Reviews

Kiki de Montparnasse by José-Louis Bocquet

luckthelady's review against another edition

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4.0

The ending of this graphic novel includes that old legend about the benevolent stranger who walks by the blind beggar whose cup is empty. She picks up his sign, transforms it, and, as she walks off, the clinking of coin upon coin won't stop.

It was the first time I'd seen this story; since then, I've seen it in a thousand contexts (the worst is when they're used to illustrate the power of some iconic ad man). But Kiki was my first. I'd always much rather it be her.

sophie613's review against another edition

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3.0

Really interesting, but the end dragged a bit, so only 3 stars. The chronology at the end was very helpful, as well as the bios of the Parisian artistic figures featured in the book. Really enjoyed the artwork.

billcoffin's review against another edition

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2.0

As a biography of Alice Prin, a fixture of the Bohemian scene in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s better known as Kiki, this graphic novel clearly has done its homework. However, the narrative here feels less like Kiki's life story and more of a connect-the-dots series of vignettes that are illustrative, but still leaving us wondering if there was a greater center to Kiki's life. The artwork does the story few favors as well, unfortunately. And the very detailed appendix somehow feels more informative than the 350+ pages of narrative that preceded it. Alas.

internetnomads's review against another edition

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4.0

I read a free copy of this graphic novel on WorldCat. Why was this so difficult to get ahold of? It's lovely and compelling. Kiki knows what she wants and exactly how to get it.

k_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

4.0

mhald's review against another edition

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4.0

Kiki fra Mont­par­nasse er noget af en tour de force. Det er for det før­ste en orden­lig svend af en teg­ne­se­rie og sam­ti­dig er den histo­risk kor­rekt. Den for­tæl­ler histo­rien om Kiki, som blev muse for kunst­nere, især for Man Ray, mel­lem­krig­sti­dens fete­rede fotograf.

Histo­rien fæn­ger med det samme og man lever side om side med Kiki i hen­des utro­lige liv.

firetight's review against another edition

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1.0

Mé zhodnocení: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsLDp_W4Ah8

kaelino's review against another edition

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3.0

I admire the artwork and the extensive research that I am sure went into the creation of this book. Kiki was a real woman who met many important figures in the art and literary world (example: Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway). However, the end result was, for me, a portrait of a person who was not very endearing. I couldn't root for her as a lot of the things that happened to her or the hardships she endured were because of her own actions and choices. She was a woman who yearned for love, yet her desire to live a "free" life (i.e. with sex, drugs, and alcohol) sabotaged any chance she had for it. Interesting as an examination of the times (1920s-40s) and how gender roles were changing for women but, ultimately, I saw Kiki more as a tragic figure than the hero of her own story. Did not impact me like I hoped it would.

lattelibrarian's review against another edition

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4.25

All I can say is "Wow." Kiki's life has been an incredible one, and the ending of it left me speechless--partially because of how her life ended, and partially how beautiful it was narrated and illustrated. A must-read. Kiki was surely a woman ahead of her time.

heidenkind's review against another edition

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Just cannot get into this one.