This book came to my attention, and I have to admit I am an absolute fan of graphic novels coming from France. But don't let the illustration fool you. Yes, the illustration on the cover looks colorful and vibrant at the same time, but the more you read it, the more you'll understand why. Because it hides a cruel but heartbreaking truth, when you reach the end of the story.
The fan art for this graphic novel is still in the works, but because of working on some important stuff as well as planning on doing commissions its going to take time, as well as other stuff in particular. Since Fantasy is the genre of this is a French graphic novel, I would advise that some of the topics here are covered, including some stuff called LGBTQA+, Bigotry, and religious fanatics. However, there's one other thing you should know about this book: because the book is entirely in French, the story takes place in 1760 France (this was before the French Revolution).
Anyways I don't want to give out spoilers here. If you want to read the book yourself, you need to purchase it, which is available on Amazon. But I will tell you about the main character in this story, it's about a small, frail boy who wants to escape the harsh and brutal reality of his life on a poor farm, but also escape from his bigoted, horrible parents (child abuse in France wasn't common until the 1880s). His escape was that of dreaming of a world he created, where he takes on a different identity, but has a set of outcast puppets as his new family.
So yeah, this story takes place in France, anyway, on with the so yeah.
There's a lot to unpack here. Also, I have already done a book review for this book, but for NetGalley and Bookreads.
So yeah, anyways, on with the review.
Title: La Reine Des Pantins
Author: Rosalia Radosti
Genre: LGBTQA+, Fantasy, Historical Fiction,
Verdict: "A dreamlike and moving fable, powerfully and delicately exploring gender identity. Jacqueline is a princess you won't forget..."
The Premise: Before the French Revolution started, the story begins with a young boy named Jacques who grows up on a poor farm with horrible, sickly parents. Despite being sickly and frail, he is forced to work on the farm by his alcoholic and violent father. Trapped in a gray and bleak reality in a rural town in 1760s France, Jacques only escape was a dreamlike world filled with color, warmth, but also a world where he's the ruler but under a different identity as Princess Jacquline, and his subjects are Puppets who come to life in his world where they love and protect him from harm. La Reine Des Pantins Shows 2 worlds, where one shows a harsh reality of growing up in France through fear and violence through religious fanaticism, while the other one is full of color, imagination through a child's eyes.
The Pros: The story shows some 2 different worlds coming together, but with a separate point of view, in general. What I say to this is that the book was created to create some visual moments that felt like a visual of color. Despite the book being in French, you can still read through the visual illustrations in this graphic novel, which really says a lot about this book altogether.
The Cons: I cannot give you any spoilers, but the book doesn't have a satisfying ending where Jacques's parents were punished for their crimes against children. But still, if the book were to have a sequel, to see if Jacques's parents were to be punished based on crimes against children, they would be in prison or under the French Revolution, sent to be guillotined. But either way, the book shows us the harsh realities and how religious fanaticism and bigotry can damage families entirely.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to anyone who is drawn to historical fiction through a graphic novel. But still, the book does contain a tragic ending disguised as a graphic novel for children. But it could be a learning moment for anyone who wants to escape from the harsh realities of living in a bleak future and carve their own path in life.
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to finish the fan art, but I'll try to post it on a later date if I can. Anyways thats all for now.
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