Scan barcode
A review by a_pilgrim
Days of Sand: Part 1 by Aimée de Jongh
5.0
A moving and poignant story, with brilliant illustrations and artwork!
The fact that this graphic novel has a mere 47 ratings is so surprising, when Aimée de Jongh`s Days of Sand should have been in the league of my other favourites, Daytripper and Essex County.
[© Aimée de Jongh.]
To start with the artwork just by itself is brilliant - the detailing of each frame, the character provided to the images of the people, animals, things and events - the reader just gets transported into the scene and clearly feels the situation and its associated circumstances, without the need of any words.
[© Aimée de Jongh.]
And then, the storyline - inspiring, moving and heart-touching - provides a clear picture of the lead character's aspirations and the vivid description of the times of the Great Depression, the difficult lives of the people, and the harsh climatic conditions in the Dust Bowl.
[John Clark, © Aimée de Jongh.]
Set in Oklahoma of 1937, this is the story of John Clark, an aspiring, passionate and talented photographer.
[The Dust Bowl, © Aimée de Jongh.]
[The economic crisis, © Aimée de Jongh.]
In the middle of an economic crisis when unemployment numbers are on the rise, John gets a job in a Washington based photo agency that is run by the government. His first assignment is to get photographs of farmers and their living conditions. John is sent to Oklahoma, into the oval-shaped region called the Dust Bowl. The agency gives John a shooting script to follow - ‘a list of possible subjects to cover’. Thus, starts the journey of John Clark - the nights of dust... and days of sand…
”I didn`t pass another car for hours. Nobody came here. And I knew why.
Death had come to this place.”
[© Aimée de Jongh.]
[© Aimée de Jongh.]
Even though set during the Great Depression and in the Dust Bowl, and seem like all about dust and sand, this story is so much more than the obvious. The character of John Clark so well depicts the transition and ‘compromise’ from being a passionate photographer to a photojournalist - one of the items in the list is to take photographs of orphaned children and in order to complete this item, John ends up asking a mother to leave her baby and step aside so that he can take the photograph of ‘an orphaned child’.
Overall, this is a spectacular and authentic graphic novel!
Now, looking forward to reading the second part, hopefully soon.
The fact that this graphic novel has a mere 47 ratings is so surprising, when Aimée de Jongh`s Days of Sand should have been in the league of my other favourites, Daytripper and Essex County.
[© Aimée de Jongh.]
To start with the artwork just by itself is brilliant - the detailing of each frame, the character provided to the images of the people, animals, things and events - the reader just gets transported into the scene and clearly feels the situation and its associated circumstances, without the need of any words.
[© Aimée de Jongh.]
And then, the storyline - inspiring, moving and heart-touching - provides a clear picture of the lead character's aspirations and the vivid description of the times of the Great Depression, the difficult lives of the people, and the harsh climatic conditions in the Dust Bowl.
[John Clark, © Aimée de Jongh.]
Set in Oklahoma of 1937, this is the story of John Clark, an aspiring, passionate and talented photographer.
[The Dust Bowl, © Aimée de Jongh.]
[The economic crisis, © Aimée de Jongh.]
In the middle of an economic crisis when unemployment numbers are on the rise, John gets a job in a Washington based photo agency that is run by the government. His first assignment is to get photographs of farmers and their living conditions. John is sent to Oklahoma, into the oval-shaped region called the Dust Bowl. The agency gives John a shooting script to follow - ‘a list of possible subjects to cover’. Thus, starts the journey of John Clark - the nights of dust... and days of sand…
”I didn`t pass another car for hours. Nobody came here. And I knew why.
Death had come to this place.”
[© Aimée de Jongh.]
[© Aimée de Jongh.]
Even though set during the Great Depression and in the Dust Bowl, and seem like all about dust and sand, this story is so much more than the obvious. The character of John Clark so well depicts the transition and ‘compromise’ from being a passionate photographer to a photojournalist - one of the items in the list is to take photographs of orphaned children and in order to complete this item, John ends up asking a mother to leave her baby and step aside so that he can take the photograph of ‘an orphaned child’.
Overall, this is a spectacular and authentic graphic novel!
Now, looking forward to reading the second part, hopefully soon.