Customer Reviews

Paul Has a Summer Job

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The character of Paul has appeared in a comic book and an anthology by the quality comics publisher from Canada, Drawn and Quarterly. Michel Rabagliati's full-length graphic novel, translated from the French, is funny, poignant, and a joy to read. This is an example of the exciting potential of comics- many types of readers will enjoy it on it's own merits.

Paul, our hero, has dropped out of high school and is working a routine and boring day job at a print shop. When his charasmatic pal Gus calls with an offer of counsleor work at a summer camp, Paul jumps at the opportunity. Both Paul and the reader will be very glad he took this opportunity. With a deceptively simple, almost retro-50's style, Rabagliati sketches and fleshes out the dozen or so characters Paul meets in this story. The camp and the characters are effectively developed to the point where the reader is deeply touched by their struggles, laughs at their jokes, and is just as regretful and sad as Paul when the summer finally ends.

The story resonates with major turning points for Paul, the kinds of moments we all experience, sometimes treasure, and remember for the rest of our lives. One gets the sense that these are personal moments of the author, special and shared with complete trust. We experience his first love, the growing confidence of Paul as he matures, and the rewards he gains working closely with a group of underpriveledged kids, particularly a charming blind girl named Marie. His return to the spot years later, when he shares some of these gems with his own infant daughter, is quite touching and feels real.

I'm very grateful that Rabagliati shared these feelings and experiences with me and his other readers, even if they are fictional. I look forward to more Paul books.

The author throws in some adult stuff but I really enjoyed the rest of this book.

A novel/autobiography about that first summer job as a camp councilor. As a former camp councilor I can totally relate to how difficult it is to take care of a pack of kids. It's like herding cats. However one does learn to adapt and make camp enjoyable for both the kids and the adults. This book captures that whole process.

There is adult material in this book, older teens and young adults recommended.

Previously I had read Paul goes to the Country. Michel Rabagliati is a wonderful artist and I suggest his other work. Paul Has a Summer Job was a wonderful story that was told with so much truth to it. Highly recommended for those who enjoy a well crafted and illustrated story!

I've read the third volume in this series, of which this is the second; I have yet to see the first one. It's the sort of non-earth-shaking confusion that young Paul often finds himself trying to cope with. Here he's seventeen, I think (it's the late 1970s), having just quit school because his poor grades kept him out of a major school art project he conceived and got a grant for (the principal waiting until he had it sewed up before dumping him), and has been working not very successfully for a few weeks as an apprentice pressman, when a friend recruits him as a counselor for a newly-established summer camp on a lake up in the Laurentians. He has to learn to rock-climb, to handle adolescent kids, to interact with the other counselors, and to overcome his fear of being alone in the deep woods at night. It's slice-of-life, totally believable, and quite affecting. Rabagliati is winning awards for this series, and he deserves. It's hard to know how much his work is autobiographical, but Paul is certainly a real person.

This book is one of Michel Rabagliati's autobiographical, graphic novels in which he reminisces about various times throughout his teenage to adult life. In all fairness he's done a good job of taking readers into his memories with vivid clarity and thoughtful detail.

As the book description states, set in the backdrop of the late 70's, this book is about Paul's dropping out from school, his brief work at a Print Shop and his encounters with underprivileged children at a camp.

Plot-wise, since this is a slice-of-life type story telling, read this expecting it to be an epic adventure. It more reads like a memoir of a sort. The story starts, then stops. It doesn't have much of a climax, but rather documents a series of that take place at a particular period of time in the life of the main character.

The artwork though simple, is well proportioned and definitely outstanding; reminiscent of cartoons from the 50's and 60's. The art style is well suited to the subject matter presented and fits in well with the overall theme of the book. Michel Rabagliati has done a great job with the presentation in making it visually palatable, to those who have a knack for simple design.

Overall, I thought this was a well written story in all honesty. However my biggest complaint about this book is the numerous instances of swearing and profanity that graced its pages. I strongly caution Christians and the morally sensitive who would buy this book. This is not a book for children, mostly because of the language used in many instances.

As an alternative, if you don't mind defacing your copy, you can take the time to blot out all the profanity in the book - its worth it. The story is not bad at all. Its more of the the kind that has you wanting to read more of Rabagliati's work.