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Carnet de Voyage

by Craig Thompson

Carnet de Voyage Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Craig Thompson — the award-winning creator of Blankets and Good-bye, Chunky Rice — spent three months travelling through Barcelona, the Alps, and France, as well as Morocco, where he was researching his next graphic novel, Habibi. Spontaneous sketches and a travelogue diary document his adventures and quiet moments, creating a raw and intimate portrait of countries, culture and the wandering artist. Not to be missed!

Review:

"'They say 'Wherever you go, there you are....' I thought with Morocco, I'd be setting out on some exotic adventure, but it turns out I'm just a simple, quiet fellow.' So writes Thompson in this travel sketchbook chronicling two months of wandering through Africa and Europe, sometimes as tourist, sometimes as a famous cartoonist on tour. Rather than a narrative follow-up to the award-winning Blankets, this diary reveals both Thompson's creative strengths and weaknesses. Although more or less spontaneous, the book still shapes the material into something of a narrative, the continuing themes being Thompson's self-conscious love of beauty, his sense of isolation and the gradual physical deterioration of his hands due to arthritis and over-drawing. Thompson is honest enough to confront his own self-absorption (he makes constant references to his own whininess), but this recognition reveals that Blankets' navet is more studied than it first appears. Many of the elements that made Blankets so successful are here, not least among them Thompson's incredible, lush line-work and telling detail. Every person he meets is captured with a keen eye and a lively brush, and entries such as one recounting his fascination with Gaud's architecture in Barcelona, or a day spent with fellow cartoonist Blutch discussing artistic muses, are both thought provoking and touching. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"[A] beautiful and substantial travelogue...[that] paints a compelling portrait of the artist as a successful, if lonely, young man. And [like Blankets] it too is one of the books of the year." Sean Collins, Comic Book Galaxy

Review:

"[W]hile Carnet De Voyage is a very different book from Blankets, I still think it's brilliant. It is an honest and engaging journal....[D]espite the disclaimer at the front of the book, this is the next big book from Craig Thompson. (Grade: 10/10)" Randy Lander, The Fourth Rail

Review:

"[A] quirky narrative that not only follows Thompson to various foreign places, but also delves deep into his psyche....[I]t resonates with the same honesty that made Blankets so compelling." David Walker, The Willamette Week (Portland, OR)

Synopsis:

Craig Thompson spent three months traveling through Barcelona, the Alps, and France, as well as Morocco, researching his next graphic novel, Habibi. Spontaneous sketches and a travelogue diary document his adventures and quiet moments, creating a raw and intimate portrait of countries, culture and the wandering artist.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
crowyhead, September 15, 2006 (view all comments by crowyhead)
This book is really either for people who already love Craig Thompson's work, or for those who love travel writing. This is an illustrated travel diary of the several months Thompson spent in France and Morocco. He writes about his emotional state and about his impressions freely, and the illustrations are gorgeous and skillful, even when he admits that he's drawing with crappy felt-tip pens because his other supplies have disappeared. Some people might find his fits of depression and self-loathing tiresome, but for the most part I identified with his thoughts and fears and his sense of dislocation. Thompson describes this as a treat for his fans in between "real" books, and that's probably apt, but I really enjoyed this little book and I'm glad I picked it up.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781891830600
Author:
Thompson, Craig
Publisher:
Top Shelf Productions
Location:
Marietta, GA
Subject:
General
Subject:
Essays & Travelogues
Subject:
Voyages and travels
Subject:
France
Copyright:
Edition Number:
1st
Edition Description:
Top Shelf
Series:
Travel Journal
Series Volume:
01
Publication Date:
September 2004
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
224
Dimensions:
7.57x5.40x.66 in. .71 lbs.

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