Paul Has A Summer Job

Rating:
Summary: Summertime
Review: Previously I had read Paul goes to the Country. Michel Rabagliati is a wonderful artist and I suggest his other work. Paul Has a Summer Job was a wonderful story that was told with so much truth to it. Highly recommended for those who enjoy a well crafted and illustrated story!

Rating:
Summary: Summertime
Review: The character of Paul has appeared in a comic book and an anthology by the quality comics publisher from Canada, Drawn and Quarterly. Michel Rabagliati's full-length graphic novel, translated from the French, is funny, poignant, and a joy to read. This is an example of the exciting potential of comics- many types of readers will enjoy it on it's own merits.

Paul, our hero, has dropped out of high school and is working a routine and boring day job at a print shop. When his charasmatic pal Gus calls with an offer of counsleor work at a summer camp, Paul jumps at the opportunity. Both Paul and the reader will be very glad he took this opportunity. With a deceptively simple, almost retro-50's style, Rabagliati sketches and fleshes out the dozen or so characters Paul meets in this story. The camp and the characters are effectively developed to the point where the reader is deeply touched by their struggles, laughs at their jokes, and is just as regretful and sad as Paul when the summer finally ends.

The story resonates with major turning points for Paul, the kinds of moments we all experience, sometimes treasure, and remember for the rest of our lives. One gets the sense that these are personal moments of the author, special and shared with complete trust. We experience his first love, the growing confidence of Paul as he matures, and the rewards he gains working closely with a group of underpriveledged kids, particularly a charming blind girl named Marie. His return to the spot years later, when he shares some of these gems with his own infant daughter, is quite touching and feels real.

I'm very grateful that Rabagliati shared these feelings and experiences with me and his other readers, even if they are fictional. I look forward to more Paul books.

Rating:
Summary: a wonderful graphic novel (ie comic) for a wide age range
Review: The character of Paul has appeared in a comic book and an anthology by the quality comics publisher from Canada, Drawn and Quarterly. Michel Rabagliati's full-length graphic novel, translated from the French, is funny, poignant, and a joy to read. This is an example of the exciting potential of comics- many types of readers will enjoy it on it's own merits.

Paul, our hero, has dropped out of high school and is working a routine and boring day job at a print shop. When his charasmatic pal Gus calls with an offer of counsleor work at a summer camp, Paul jumps at the opportunity. Both Paul and the reader will be very glad he took this opportunity. With a deceptively simple, almost retro-50's style, Rabagliati sketches and fleshes out the dozen or so characters Paul meets in this story. The camp and the characters are effectively developed to the point where the reader is deeply touched by their struggles, laughs at their jokes, and is just as regretful and sad as Paul when the summer finally ends.

The story resonates with major turning points for Paul, the kinds of moments we all experience, sometimes treasure, and remember for the rest of our lives. One gets the sense that these are personal moments of the author, special and shared with complete trust. We experience his first love, the growing confidence of Paul as he matures, and the rewards he gains working closely with a group of underpriveledged kids, particularly a charming blind girl named Marie. His return to the spot years later, when he shares some of these gems with his own infant daughter, is quite touching and feels real.

I'm very grateful that Rabagliati shared these feelings and experiences with me and his other readers, even if they are fictional. I look forward to more Paul books.