Paris by Andi Watson

Paris Reviews

• 
  Alexander Peterhans

  Here's a book where I wish there was more to the story. More detailed main characters, less Paris/French clichés, some depth to the romance.
  
  It all just pootles along, no surprises, no real dramatic tension to speak of. The French characters all speaking in half English half French all the time, quickly became grating.
  
  I like Simon Gane as an artist a lot, and the many portraits of the cities are excellent. The people have a more perfunctory look, they're maybe a bit too rough, too 1950s graphic to my tastes.
  
  (Picked up an ARC through Edelweiss)
• 
  Mireille Messier

  I absolutely LOVED Simon Gane's illustrations! So many details, such amazing historical backgrounds and buildings! I have rarely spent so much time drinking in the beauty of a graphic novel.
  
  Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the story as much as the illustrations. The dialogs didn't gel with the 1950's setting (everything sounded too modern and slang-y). And the denouement was a little bit on the predictable side.
  
  Also, I am French and the French characters speak in this very odd way that makes no sense. The French they do use is not quite correct (gender of things is often wrong, verb tenses are often wrong, the grammatical structure they use is typically English instead of French, etc.) which made it hard for me to believe in the voice of a many of the characters.
  
• 
  Alex Sarll

  The story is a sketch of a thing - an American in Paris falling for the English girl she's been hired to paint, who's struggling to get out from under her tweedy chaperone. But the art! This is the Paris of the mind, rather than the graffitied skeleton woven through with endless Edgware Roads that has supplanted it in the real world. Cafés, chic, vin rouge in garrets - it ought to feel like a lumbering Hollywood cliché, but instead it has the intricate yet lively charm of Richard Scarry (which, as my generation grew up knowing, is exactly how cities are meant to be) even as it ventures into the bohemian activities he tended to skip over. And yes, maybe by the end the room was surprisingly dusty.
  
  
  (Edelweiss ARC)
• 
  kendall

  GAY???????? i grabbed this bc i liked the art style i didn’t even know it was GAY
  
  read it in one sitting it made my heart swell
• 
  Ray Nessly

  A while back I read The Book Tour (3 stars), by author/cartoonist Andi Watson.
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... In this graphic novel, Watson again provides the story, but this time he farms out the art to Simon Gane. Once again, it’s the art, not the story, that’s the reason for staying. I was mildly entertained by The Book Tour’s story, but this one is even more lackluster. And it’s a story we’ve heard many, many, times. Juliet is an American in Paris, in the1950s, studying painting. She’s hired to paint a portrait of Deborah, an Englishwoman. Both are in Paris to find themselves, to free themselves from the confines of the expectations of their families, to watch live jazz, and to find friendship or better yet, love. Sounds familiar, no? A universal but tired storyline. The details in the art, though, are absolutely amazing. The buildings, street stones, leaves, musical notes floating out windows, close-ups and details of paintings observed in the Louvre and elsewhere. People. Faces of all colors, origins and creeds. It is not a book to rush through.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Amanda

  Thank you Edelweiss+ for this ARC
  
  The illustrations in this graphic novel were not my favourite and the plot was predictable. I couldn't really understand also why the English spoke like they were from the 18h century almost.
• 
  Delanie

  Remind me to tell EVERYONE I KNOW they should read this.
  
  The only reasons it doesn't get that 5th star are didn't show enough of the two leading ladies' initial bonding and they seemingly only met 3 times. (That 'true love at first sight' and subsequent 'I'm completely devastated that I just my soulmate' tropes don't belong in a book this good)
  
  Also I do GET that it's the graphic novel equivalent to a short story or novella, but it still should have stretched out for another issue. The last scene and panel are a fabulous ending but it felt like the emotional resonance wasn't as strong as it should have been.
• 
  Julie Ehlers

  This was a really fast read--so fast that I read almost the entire thing on my half-hour train commute this morning, and was forced to stop at a bookstore after work so I'd have something to read on the trip home! Even for a graphic novel, this book was pretty light on the text. But the story, about an art student and a debutante who find love in 1950s Paris, was pretty delightful, and the illustrations were really interesting. It definitely did not have the emotional impact of a lot of other graphic novels, but it was cute and entertaining.
• 
  Brandon

  A very pretty book (Simon Gane really killed it with the art, especially the backgrounds and cityscapes) with a story that left much to be desired. It's pretty straightforward with a bunch of cliches. Not always a bad thing, but it was a quick read that left me wishing there was something more to get stuck on.
• 
  Holly Lee

  This graphic novel was largely superficial. I found the relationships to be unbelieveable, and underdevloped. That being said, I did like the artwork, and the story idea was interesting. Unfortunately, I think it was unispired and fell flat. I would say pass on this book.
• 
  sweet pea

  busy drawings. trite plot. basically Annie on My Mind with tales of Paris thrown in, without the charm of either.
• 
  Michael

  .???: to be young in paris is a moveable feast- beautiful, lively, art and storytelling...
• 
  Jacque

  I read this series when I was 15 and I had to wait for each installment to come out. I loved it then, I recently re-read it and it still holds up for me.
• 
  Online Eccentric Librarian

  

  More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog
  http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

  While there is nothing new in this story, it has its own style and atmosphere that make for a lovely read. Set in Bohemian Paris in the late 1950s, it is a sweet tale of two young women who fall in love but are torn apart by circumstances.
  
  Story: American Juliet goes to Paris to study art but has to survive on commissions to pay for her tuition. Enter Deborah - a British debutante with a restrictive Aunt, happy-go-lucky brother, and a realization that her life will be stifled. When Juliette is hired to paint Deborah, she becomes obsessed and the two are soon stealing away to art museums and seedy underground haunts. But Deborah's Aunt and brother have plans for the young woman and they certainly do not entail a penniless American art student.
  
  The art is quite fun with Juliet having a beatnik feel while Deborah looks to be the proper British heiress. The scenes around Paris are quite amusing and well worth closer inspection since there are so many micro moments happening in the background to the random people in the crowds. The illustrations are in black and white but on an off-white background. The characters are expressive and easy-to0-tell apart. The art supports the story perfectly and really sets the scenes well.
  
  The story is cute but fun. We can see the reason why both ladies are curious about each other. The dialogue can be challenging because whole chunks are in French (which is translated in the back). It may take a few readings to get the full import of what is being said but this is a story that is enjoyable the second time around anyway.
  
  This is a fairly quick read for the first time and rewards second reads greatly just exploring the panels and appreciating all the work the illustrator put into humorous vignettes always happening in the background. As such, this is both a rewarding quick read and an amusing reread in the near future. This is a complete story. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
  
• 
  tessa s

  This romp of a graphic novel was a quick light read. This love story is set in 1950's Paris and follows an American artist that has fallen for the British socialite she is painting a portrait of.
  
  The illustrations are the shining star of this short piece. The storyline itself is cliche, the characters are simple archetypes without true depth, and there are some facets of it that do not make sense. However, if you are seeking a short graphic piece that reads like a 2008 romcom, this is exactly what you need.
• 
  Rick Ray

  Some great artwork but with not much story to chew on. We follow an art student in Paris who is commissioned to work for a woman who grows tired of her aristocratic life. The story kind of waffles around for the duration of the book, but it does seem like the intention is really to showcase Simon Gane's meticulous depictions of the streets and vistas of Paris. I did like it, but there isn't enough in here to really recommend this strongly either.
• 
  Aleria

  This was something different. Still had LGBTQ themes but the artstyle was very unique and different from what I'm use to seeing. The aunt looks like a damn witch having a bad day. But the other characters look just as interesting.
• 
  Andréa

  Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.
• 
  Jesse Richards

  One of the most beautiful books I've ever seen.
• 
  Aurora

  It was just okay. I didn’t particularly like the lack of coloring—I think the pages would’ve popped more with it instead of being sort of muddled.
• 
  Carol

  Wish there would have been translations for the French text.
• 
  Cassandra Haywood

  A nice story, the art was lovely. However I think it could have used more depth to the characters. I would've liked to know more about them.
• 
  Mark Ames

  Enjoyable story. Really for me the art is the star here. Not too heavy or deep, just fun.
• 
  Shana Bird

  2.5⭐️
• 
  Michelle Duda

  Great story but I wanted more.
• 
  Muireann

  The streetscapes are just glorious but the risible dialogue could have done with a run past a French speaker and a proofreader
• 
  Daniel

  Nothing like a whimsical French tale
• 
  Kari

  I read so much colorful middle school graphic fiction, that the black & white art style of this was a jolt - and I very much enjoyed it. You meet the characters and are carried through the whole story quickly. Didn't even realize at the start that it takes place in the 50s - guess Paris (and this story) has that timeless quality to it, but that makes the story and romance even more special. A fun find from the library's New shelf.