Paul Goes Fishing

“Free of self-loathing . . . [Rabagliati’s] black-and-white panels eschew half-tones for a spirited line.”—Voice Literary Supplement

“A native Quebecois artist, Rabagliati has chronicled a thinly veiled version of his artistic and interior life in his previous three books, and the present volume finds his stand-in, Paul, entering into adult responsibilities with his fiancé, Lucie, and thoughts of a child on the way. On a long summer break, Paul remembers his childhood vacations and his own upbringing and early love affair with Lucie. Meanwhile, Lucie has a very difficult time sustaining pregnancies. All of this is told in a matter-of-fact, somewhat flat manner. Rabagliati is an everyman chronicler in that way—telling the facts of a story with no artificial drama or hysterics. Unfortunately, this makes for a somewhat dull read. This slightly boring telling is redeemed by Rabagliati's wonderful skill with a pen. His cartooning is steeped in the clean-line style of Hergé and other Europeans, and he cleverly delineates characters and their environs in this simple, elegant and reductive style. It's a pleasure to look at, even with somewhat limited returns. Paul Goes Fishing is a fine graphic novel—not great, not bad, but firmly in the middle, with a sharp sense of craft and a warm heart guiding it.”—Publishers Weekly

“Paul is a graphic designer who lives in Quebec. He and his pregnant wife Lucie are going on vacation; they have rented a cabin in the woods with his sister-in-law's family. Paul isn't the outdoorsy type. He likes the bunnies that run free on the grounds, and that's about it. He hates fishing because he and his father almost drowned in a disastrous fishing trip when he was a lad, and is horrified at modern hunting tactics—feed the animals for months so you know where they will be when you want to shoot them. Despite all this, Paul has a good time. He plays Bingo and visits a museum dedicated to the feats of Louis Cyr, the strongest man in Canada. The vacation is cut short when Lucie takes ill. Paul Goes Fishing is part of a semi-autobiographical series. The folksy narrative is all about family—Paul and Lucie's attempts to have a baby are an important plot point, but most of the story takes place in the cabin in the woods with Paul's in-laws. The black and white art reminds me of Tintin. Paul Goes Fishing contains vulgarity (s-bomb); non-sexual nudity; and disturbing imagery—there are two abortions (all that's shown is blood dripping into a bottle, but it's still horrible), which the author foreshadows by the presence of vacuum cleaners at the graphic novel's beginning.”—KLIATT