, July 19, 2005

By	P. McSweeney (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I didn't expect this much beauty and feeling from a small graphic novel, so this book was much more than I anticipated. I was pleasantly surprised by the touching story line. The graphics are beautiful.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some Good Parts, But Too Unfocused, November 25, 2006

By	A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This full-color French graphic novel takes 20-something slacker ennui and tries to milk it for all its worth -- which probably goes a long way to explaining why it won the grand prize at Angouleme (kind of the Cannes Film Festival of European comics). The story is about Marc, a disillusioned young photographer who suffers from anxiety attacks and leaves the big city (and therapy) for the simpler life of a small country farmhouse. Stripping his life down to the bare bones (no job, cozy house, companion cat, Playstation, plenty of pot), he gets comfortable. And when he meets a cute veterinarian things seem even better. But Marc is trying to run away from life's complexities, and has a hard time dealing with and accepting change. His search for a new photography project frustrates him, as does his girlfriend's gentle prods toward a longer-term relationship, not to mention his semi-estranged father's severe decline in health.

The book feels quite a bit like a well-intentioned but somewhat uncohesive indie film. All manner of ideas are raised: the struggle of the artist not to stagnate, Marc's relationship with his more settled-down brother and his beur (French-born Arab) wife, the emotional toll of seeing one's parents age, the inability to commit to someone who loves you, the insincerity of the contemporary art scene, etc. Via a background election, the book also attempts to bring up politics, class, and ethnicity, but for the most part this is all rather nebulously handled. There is one good scene where self-righteously liberal Marc gets in an argument with one of the shipyard workers because he voted far-right, despite working with, and being friends with immigrants. There's also a rather curious subplot involving a charming old fisherman, who happens to have been a war buddy of Marc's father (here, it helps to understand that "the war" that is referred to is the 1954-62 Algerian War of Independence and it helps to know a little about how that played out).

The problem is that there's just too much crammed in. The story would have benefited from spending more time on fewer of these issues and treating them slightly more in depth. For example, Marc's "creative struggle" isn't particularly compelling, indeed it's hard to sympathize too much with a photographer who's been so successful that he can take a year (or more) off to just go live in the country, take long walks, and smoke hash. Similarly, his commitment issues with his outrageously patient girlfriend, while handled nicely, doesn't take the reader anywhere new or interesting. The subplot with the old fisherman has potential, but is rests on a shaky foundation of a rather large coincidence. Larcenet has some decent ideas, and handles certain scenes and emotions very very well, but his ambitions overwhelm his storytelling and focus. His dialogue is remarkably good, very realistic and affecting -- and very, very well translated.

The artwork is quite nice in kind of a classically French cartoon sense. There are the flourishes one often sees in European work, such as hugely phallic or dagger-like noses, pupil-less eyes, and so forth. But these aren't as distracting and grotesque as some other artists, and the coloring by Larcenet's brother is excellent. Overall, probably worth checking out if you're into overseas comics but not nearly as compelling as its prize-winning pedigree might suggest.

5.0 out of 5 stars anxiety that keeps us awake at night, August 2, 2008

By	Sanjeev Naik (US) - See all my reviews

great potrayal of angst and neurosis that keeps us awake at night. more than a year after reading this, i am ready for a re-read. a gem of a graphic novel, even in translation. like a perfect movie by an artiste like godard or truffaut, this one is a perfect graphic novel by a french writer.