Reviews

Kiki de Montparnasse by Nora Mahony, Catel, José-Louis Bocquet

alp_books's review

Go to review page

adventurous informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.25

siili's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Ihan kiinnostava sarjakuva ranskalaisesta (tai pikemminkin pariisilaisesta) taidemaailmasta, pääosassaan Kiki (oik. Alice Prin), jonka elämäkertana sarjakuva samalla toimii. Kiki on Pariisissa aikaansa viettävien taiteilijoiden muusa, joka on tunnettu myös villistä elämästään ja omista töistään ja jonka elintavat saattavat hänet lopulta hautaan. Sarjakuvassa esiintyy paljon 1920-1930-luvun taiteilijoita, joista lähestulkoon kaikilla on siteitä Kikiin tavalla tai toisella. Suurin osa taiteilijoista on taidetta tuntemattomalle henkilölle outoja, vaikka muutamia suuria nimiä teoksessa vilahtaakin (mm. Picasso).

Piirrosjälki oli miellyttävää, fontti oli tosin joissin kohdissa vaikealukuista, mutta se kuuluu tarinan tyyliin. En kuitenkaan hirveästi kiinnostunut itse tarinasta, vaikka siinä oli paljon kiinnostavia elementtejä. Sarjakuvan lopussa on laajat selostukset kirjassa esiintyvistä taiteilijoista ja heidän elämästään, mikä on kiinnostava lisä ja avaa tarinaa enemmän. Vaikka teos on laadukas, annan sille kuitenkin vain 3 tähteä, koska sen tarina ei kuitenkaan jaksanut pitää minua otteessaan tarpeeksi tiukasti.

irishannie's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

This is certainly for mature audiences. I got a bit confused about the people coming in and going out of Kiki's life. Catel & Bocquet did include snips of Kiki's letters and journals and brief life synopses of the key players in Kiki's life, for example, May Ray, Treize, Fujita Tsuguharu, etc.

barrettcmyk's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

If you've known me for any length of time, you know that i have a have a serious love of the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century, particularly Dada and Surrealism. I may have written my first high school term paper on the movement. And i may have written one or two more in college on the Russian avant-garde. Imagine my delight when i found this graphic novel in my library's stacks. And imagine my shame that I had never heard of Kiki before. I recognized Man Ray's Le Violon d'Ingres on the cover, but never bothered to think or ask who the model was.

Raised in abject poverty, teen-aged Kiki (born Alice Prin) moved to Paris with her mother to find work. After being fired several times over, Kiki accepted a job posing nude for a local artist (she was 13 or 14 at this point). Within a few years she was model, muse, friend, lover, and even fellow artist to some of the greatest names in the avant-garde. Man Ray. Duchamp. Breton. Cocteau. Picasso.

If you have any interest in a) badass women, b) France, c) the avant-garde, or d) all of the above, you'll get a kick out of Kiki.

jainabee's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Fascinating and gorgeous. I can't stop going back to reread favorite bits!

lenuestupenda's review

Go to review page

3.0

22. Un libro basado completamente en su portada (PopSugar Reading Challenge 2015 #24)

jayshay's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

So full of a life lived! So sad at the end but also to be expected in a way. A comic was a good way to condense her life and communicate her spirit.

mikaiya's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

How strange that this year I read a fiction-y biography of Lee Miller, and then randomly picked up this graphic novel from the library shelf and it's about Man Ray's earlier lover, Kiki. That's a lot of Man Ray in my life for someone who knew nothing about him, or Dada, until this year. I enjoyed this one more than the literary fiction- it was very compassionate towards a complex woman and hits the highs and lows of her life with a great deal of love. A fun read!

tyyne's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

The visual language was lovely, somehow very soft and comfortable. And the subject matter was really interesting!

moncoinlecture's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

J'hésite entre 3,5 et 4... C'est bien mais quand on ne connaît pas beaucoup le personnage au départ, c'est un peu longuet par moments!