The Jellyfish

by Boum, Robin Lang (Translator), Helge Dascher (Translator)

Overview

Featured on best of the year lists from the American Library Association, New York Public Library, the Comics Beat, and more!

"A deeply moving meditation on disability, diversity, and joy."—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"One of the most beautiful graphic novels I've ever read... The Jellyfish is exquisite." —Kate Leth, author of Mall Goth

"What an accomplishment! This book is beautiful... I loved this character and this story!" —Lucy Knisley, author of Relish

Odette is a twenty-something year old with their own place, a steady job at a local bookstore, an adorable pet rabbit, and a budding crush on one of their customers. But Odette is haunted by something only they can see: a jellyfish that's floating in their eye, blocking their vision. It's a seemingly minor annoyance…until the jellyfish starts multiplying.

Showcasing stunning and inventive artwork by Boum (Boumeries), The Jellyfish is a tour-de-force of graphic storytelling, a powerful, occasionally terrifying story of facing the thing that we fear the most and finding a light to guide us through the darkness.

Nominated for an Eisner Award, a Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize Honor Book, and the winner of the Doug Wright Nipper Award, Graphic Medicine Award, Bédéis Causa Award, ACBD Critic's Award, Québec Booksellers Prize, and more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9782925114307
Publisher:	Pow Pow Press
Publication date:	05/08/2024
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	16 - 18 Years

About the Author

Boum (Samantha Leriche-Gionet) was born in Montreal in 1985. Holder of a bachelor's degree in animation, she has seen her short films travel around the world. Since 2011, Boum has dedicated her time to creating comics. Her many works include A Small Revolution and her long-running, award-winning series Boumeries. She has a husband, two daughters, two cats, and a long to-do list. Over the past fifteen years, Boum has suffered from a number of eye conditions. In March 2021, she became permanently blind in her right eye.

Robin Lang has been co-translating graphic novels for Pow Pow Press alongside Helge Dascher since 2017. Most recently she was lead translator on The Jellyfish, by Boum (Samantha Leriche-Gionet), The Adventures of Sgoobidoo, by Cathon, and Lonely Boys by Sophie Bédard, winner of the 2021 Doug Wright award for best book. Other works she has co-translated include The Pineapples of Wrath by Cathon, and the Almost Summer series by Sophie Bédard. Robin runs a cut-flower farm in the Eastern Townships during the growing season and translates from French to English in the winter. She thoroughly enjoys the intricacies involved in translating graphic novels and draws great satisfaction from helping these stories reach new readers.

Helge Dascher has for 25 years translated texts with a dynamic relationship to images. A background in art history and literature has grounded her translation of over sixty graphic novels, many by artists who have broadened the medium's storytelling range. Her translations included acclaimed titles such as Julie Delporte's This Woman's Work (co-translated with Aleshia Jensen, Drawn and Quarterly, 2019), Sophie Bédard's Lonely Boys (co-translated with Robin Lang, Pow Pow Press, 2020) and Michel Rabagliati's "Paul" books (Drawn and Quarterly, Conundrum). She also translates exhibitions, digital stories, and films, most recently Theodor Ushev's The Physics of Sorrow (with Karen Houle, NFB, 2019). A Montrealer, she works from French and German to English.

Editorial Reviews

"A deeply moving meditation on disability, diversity, and joy."
—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"Although it is specifically grounded in the author's own experiences, the story feels universal. Deeply human and ultimately optimistic, The Jellyfish is an important entry in the world of graphic medicine, and a remarkable graphic novel by any standard."
—Andrew Woodrow-Butcher, Quill & Quire (Starred Review)

"Boum goes beyond simply telling stories about stereotype-defeating disabled characters to communicating what it is like to experience the world with blindness. An amazing and essential addition to high-school, academic, and public library collections."
—Victoria Rahbar, Booklist (Starred Review)

"Where words fail to convey the frustration of Odette’s predicament, the artwork speaks for it. The graphic novel form is the only way to tell Odette’s story, and Boum is the only artist for the job. The Jellyfish is both comforting and sad. It is both timeless and present. It is a real one."
—Timothy Thomas, Independent Book Review (Starred Review)

"Visually and in writing, Boum has created a story full of diversity and rich in humanity. It's crafted with immense care and talent, and... manages to take the reader on a deeply emotional journey that is absolutely worth the time it takes to experience. In the end, my review on this book is simply 'read it.' You won't be disappointed."
—Josh Gauthier, No Flying No Tights (Starred Review)

"Not only is The Jellyfish one of the most beautiful graphic novels I've ever read, it goes straight for the heart and doesn't let up. Boum is a master of her craft... The Jellyfish is exquisite."
—Kate Leth, author of Mall Goth

"What an accomplishment! This book is beautiful and cool and such a fascinating look into the denial and struggle one goes through when dealing with sensory degradation. I loved this character and this story!"
—Lucy Knisley, author of Relish

"This is such a unique and clever visual interpretation of what it's like to literally lose your senses. And Boum's thoughtful, skillful linework and endearing character designs are a treat for the eyes, no pun intended."
—Danielle Corsetto, author of Elephant Town

"...A fictional tale of rare sensitivity and dazzling graphic inventiveness."
—Jean-Dominic Leduc, Le Journal de Québec

"...The finale, in particular, is a thing of beauty... It's a really lovely comic."
—Claudia Hébert, Culture Club, Radio Canada

From the Publisher

★ 2024-05-17
Fiercely independent Odette must confront a debilitating condition with a magical realist twist in this charming graphic bildungsroman set in Montreal.

Odette Biset-Yu is making things work. After dropping out of university, much to her parent’s dismay, she gets a job in a bookstore and an apartment in what her mother declares a “sketchy” neighborhood of Montreal where she lives with her rabbit, Napoleon. Though her days are long and often exhausting, Odette is bolstered by her strong friend group and the satisfaction she finds in the space she has created “to live [her] life, independently,” apart from her well-meaning but overbearing family. All that’s missing is romance; that is, until the day the lushly beautiful Naina walks into the bookstore. As the friendship between the two blossoms into a love affair, they support each other through each of their journeys toward true adult independence, but there’s a problem. Odette has a jellyfish in her eye, and it’s multiplying. Faced with a suddenly uncertain future, Odette must decide whether true independence means standing on one’s own or being strong enough to accept the help that is offered. Winsome cartoon realism details a racially diverse cast of characters who navigate the uncertainties of young adulthood with heartfelt affection the reader cannot help but return. Meanwhile, author and illustrator Boum’s startling use of perspective and her placement of the jellyfish that float through every page, both obscuring and refocusing the attention of reader and main character alike, create a near perfect symbiosis between narrative and art.

A deeply moving meditation on disability, diversity, and joy.

Kirkus Reviews