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Il Fotografo (2003)

by Emmanuel Guibert(Favorite Author)

4.19 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

coconino press

review 1: This book resonated with me particularly because of its format. I was an enthusiastic film photographer in high school ("was" because my college doesn't have the resources, aka a darkroom, for me to continue my love of developing and printing film). It was a comfort to me to examine Lefevre's contact sheets. The book as a whole, though, was an amazingly well-put-together compilation of writing, artistic recreations of Lefevre's memories, and Lefevre's own photos, in contact sheet form. (For those who aren't film-minded, a photographer makes a print of every exposed frame on his or her roll of film at once to make a contact sheet. The images on the contact sheet are the same size as the film itself and, unlike the negatives, are tiny versions of how the images would look wh... moreen printed.) The combination of these elements gives the reader a sense of the depth and complexity of Lefevre's experience and the lives of those in Afghanistan in general. The Photographer is unlike other nonfiction graphic novels in that it includes a large number of photographs taken at the time of the story. The photographs serve as the visual element for about a third to a half of the total panels in the book. These photographs keep the reader grounded in the story and prevents the reader from thinking about the story as a fictional one, or from growing too distanced from the characters and events involved. The photographs truly sucks the reader into the book and keep him or her close to the story from beginning to end.While the photographs were what made this graphic novel stand out to me, the writing and illustrations were also very well-done. It's clear that Guibert and Lemercier put in the time and effort to tell Lefevre's story in detail and to do it the justice it deserved.
review 2: I love this book. part of it is just personal reasons and affection for/longing for aspects of the middle east, but also the story is great and the presentation too. the best witnesses to tragic situations are the ones who can see the humor, absurdity, sadness, courage, perseverance, etc. of the people living it, and also the assholes in the midst of it all, and both the photographer and the writer in this case totally get that. the combo of graphic novel + photography is wonderful and keeps the whole thing more action-y than either approach would be on its own. my only complaint is that the photos are so tiny. they are so extraordinary, i really wanted to be able to see them huge to linger over all the detail. i want this as an ebook that i can project on the wall and read that way. i love print books to the death, but this is one that really screams for some kind of multimedia presentation. if a show of lefrevre's work came to town i'd be all over it. less

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