Reviews

Kiki de Montparnasse, by Catel, Jose-Luis Bocquet

meredithmc's review

Go to review page

3.0

i only knew of kiki from the photographs taken by man ray (the most famous of all being the cover art).

her story reads like a fable or another form of often-told story. poor girl is abandoned by her parents (primarily her mother, since her father leads another life), grows up happily then goes to the big city, where she experiences the cultural changes firsthand and finds herself an integral part of an emerging lifestyle & artistic movement. after a brief life of fame, she ends up alone, poor, and desperate.

a more conservative reader might suggest she deserved what she got, with her free sexuality and willingness, but that's not how i saw her story. men continually used her as a muse but rarely did they see the woman beyond the canvas or photograph; kiki herself was talented and sought to experience more of the world but her love (and even dependence) on these men (and drugs) kept her back from what she could've accomplished on her own.

of course, this is all pulled from this book. i'd like to read something more in-depth about her and the art scene in paris during which she lived.

tytti's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

A biography in the form of a graphic novel about a woman who almost defined the art scene and the night life of Paris and particularly Montparnasse during the 1920's. Of course I had never heard of her before but I had heard of many of the men in her life.

I am not a one who is interested in celebraties of today but when they "become history" I start to get interested, especially if they had a controversial or eventful life. Kiki liked to party and unfortunately that ended her life eventually.

This is only my second graphic novel that I have read and I am still not sure if I like them. I may have preferred a normal biography, maybe it might have felt less shocking in places. (It's not really shocking but it just feels that way when real people are "speaking".) I did find the descriptions of the Paris art scene interesting and also all the people she interacted with, even though I wasn't always sure who they were. I think my favourite part were the short biographies in the end.

A longer review in Finnish: http://lukemattomatlukemattomat.blogspot.com/2016/02/catel-bocquet-kiki-montparnassen.html

spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Kiki de Montparnasse, née Alice Prin au tout début du XXe siècle, fut l'une des figures les plus marquantes de la vie artistique parisienne de l'entre-deux guerres, lors des Années Folles. Égérie et amie de très nombreux artistes — Modigliani, Duchamp, Desnos, Picasso, Cocteau, Aragon, bon nombre des surréalistes —, Kiki fut la muse et l'inspiratrice de créateurs devenus depuis des signatures majeures de l'art moderne, comme Foujita et Man Ray. C'est cette existence hors norme, retracée à travers la plupart des épisodes-clés d'un parcours de vie trépidant, que racontent avec passion Catel et José-Louis Bocquet, dans un album ambitieux qui est autant l'évocation d'une époque que le magnifique portrait d'une femme libre. Plus de trois cent planches de création exigeante et généreuse, en hommage à l'art sous toutes ses formes.

Quant à Kiki elle-même, j'ai une photo d'elle sur le mur.

naimfrewat's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Such a pleasant book particularly because of the illustrations which I found quite smart, yet never overshadowing the text. A word of advice: Be sure to check the annex of the characters first, in case your memory of 1920s Montparnasse needs refreshing...

msmandrake's review

Go to review page

3.0

Kiki pops up in a lot in reading about the art scene in the early 20th century but I never knew her whole story. This is the first graphic book I've ever attempted and I kinda liked it. A novel way to learn quite a lot in a very short time.

yaizaps's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Una buena forma de acercarse al París de principios del siglo XX a través de la sorprendente vida de Kiki y de todo su círculo de artistas bohemios.
https://losmundosdelaestanteria.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/kiki-de-montparnasse-retopata-4/

ghostofyesterday's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

A beautifully illustrated biography of an inspiring, albeit tragic, muse and artist who very much embodied the energy and decadence of the Roaring Twenties à la française. There will never again be a woman quite like Kiki!

alp_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.25

siili's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Ihan kiinnostava sarjakuva ranskalaisesta (tai pikemminkin pariisilaisesta) taidemaailmasta, pääosassaan Kiki (oik. Alice Prin), jonka elämäkertana sarjakuva samalla toimii. Kiki on Pariisissa aikaansa viettävien taiteilijoiden muusa, joka on tunnettu myös villistä elämästään ja omista töistään ja jonka elintavat saattavat hänet lopulta hautaan. Sarjakuvassa esiintyy paljon 1920-1930-luvun taiteilijoita, joista lähestulkoon kaikilla on siteitä Kikiin tavalla tai toisella. Suurin osa taiteilijoista on taidetta tuntemattomalle henkilölle outoja, vaikka muutamia suuria nimiä teoksessa vilahtaakin (mm. Picasso).

Piirrosjälki oli miellyttävää, fontti oli tosin joissin kohdissa vaikealukuista, mutta se kuuluu tarinan tyyliin. En kuitenkaan hirveästi kiinnostunut itse tarinasta, vaikka siinä oli paljon kiinnostavia elementtejä. Sarjakuvan lopussa on laajat selostukset kirjassa esiintyvistä taiteilijoista ja heidän elämästään, mikä on kiinnostava lisä ja avaa tarinaa enemmän. Vaikka teos on laadukas, annan sille kuitenkin vain 3 tähteä, koska sen tarina ei kuitenkaan jaksanut pitää minua otteessaan tarpeeksi tiukasti.

irishannie's review

Go to review page

3.0

This is certainly for mature audiences. I got a bit confused about the people coming in and going out of Kiki's life. Catel & Bocquet did include snips of Kiki's letters and journals and brief life synopses of the key players in Kiki's life, for example, May Ray, Treize, Fujita Tsuguharu, etc.