by Jeff LemireI have never been a fan of hockey, or even really understood the appeal of the game, but with this book, I can understand that the hold it has on the Canadian consciousness is a potent one.
Lemire's second book in the Essex County trilogy tells the story of Lou and Vince Lebeuf. They are two brothers from Southwester Ontario who, back in the fifties played for the Toronto Grizzlies. While they were very close growing up, they drifted, and Vince returned to the farm to raise crops and a family, while Lou continued on in Toronto, living a life of isolation and despair.
The book is set in the same timeframe as volume one of the series - we see a slight cameo by the characters from Tales of the Farm - and most of its story unfolds in flashback form, as the elderly Lou seems to constantly become unstuck in time and journey through his memories.
Like the previous volume, this is a beautiful book. Lemire's people are ugly at first, but after reading his book for a while, their nuanced faces begin to express more emotion than most comic artists are able to convey. There are large sections of silence in this book, signifying not just the profound deafness that Lou suffers, but also his complete isolation from the world around him.
This is a truly masterful piece of work.
1 comment:
I recently bought the top shelf essex county collection, and I think this to be the most moving of all three essex county books. Both I and my girlfriend were reduced to tears when we read the scene with the entire hockey team surrounding Lou's aged body.
Wonderful stuff, and great post.
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