A new graphic novel from IDW explores a symphony of themes, with recurring moments of excitement, longing, and regret. It’s an ambitious undertaking, and well worth a look: Ballad For Sophie.
In 1933 France, a local piano contest pits two young boys against each other. One boy wins, but the other boy triumphs. The strange energy surrounding the competition sets the tone and motif for both of the boys in later life. In 1997, a bitter, disfigured old man is a recluse. When he is approached by a young journalist, he decides to open up about his life as a famous pianist. This is the story of his life, and how his life continues today in semi-seclusion.
Filipe Melo (Portuguese author of several other graphic novels) writes, and Juan Cavia (Argentinian artist and art director) illustrates this epic saga. Cavia’s drawing style is that of thin, fine line outlines, conveying detailed shapes using careful rendering and shading. The colouring is low-key, with a reliance on neutral tones. The excellent visuals lead us into the story with our eyes wide open, and little by little, we are charmed by the narrative. The young journalist is hesitant but curious. The resident house cat is a major and minor component. The pianist and his housekeeper are by turns reserved and then greeting the journalist with enthusiasm.
Ballad For Sophie takes the reader into the competitive world of public performance, of brutal and unflinching cruelty, of the dangers of obsessive behaviour. As the story unfolds, the journalist and pianist form a friendship, with the old man showing a sense of trust that has been missing from his life.
The book is a long one, at 320 pages, but fully entrancing and enveloping. Well written, full of drama and emotion.
Bonus material includes many pages of carefully rendered character sketches.
IDW Top Shelf imprint, Ballad For Sophie, $24.99 for 320 pages.
Newsdesk