By Pedrosa. Published by nbm. Hardcover, 264 pages, Colour, 2017 (originally published in 2011) From the author of the acclaimed Equinoxes comes a return to roots that serves as spiritual renewal. Comics artist Simon Muchat is stuck. Suffering writer's block, uninspired, vegetating as a school art teacher, he is losing direction and his taste for life, until one day he is invited to appear at a comics convention in Portugal, the country his family came from and which he hadn't seen since his childhood. The experience proves cathartic. Even though he is not Portuguese himself and is a foreigner there, so many elements are familiar to him. Meeting its lively citizens, full of the zest for life, his distant yet welcoming family bringing back fond early memories, all prove reinvigorating, the breath of fresh air he so badly needed. Based on his own experience, Pedrosa narrates this return to his roots in a deeply compelling and warmly human way. This is his bestselling graphic novel with over 100,000 copies sold in France and a winner of many prizes including Best Graphic Novel at the Angouleme Festival and FNAC Best GN. NOMINATED FOR THE EISNER AWARD 'BEST PAINTER' 2018 Reviews: "It's a meditative but also a dazzling emotional journey for the reader as well as Simon, a parable of finding oneself within what already exists but is not known, of seizing your identity through what came before you and your effort to connect the lines between yourself and everything else. A tapestry of jaw-dropping beauty." - John Seven, Comics Beat "A semi-autobiographical masterpiece...Pedrosa's art is outstanding, combining the warmth and vitality of sketchwork with an eye for detail and facial expressions. The book's palette of colors also helps to draw outsiders into the very personal experience of Portugal." -Foreword "Digging into the past shows him how to move forward, and Pedrosa turns Simon's self-discovery into a beautiful journey through a foreign country full of wonders. There's remarkable precision in the artwork, with each location and character rendered in lush detail." -The Onion AV Club "Expectations for this volume, already a best seller in France, will be high. Luckily, this masterpiece is actually even better than the hype." -Library Journal STARRED REVIEW "A tour de force! Pedrosa's loose, expansive writing style is perfectly complemented by his lush, lightly lined drawings, in which people and their stories overlap each other with discursive enthusiasm. Everybody has a lot to say in this graphic novel whose gorgeous art is as full as its story." -Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW "I have to say that I love Portugal more than any comic I've read since Moon and Ba's Daytripper." -Jenny Robbins, Broken Frontier "Pedrosa deftly narrates his return to his roots in a deeply compelling and warmly human way." -Midwest Book Review "4 out of 5. I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E graphics! Intriguing story." -Hit or Miss Books "Moving and intoxicating! Win's Christmas Gift Recommendation: the Perfect Family Holiday Getaway… 10/10." -Win Wiacek, Now Read This "One of top ten graphic novels of 2017. As much a triumph of atmosphere as action. The book's artist as a young man may be disenchanted, but the dazzling, meditative panels are entirely enchanting." -Michael Cavna, The Washington Post 9x12, 264pp., full color hardcover
