Title: Exquisite Corpse- Author: Pénélope Bagieu
- Genre: Graphic Novel
- Published: May 5, 2015 – First Second
- Source: Publisher
Synopsis: Zoe isn’t exactly the intellectual type, which is why she doesn’t recognize world-famous author Thomas Rocher when she stumbles into his apartment … and into his life.
Zoe doesn’t know Balzac from Batman but she’s going to have to wise up fast … because Rocher has a terrible secret and now Zoe is sitting on the literary scandal of the century.
My take: I’ve read a handful of graphic novels so my opinion is based on what I enjoyed about Exquisite Corpse and not how it may or may not compare to other graphic novels.
First off, I loved Pénélope Bagieu’s illustrations. Check out the cover. Zoe’s wide-eyed innocent look, author Tom’s scruffy sleep-deprived look and editor Agathe’s sleek uptown look were captured perfectly. I liked how various scenes were colored differently to show a change in scene (or chapter?). Like I said, I don’t have a lot of experience reading graphic novels so maybe that’s how they all are. It worked for me.
I won’t spoil by revealing the ‘literary scandal of the century’. I thought the plot was a bit predictable but the illustrations made up for that. Even so, I had to laugh as the story played out. The characters in the book are all adults so readers shouldn’t be shocked by a few adult scenes/dialogue. They fit in with the general tone of the novel.
So, did I like it? Because of my thoughts in the paragraph above, a qualified yes. Will I read more graphic novels? Maybe – when I’m looking for something a little different. Recommended to fans of graphic novels.
Bookfan 