Lucille, by Ludovic Debeurme 7.0

‘Lucille’ is the story of an anorexic girl and a malcontent boy, both from dysfunctional families, how they meet and how they affect each other’s life. It’s designed a little bit like a sketch book, without panels, and with a loose storytelling style that is easy to read.

My key problem is that it’s a bit dour, given the subject matter, and it is told in a dry fashion. It makes for a joyless read, quite frankly. As well, there’s the issues with plot development, in that some things just happen without any true build-up and/or context.

One such moment is when we discover that Lucille has become anorexic. Previously, she worried about being pretty enough to have a boyfriend. Then, next thing we know, she’s in a hospital being treated. There was nothing in between to connect the two.

Another moment is the decision that Vlad makes towards the end of the book – which seemed pretty random and out of character for a guy who goes through life head first, not letting himself get fazed by anything thrown his way. I wish that there was some sort of explanation for this discrepancy. Again, the reader is left dangling.

While it’s a decent book, I was quite surprised that it won awards, including the Prix René Goscinny, for writing. Personally, I thought that it was a bit weak, and most certainly not worthy of high praise. Perhaps there’s something I didn’t quite get, but ‘Lucille’ is a graphic novel I’ll likely forget.