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Special notice! Mature audience Novel

It seems that Aurelia Aurita is a moon Jellyfish. It is also the name chosen by a young French graphic novel author of Chinese and Cambodian origins.

Born in Paris suburb in 1980, Aurelia Aurita is both a doctor in Pharmacy and a graphic novelist.

In 2004, she went to Japan to collaborate at a collective comic book and felt in love… She stayed in Tokyo where she wrote in 2005 her popular erotic, some critics would say pornographic, graphic novel « Fraise et Chocolat », Strawberry and Chocolate. It is not yet translated in English as far as I know.

2005, Aurelia, Aurita, Biographies, Fraise et Chocolat, Graphic Novel, Japan, love]]> http://www.9therapy.com/aurelia-aurita/feed/ http://www.9therapy.com/from-my-bookshelves/ http://www.9therapy.com/from-my-bookshelves/#comments Thu, 05 Oct 2006 08:34:28 +0000 Vianney MiscellaneousAkirabookscomicEtgar Keretgraphicgraphic novelsJet LagKatsuhiro OtomoMangaMiscellaneoustitlesuniverse http://www.9therapy.com/from-my-bookshelves.htm I think it pretty much starts there. Most of the titles, you will find on this blog will definitely come from my bookshelves or from the bookshelves of friends and are about the graphic novels, comic books or Manga I value the most.

What do I value then so much, because they contribute to show that graphic stories are definitely a major on-going way of expression around the world.

From the masterpiece Akira of Katsuhiro Otomo to the more confidential but demented Jet Lag of Etgar Keret, all the selected titles are great invitations to travel and to find something you didn’t expect in first place.

The graphic dimension brings definitely something different to these books compare to the more «classic» ones, in the way you get into an author universe according to me. I didn’t say better just different.

So hope you will enjoy the critics and also the readings !

She now lives in Paris where she both works on Graphic novels and children books.

She met a great worldwide success and got famous for her extra-ordinary autobiographic comic book series, Persepolis.

Biographies, Chilwood, comic, graphic, Iran, Islam, LAssociation, Marjane, novel, Persepolis, Satrapi, Story]]> http://www.9therapy.com/marjane-satrapi/feed/ http://www.9therapy.com/persepolis-the-story-of-childhood/ http://www.9therapy.com/persepolis-the-story-of-childhood/#comments Tue, 10 Oct 2006 15:48:30 +0000 Vianney CriticsautobiographyChildhoodCriticsGraphic NovelIranIslamMarjane SatrapirevolutionStory http://www.9therapy.com/persepolis-the-story-of-childhood/ Author: Marjane Satrapi
Publisher: L’Association (FR), Phantheon (US)
Translation Copyright: © 2003 L’Association, Paris, France

In 1979, when the Islamic Revolution started In Iran, Marjane Satrapi was only a child. Through the eyes of this cute little girl, we happen to see the daily life in Iran during this tense period, but also to know more about the history of the first country that refers to sharia in his constitution.

The life is hard and sometimes even tragic for Marjane, her parents and her family, but it is not a world without humor and hopes.

I often recommand this reading to friends that are not too familiar with Graphic novels. I found in Persepolis what comic books can best offer: an intensity, a capacity to express very complex situations and feelings in an extremely simple way.

autobiography, Childhood, Critics, Graphic Novel, Iran, Islam, Marjane Satrapi, revolution, Story]]> http://www.9therapy.com/persepolis-the-story-of-childhood/feed/ http://www.9therapy.com/fraise-et-chocolat/ http://www.9therapy.com/fraise-et-chocolat/#comments Thu, 12 Oct 2006 09:15:58 +0000 Vianney CriticsAurelia AuritaCriticsFraise et ChocolatGraphic NovelIntimacyJapanloveNan Goldinpassionphysical love http://www.9therapy.com/fraise-et-chocolat/ Author : Aurelia Aurita
Publisher : Les Impressions Nouvelles (FR, BE)
Copyright: © 2006 Les Impressions nouvelles
Note: Special notice ! Novel for mature audience only.
Literal translation: Strawberry & Chocolate
Additional Information: Not currently available in English.

Fraise & chocolat is definitely a story about a real love and passion. Aurelia arrived in Japan to see Frederic, they met once in Paris but they wrote each other for the last 4 months. That is the starting point of the travel in the intimacy of two people where the exploration of physical love have a large part. The narration is very fresh and I got the feeling sometimes that the heart of Aurelia is to big and will explode if she can’t share her experience.

I don’t know if Fraise & Chocolat can be distributed on US market, it will be most likely consider as pornography. In my mind, this graphic novel is closer to the work made by the photograph Nan Goldin when she shot pictures of couples in their intimacy, I saw these series of pictures some years ago in an exhibition and I keep thinking that is what happiness looks like to me.

Aurelia Aurita, Critics, Fraise et Chocolat, Graphic Novel, Intimacy, Japan, love, Nan Goldin, passion, physical love]]> http://www.9therapy.com/fraise-et-chocolat/feed/ http://www.9therapy.com/etgar-keret/ http://www.9therapy.com/etgar-keret/#comments Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:56:28 +0000 Vianney BiographiesBiographiesbookcomic bookEtgar KeretIsraelTel Avivwriter http://www.9therapy.com/etgar-keret/ Born in Tel Aviv in 1967, Etgar Keret is definitely one of the most talent writers of the new generation in Israel and probably in the World. Among his publication, the internationally acclaim novels book « The bus driver who wanted to be god & other stories » is a must-have read.
Etgar Keret also collaborates to several comic books, wrote plays and directed at least two films.
His works are a source of inspiration for numerous movie directors, over 40 short movies have been based on his stories.
The picture on the right is very representative of Etgar Keret and appears on different covers of his books.

Biographies, book, comic book, Etgar Keret, Israel, Tel Aviv, writer]]> http://www.9therapy.com/etgar-keret/feed/ http://www.9therapy.com/jetlag-5-graphic-novellas/ http://www.9therapy.com/jetlag-5-graphic-novellas/#comments Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:32:35 +0000 Vianney CriticsActus tragicuscomic groupCriticsEtgar KeretGraphic novellasindependent publishing houseJetlagMargolisYirmi Pinkus http://www.9therapy.com/jetlag-5-graphic-novellas/ Stories by Etgar Keret
Publisher: Actus Tragicus

JetLag is composed of five short graphic novels by Actus Tragicus comics group and based on stories by Etgar Keret. Actus Tragicus is a very creative Israeli comic book collective composed by five international acclaim artists: Mira Friednam, Yirmi Pinkus, Itzik Rennert, Rutu Mordan, Batia Kolton.

Each artist has a very distinctive style and the overall quality is good, even if I find some of the novels a little more obscure. According to me, the novel from Yirmi Pinkus is definitely a 5 stars. It basically tells the story of a kid that wants a Bart Simpson skateboard, we all do, but is dad is not ok. Instead he got a porcelain pig to put coins he will get every morning if he manages to finish his hot chocolate with the associate dirty skin he hates …

Among the other stories, I have to mention the magician that loses control of his magic tricks and a woman who lives next to the Hell Gate.

Actus tragicus, comic group, Critics, Etgar Keret, Graphic novellas, independent publishing house, Jetlag, Margolis, Yirmi Pinkus]]> http://www.9therapy.com/jetlag-5-graphic-novellas/feed/ http://www.9therapy.com/junji-ito/ http://www.9therapy.com/junji-ito/#comments Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:44:33 +0000 Vianney Biographiesartistbeautiful girlsBiographiesHorrorJapanJunji Itolong hairMangamovie adaptationuzumaki http://www.9therapy.com/junji-ito/ Born in Gifu, Japan in 1963, Junji Ito is a popular Japanese Horror manga artist / writer. His passion for Manga was inspired partly by his older sister who is also a drawing artist. He initially had a dental technician career and manga was only a hobby. Thanks to the success he encountered, he progressively dropped in 90’s his dental activity.

Some recurrent topics appear in his works, such as beauty, long hair and beautiful girls.
Among his bibliography, I particularly know the Uzumaki (spiral) trilogy that had been adapted to movie and according me contributed to enlarge his audience, particularly abroad.