Review by Colin Credle
Released in 2013 and more recently in 2020 in English, Melvile: A Graphic Novel won the Belgian Prix Diagonale for best graphic novel of the year, the Prix Espoir for best story at the Versailles Festival as well as the International Comic Festival in Algeria. As author and illustrator, Romain Renaud writes with a literary structure, instilled with apparitions, an old growth oak tree nicknamed “Major”, the folklore of early settlers, sudden tragedies amplified by questionable choices, the comfort of daily rituals, the desire for clean starts and the cauterizing of past trauma with natural conflagrations. Renaud runs a poetic thread through it all without undermining a paced tale that slowly grabs attention.
Placed in the plush, forested part of the USA, Melvile is where author Simon Beauclair has retreated to wrestle with his writer’s block after publishing his first book successfully. Renaud’s art saturates the pages with blotted abstract outlines of a mysterious landscape that beautifully capture the languid days free of tasks. Simon is living in the cabin of his father, who passed away when he was seven years old, and starts each day with a shower and a visit to the corner store for beer and cigarettes. Aside from his editor leaving long messages on his answering machine, little interrupts his day. Simon is hiding in Melvile; hiding from the pressure of producing a second book, hiding from his city apartment being repossessed by the bank, yet each day he is confronted by the blank page. His pregnant wife Sarah stands nearby wringing her hands about what he will do next.
On a whim, Simon takes a job painting the house of David, an affable young man recovering from a motorcycle accident with a knee injury. David’s sister Rachel often stops by and spends a few days at the house. The work inspires Simon to get up early, to once again visit with the dawn, and he becomes lost in the escape of sanding, prepping and painting the house. Along the way, he opens up to David and Rita, sharing meals, going fishing and just sitting on the porch with a cold beer. Simon is crawling out of his shell, but is it a fresh start or he is simply ignoring his past and his responsibilities?
Renaud could easily fall into a maudlin trap of being overwrought, but he deftly avoids this by keeping the characters down to earth and distinct, so David and Rita are not just there for Simon, they are fully realised presences. The beautiful illustrations create their own atmosphere of mystery. The town of Melvile is another character, with its own past and its own stories. There are some erotic moments, but they are tender, unhurried and important to the arc of characters relaxing their guard. Suffering can often lead to personal growth, but it remains unclear if destruction of a relationship is necessary to move on and grow into a new person.
Melvile stays with you and presents a hopeful journey in building friendships during our daily rituals and sometimes by just sitting back on the porch and enjoying a beer with good people. There’s more to Melvile than that, but what stands out is Renaud adroitly notices the mundane in an otherwise compelling story.
