Page 45 Review by Stephen
Set on the city streets of Paris, down its lesser-known boulevards, within its hallowed museums and amongst its open-air fruit and vegetable markets, this refreshingly spacious, fluid and fluent love story is as much about understanding as anything else.
One of the things I loved most about this -
from the creator of former Page 45 Comicbook Of The Month, THE DELICACY - is that it's a very slow burner, because understanding takes time.
For a start, there’s more than one language barrier for Sarah to navigate. Firstly, there’s the French whose subtleties of slang initially, understandably elude her. For Sarah is just getting started in her new job in Paris as an international lawyer; a job whose stagnantly defensive strategy and boastful office oafs will take some comprehension and evasion of their own! Then there’s the Cantonese of accidental new friend Ping Loh, forever out and about while in charge of a pushchair. Originally from Hong Kong, Ping Loh is paying her way as nanny to a child of parents far too wealthy to actually give a fuck themselves.
Not unnaturally for two culturally inquisitive individuals taking in the sights, Sarah keeps spotting Ping Loh wherever she goes, and Sarah doesn’t want to seem like a creepy stalker but Ping Loh was so very kind the first time they met that Sarah is curious; and she sure could use a friend!
As the pair orbit each other they start to learn each others' languages - and French - as a matter of necessity, and form a bond over their linguistic successes and mistakes.
This is the real triumph of the narrative: the way in which Albon uses the unique mechanics of the comics medium to demonstrate and articulate their increasing fluency and, so, connection. Hence, the very clever title.
Oh, and the colours! Both the familiar, iconic and more sequestered streets of Paris blossom and bloom with these washes! And Sarah's initial, solitary despondency on the title page is a delicious piece of colour-crafted comedy, coming as it does immediately after such rioutous crowd scenes of almost collective companionship and bonhomie!
I may have photographed that, yes.
Magnifique!
