French Milk
February 22, 2009 | Graphic novels
French Milk
Lucy Knisley
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster
$17.50/$15 (U.S.)
188-page paperback
** ½ (out of five)
The only thing worse than an old person mourning the loss of their youth is a young person mourning the loss of their youth.
Art student Lucy Knisley is about to turn 22 and her mother is closing in on 50, so they decide to take a trip together to Paris for a month of food, fun, culture and bonding.
To commemorate this adventure, Lucy keeps an illustrated journal of their exploits, documenting everything from the layout of their apartment to the details of their many meals and the varied historic and culturally relevant spots they visit.
The only flaw in this plan is that, while the art is nice, neither Lucy, nor her mom, do or say anything of particular interest or insight. They’ve both been to Paris before, so the “oooh, aaah, isn’t that something new” factor isn’t there; too many pages are devoted to what was consumed by the pair (and if you’re that interested in this subject you’d be better off reading Tucker Shaw’s Everything I Ate); and while the book promises to be full of introspection and mother-daughter bonding, it often just comes off as a spoiled art student whining about getting old (at 22!) and how hard life is before she truly knows how true that really is.
(This article was first published in the Toronto Star)
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