Vignettes of Ystov

Overview

A poetic and poignant graphic novel, where the washed-out and lonely urban landscape of the fictional city of Ystov provides the setting for a series of remarkable stories

Welcome to Ystov, a bleak but whimsical city. Readers are invited to zoom in and out, through panoramas of industry and market squares, to witness the varied lives of its curious inhabitants—lives of absurdities, restraints, and small triumphs. Meet the poet Eugene Tusk, stumbling upon the old ...

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Overview

A poetic and poignant graphic novel, where the washed-out and lonely urban landscape of the fictional city of Ystov provides the setting for a series of remarkable stories

Welcome to Ystov, a bleak but whimsical city. Readers are invited to zoom in and out, through panoramas of industry and market squares, to witness the varied lives of its curious inhabitants—lives of absurdities, restraints, and small triumphs. Meet the poet Eugene Tusk, stumbling upon the old haunts of the Strombold Collective, his defunct poetry society. Or the property agent Yosef Kavar—clearing the apartment of a recently deceased janitor, and discovering a homemade museum dedicated to a lifetime's collection of dustpan detritus. What about this pair of scientists—fed up with astrophysics and out to disprove coincidences as a phenomenon? And here are two men meeting to discuss the fate of an old schoolfriend, piecing together their memories of him, searching for clues that might have led to his sudden arrest for "nose-crimes." Beautifully drawn, and written with a Chekhovian clarity and concision, this series of miniature masterpieces marks the arrival of one of the most inventive new talents in comics.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
In this odd, delightful book, Goldsmith offers a series of two-page sketches of life in the fictional city of Ystov. Random at first, the stories slowly tie together, as various quirky characters cross paths. Dark undertones haunt this world, including death striking at random and government oppression from KGB-type agents. But there are also moments of humor and whimsy. Marÿke Blitzen, an office clerk, is a “renowned flirt,” and lovers dream of being reunited and spelling their names with the letters from alphabet soup. The volume is beautifully produced, from the striking end papers to the handwritten table of contents to the sketches of the characters at the front of the volume. Goldsmith’s lovely watercolor illustrations, awash in muted pastels, are a compelling cross between Soviet Realism and a Madeline book. While brief, this book begs to be re-read again and again, in the search for new details and connections that are sure to be noticed with each pass. (Nov.)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780224090360
  • Publisher: Random House UK
  • Publication date: 9/1/2012
  • Pages: 64
  • Product dimensions: 8.00 (w) x 11.50 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Meet the Author

William Goldsmith is a writer and illustrator.

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