Thursday 22 May 2014

Sand Castle

Finished May 21
Sand Castle by Frederik Peeters and Pierre Oscar Lévy, 

This graphic novel starts with a young man waking near a beach located in a small cove. He sees a young woman arrive to swim and tries to leave to give her privacy, but finds himself injured.
Soon a family arrives with two small children and the father regards the young man suspiciously. As more people arrive, the people on the beach begin to realize that something is wrong.
Each realization by each person is different. Some are intrigued by the science behind it, some are scared by what they see, some try to escape the situation, and others react in denial. As they all begin to admit that something is seriously wrong, they also come to terms with it in different ways.
Because the menace here is unseen and the cause is unknown , it makes it more scary. The randomness of the people being here to experience this horror is also an element that adds to the terror it evokes.
An idyllic scene, with random victims, of a horrific and unassailable fate, enacted by unknown forces. Scary, indeed.

3 comments:

  1. Oooh! This sounds fabulous. I haven't heard of it but it's right up my alley *and* I'm on a French graphic novel kick at the moment. Thanks!

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  2. Glad to put you on to it Nicola.
    I think what made it scary was the combination of random victim and the innocuousness of the activity the victims were engaged in (going to the beach).

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