A review by read_late
Brindille by Frédéric Brrémaud

adventurous reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

The art and color palette are gorgeous, but the story feels thin in places. 

I like the idea that

a tween girl has the power to let go, grow, move on, while a big, burly, masculine warrior-type does not, but so much throughout just felt kind of off in this book. The was a strong undercurrent of machismo, even though Twig was obviously the strong one at the end.  Sometimes it felt insidious, sometimes it was in-your-face. There was reflection of 'weak is strong' and 'let go and accept you're beaten' and neither of those sit well with my worldview. Maybe it would have meant more if it was the big burly Sir Brindille that faded away/ascended at the end, rather than Brindille in the guise of Twig, but with Twig ascending it felt like it lost its point.  What made me most uncomfortable though were the numerous and scantily clad crotch shots. The human form is beautiful, and art celebrates the human form, but there were some angles in this book that were overly male-gaze, which was incredibly icky since Twig is so obviously preadolescent.

There may have been some gulfs in the translation--wolf definitely looked more like a fox than a wolf.