Salamandre by I.N.J. Culbard

Salamandre Reviews

• 
  Elizabeth A

  This coming of age graphic novel explores family, grief, loss, and censorship.
  
  After a tragic event, a young boy is sent to stay with this grandfather behind the iron curtain. Being a kid can be hard - you are at the total mercy of the adults around you. Young Kasper learns to navigate the complexities of trust, and how while art can give one a sense of personal freedom, it can also be a form of political resistance. Nice illustration and colors.
• 
  Allison

  It was alright! I thought the themes about art and flowers were really nice. A little nonsensical but also sad? Idk nice quick read though.
• 
  Stephanie Bange

  This is the kind of book that makes you think about what you have and take for granted...
  
  When Kasper Salamandre's father doesn't return home after a deep sea diving experiment, he is assumed dead. Upon learning this, Kasper sinks into a depression/funk that his artist-mom cannot help pull him out of. She puts him on a train and sends him to visit his grandfather who lives "behind the iron veil" (read: Iron Curtain, as he is going to a oppressed country that offers limited liberties and complete control of its people). He finds his grandfather, aunt, and cousin and her family to be a bit quirky and full of secrets they are not sharing. When Kasper confides in the wrong person, there is danger ahead for the family.
  
  Culbard delivers an intriguing Euro-centric alternative world/fantasy filled to the gills with tension. Nothing is quite what it seems, yet it is more. There are many things left unsaid for the reader to fill in the blanks- for example, what is the meaning with the ticking of the watch? What happened to Beatrice? What will happen to his grandfather after Kasper returns home to his mother? While it gets a tidy ending, I hope there will be a sequel. I would like to know more about this world and Kasper's part in it.
  
  With much of the story delivered via images, it is a speedy read. Colorful artwork with lots of action. Pay careful attention to faces and emotions and read their messages!
  
  There is some mild violence, flash bangs, and threatening danger looming. Recommended appropriate for grades 7+.
  
  
  
• 
  Heidi

  After an unexpected loss, a young man is sent to stay with his grandfather in a different country. In this country, there are very few freedoms. Its citizens can't write or create art.
  
  As he adjusts to this new situation, Kasper Salamandre learns about trust- who should have it and who shouldn't. He also appreciates his home more as he discovers the price of not having the freedoms that he has come to take for granted.
  
  This graphic novel delves into deep themes but then didn't adequately handle them. I wanted to know more about Kasper's family, the world he found himself in, and the ticking clock that comes back again and again.
  
  Unfortunately, the reader discovers very little about any of that.
  
  If you must read this graphic novel, you may want to consider borrowing it from your local library.
• 
  David

  A warm, well-told tale of a boy struggling with the loss of his father. His journey to stay with extended family in an imperial/fascist police state is a subtle story, one involving a connection with characters both tragic and monstrous. Culbard's style is clean and sharp and accessible, with expressive and neatly rendered characters who are distinct without descending into caricature. The inking, tight and consistent, the color palette simple but effective, the paneling showing just enough variance to track with the narrative and keep the page visually interesting.
  
  The writing is genuine, the voices well distinguished, and the story is both subtle and moving. An excellent visual tale of the peculiar joys of life that can be found in oppressive systems, and of the power of story and art to help endure times of loss.
  
  
• 
  Alex79uk

  Nice artwork and an interesting story about a fictional country divided in half, loosely based upon the iron curtain which politically (and physically, in some cases) divided Europe between the Second World War and the Cold War. Our protagonist, a boy of around 11/12, visits his grandfather on the oppressed side of the divide, where art, creative thinking and protest is banished under the watchful eye of the glorious leader. A reasonably exciting story involving a reclusive and eccentric artist, the secret police and adventurous children ultimately fizzles out to a bit of an anticlimactic ending. I think this is worth reading, and I certainly enjoyed it, but I felt it could have done a little more at the end.
• 
  Bandit

  I’m surprised to see this book has such low ratings. I found it rather lovely.
  A semiautobiographical account of a young boy, who, following a tragic disappearance of his father, goes to visit his grandfather on the other side of the Iron Veil
  Veil’s an obvious stand in for a curtain, things on the other side are much scarier and bleaker.
  Using elements of fantasy or magical realism, the author finds a way to present both sides in a well-balanced and intelligent manner.
  The end result is a coming-of-age story that also works as a sociopolitical commentary on the state of post-WWII Europe.
  The art’s very nice, especially the portraiture.
  All in all, a very good read. Recommended.
  
• 
  Joanne

  This was a dystopian fever dream about a boy visiting extended family who live in a more repressive region—picture somewhere behind the Iron Curtain would be my guess.
  
  Or is it?!
  
  Not a spoiler, since it’s all up for personal interpretation, but it makes you ask what parts were dreams or nightmares, and which were the boy’s bereavement over the loss of his beloved father?
  
  While it started out strong, I basically found it too oblique while reading it, but it did speak to the healing power of art. After sleeping on it, I added a star. Pretty cover.
• 
  Dave Morris

  Quite different (and why not?) from Culbard's Lovecraft, Chambers and Wilde adaptations. This is set a parallel-history world where the Iron Curtain maybe runs through France, although the map at the start suggests a completely different world that might even be a flooded version of ours. Anyway, that's not important. It's about memories (painful and otherwise), imagination, survival, childhood, family, and life.
• 
  Colin

  Unexpected, abstract journey into what it means to have heroes, navigate totalitarian regimes, fight Krakens and lament the loss and peculiarities of fine art. Adeptly told, well illustrated - a fine example of the potential of the medium of graphic novels to tell and show tales of depth that grab you. Author is apparently Polish, and during the Communist regime went back and forth to Poland from his residence of England when he was a kid. I love finding these unexpected gems.
• 
  Ryan Miller

  Salamandre is an examination of grief and totalitarianism, and perhaps those two things are connected within a totalitarian world. There’s a mix of imagination and reality, and some questions of what is real and who can be trusted.
• 
  Rachel

  This graphic novel is a touching look at both grief and life in an alternate world reminiscent of life with the Iron Curtain. It's a great reminder to live our lives well and to pay attention to beauty every day.
• 
  Aurora

  Gave up 100 pages in. Found none of it compelling.
• 
  Amy

  This follows a boy who's family is on the other side of the Iron Curtain. It has some sci-fi elements to it, but it is more about who to trust and how individuals feel during political unrest.
• 
  Emily

  Was this translated into English? I'm not sure.
• 
  Heather Howton

  It's a quick, nice read. Nearly a year jerker. A perfect read for someone grieving.
• 
  Jameson

  2 stars for decent artwork, but the story, meh...
• 
  Anne Hayner

  Graphic novel - creative approach to tough issues of personal loss and political repression, from a child's view.
• 
  Donne

  Loved the idea, but the character development was so shallow. I so just wanted MORE ... more story, more personality, more, more, more.
• 
  Cathy

  Glad I got it from the library. Just didn’t get it. It engaging at all.
• 
  Tamara

  Just randomly picked this at the library, it was enjoyable.
• 
  Rachel

  2.5 stars - there was a lot of unexpected action in this book (ex: gambling, art heists, government control), which kinda threw me off. The art was awesome, but I would've liked some more solidity throughout the story, as it had potential to be really emotional.