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Shenzhen

A Travelogue from China

Drawn and Quarterly, October 2006
ISBN: 978-1-894937-79-5, ISBN10: 1-894937-79-1,
6 x 8 1/2 inches, 152 pages, Black-and-White Illustrations,
Hardcover, $19.95

Praise
Biography

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Categories and Subcategories

See All Categories Asian & Asian American Studies Asian & Asian American Studies - All Titles Graphic Literature and History Graphic Literature and History - All Titles Young Adult Literature Graphic Novels

Shenzhen, Guy Delisle's follow-up to his acclaimed graphic novel Pyongyang, is entertainingly compact, with the author's observations of life in a cold urban city in southern China that is sealed off from the rest of the country by electric fences and armed guards. With a dry wit and a clean line, Delisle makes the most of his time spent in Asia overseeing outsourced production for a French animation company. By translating his fish-out-of-water experiences into accessible graphic novels, Delisle is quick to find the humor and point out the differences between Western and Eastern cultures. Yet he never forgets to relay his compassion for the simple freedoms that escape his colleagues by virtue of living in a Communist state.

Praise

"A sharp eye for detail, self-deprecating humor and subtle, shadowy drawings highlight this engaging, ambitious graphic narrative . . . The artist makes no attempt to convince the reader to visit the Chinese city from which he couldn't wait to escape. As a Canadian native now based in France, Delisle is no stranger to cultural dislocation, yet he wasn't prepared for the strangeness and isolation he would feel when he traveled to China to direct a team of animators on a TV series. Within the workplace, the hotel and the restaurants he stumbles upon (where he proves far more open-minded and adventurous than many readers would be), Delisle runs into so many barriers that he ends up exploring his own psychological state here . . . The artist himself questions the value of sharing what he experienced during his stay in China, yet the Kafkaesque drawings that accompany his frequently droll narration are their own reward. Shenzhen may not be a nice place to live, but it's a provocative city to visit—in graphic form, at least. While never preaching, this volume makes a forceful case for creative license and personal liberty, as the artist discovers that there's no place like home."—Kirkus Reviews

"[Delisle] recounts a 1997 stint in the Chinese boomtown Shenzhen . . . China showed signs of Westernization, at least in Special Economic Zones such as Shenzhen, where Delisle found a Hard Rock Cafe and a Gold's Gym. Still, he experienced near-constant alienation. The absence of other Westerners and bilingual Chinese left him unable to ask about baffling cultural differences ranging from exotic shops to the pervasive lack of sanitation . . . China is an authoritarian, not totalitarian, state, and Delisle escaped the oppressive atmosphere with a getaway to nearby Hong Kong, whose relative familiarity gave him 'reverse culture shock' . . . His creative skill suggests that the comic strip is the ideal medium for such an account. His wry drawings and clever storytelling convey his experiences far more effectively than one imagines a travel journal or film documentary would."—Gordon Flagg, Booklist

"Pyongyang introduced Delisle's acute voice, as he reported from North Korea with unusual insight and wit, not to mention wonderfully detailed cartooning. Shenzhen is . . . another installment in what one hopes is an ongoing series of travelogues by this talented artist. Here he again finds himself working on an animated movie in a Communist country, this time in Shenzhen, an isolated city in southern China. Delisle not only takes readers through his daily routine, but also explores Chinese custom and geography, eloquently explaining the cultural differences city to city, company to company and person to person. He also goes into detail about the food and entertainment of the region as well as animation in general and his own career path. All of this is the result of his intense isolation for three months in an anonymous hotel room. He has little to do but ruminate on his surroundings, and readers are the lucky beneficiaries of his loneliness . . . Delisle draws in a gentle cartoon style: his observations are grounded in realism, but his figures are light cartoons, giving the book, as Delisle himself remarks, a feeling of an alternative Tintin."—Publishers Weekly

About the Author(s)

Guy Delisle

Guy Delisle was born in Quebec City in 1966 and has spent the last decade living and working in the South of France with his wife and son. Delisle has spent ten years, mostly in Europe, working in animation, an experience that taught him about movement and drawing. Delisle has written and drawn six graphic novels, including Shenzhen.