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Review
`A Taste of Chlorine is a fun and soothing simple pleasure' --Dazed & Confused
`This is one of those books that I want to say lots about in order to convince you to read it but find myself rendered slightly speechless by its simplicity, its beauty and its sheer ability to move the reader. It is easily the best graphic novel I have read this year and for quite some time. A bit like reading a perfectly honed short story or novella. I can't imagine a person who wouldn't find their life enriched by reading it.'
--Just William's Luck (blog)
`If shades of turquoise and aquamarine are your thing, then you will find this book extraordinarily beautiful. Low on dialogue, it's Vivès's remarkable illustrations that draw you on... It's like watching an extremely watery silent movie: evocative, dreamlike, mysterious. Never before has the monotony of swimming lengths seemed so appealing'
--The Observer
`A Taste of Chlorine is a wonderfully engrossing book, with few words, Vivès' artwork, in ripple-edged frames and a muted palette, predominantly of aquamarine, draws one in, almost imperceptibly until, in parallel to the closing underwater scenes, one finds one has become completely submerged by the characters and their simple story beautifully told. And, like the boy, completely desirous to know more about the girl and as desperate to decipher what exactly it is she said underwater'
--Plectrum - the Cultural Pick webzine
`A book so beautiful you'll want to jump right in' --Metro
`Bastien Vives is attuned to the vulnerability of adolescent physiques and feelings. He bathes these young bodies in swathes of turquoise, shifting from flesh-coloured outlines above the surface to grey-green abstractions beneath, transforming the swimming pool into a special space, filled with hopes and desires' --TLS
`Every once in a while a book comes along that justifies all of your faith in the form. A Taste of Chlorine is one of those graphic novels that does the job perfectly: great art, intriguing storyline, well told, it has it all going on. Not just one of my favourite graphic novels in 2011, one of my favourite `reads' so far (even though it has hardly any words in it!)' --Bookmunch
`Every once in a while, a graphic novel comes along that warrants the kind of attention more typically bestowed upon the likes of the Booker shortlist. Bastien Vives's A Taste of Chlorine is one such book. Vives manages to combine the unspoken yearning of Lost in Translation with the low-key detail of a film-maker such as Tom McCarthy. What's more, the art is such that you'll frequently find yourself stopping to admire the beauty of a single frame. Highly recommended' --Independent on Sunday
`This beautifully drawn book cleverly examines the intricacies and complications of friendship, heightened by the intimate world of the swimming pool' --Booktrust
It is beautifully portrayed. I personally loved this method of story-telling. It is almost taking you back to the roots of telling stories without being too verbose and all through pictures. The book is well drawn and intriguing' --The Hungry Reader
`This is one of those books that I want to say lots about in order to convince you to read it but find myself rendered slightly speechless by its simplicity, its beauty and its sheer ability to move the reader. It is easily the best graphic novel I have read this year and for quite some time. A bit like reading a perfectly honed short story or novella. I can't imagine a person who wouldn't find their life enriched by reading it.'
--Just William's Luck (blog)
`If shades of turquoise and aquamarine are your thing, then you will find this book extraordinarily beautiful. Low on dialogue, it's Vivès's remarkable illustrations that draw you on... It's like watching an extremely watery silent movie: evocative, dreamlike, mysterious. Never before has the monotony of swimming lengths seemed so appealing'
--The Observer
`A Taste of Chlorine is a wonderfully engrossing book, with few words, Vivès' artwork, in ripple-edged frames and a muted palette, predominantly of aquamarine, draws one in, almost imperceptibly until, in parallel to the closing underwater scenes, one finds one has become completely submerged by the characters and their simple story beautifully told. And, like the boy, completely desirous to know more about the girl and as desperate to decipher what exactly it is she said underwater'
--Plectrum - the Cultural Pick webzine
`A book so beautiful you'll want to jump right in' --Metro
`Bastien Vives is attuned to the vulnerability of adolescent physiques and feelings. He bathes these young bodies in swathes of turquoise, shifting from flesh-coloured outlines above the surface to grey-green abstractions beneath, transforming the swimming pool into a special space, filled with hopes and desires' --TLS
`Every once in a while a book comes along that justifies all of your faith in the form. A Taste of Chlorine is one of those graphic novels that does the job perfectly: great art, intriguing storyline, well told, it has it all going on. Not just one of my favourite graphic novels in 2011, one of my favourite `reads' so far (even though it has hardly any words in it!)' --Bookmunch
`Every once in a while, a graphic novel comes along that warrants the kind of attention more typically bestowed upon the likes of the Booker shortlist. Bastien Vives's A Taste of Chlorine is one such book. Vives manages to combine the unspoken yearning of Lost in Translation with the low-key detail of a film-maker such as Tom McCarthy. What's more, the art is such that you'll frequently find yourself stopping to admire the beauty of a single frame. Highly recommended' --Independent on Sunday
`This beautifully drawn book cleverly examines the intricacies and complications of friendship, heightened by the intimate world of the swimming pool' --Booktrust
It is beautifully portrayed. I personally loved this method of story-telling. It is almost taking you back to the roots of telling stories without being too verbose and all through pictures. The book is well drawn and intriguing' --The Hungry Reader
Book Description
'Every once in a while, a graphic novel comes along that warrants the kind of attention more typically bestowed upon the likes of the Booker shortlist. Bastien Vivès's A Taste of Chlorine is one such book.' Independent on Sunday
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A man with curvature of the spine is advised to take up swimming to help with his condition. When he begins swimming he finds it hard to get into but slowly becomes better at it. A woman he meets at the swimming pool is a former swimming champion who helps him get better and the two begin a pool-only relationship. Over time it seems the man falls for the woman and that the woman might have feelings for the man - but will anything come of this?
This subtle, gentle story is told at a very leisurely pace by artist/writer Bastien Vives. The pictures look very colourful and crisp in the French style of illustration such as Joann Sfar and Kerascoet but for those looking for a pacy narrative would do better to look elsewhere. This is a contemplative, almost zen-like storytelling style revolving around swimming in a pool with very little in the way of dialogue and mostly panels showing slight variations of the previous one. In this way it's almost like animation and if you read it quickly it's like watching an animated indie feature.
In the end, I wasn't sure what to make of the story. I enjoyed the book but the ambiguity made sure that I was kept in the dark. The end is like the end of "Lost in Translation" when Scarlett Johannson whispers something in Bill Murray's ear and the audience doesn't hear it - something is "said" which basically ends the book and it's never explained.
Even so, the book is well drawn and intriguing if only to see how the story will play out. The ambiguity and lack of an ending continue the feeling of intrigue set out by the writer and though that might be unsatisfactory for some, I still came away from the book thinking it was worthwhile.
Definitely an acquired taste but for those looking for indie comics or a comic book that has something a bit different to it, this is a decent read.
This subtle, gentle story is told at a very leisurely pace by artist/writer Bastien Vives. The pictures look very colourful and crisp in the French style of illustration such as Joann Sfar and Kerascoet but for those looking for a pacy narrative would do better to look elsewhere. This is a contemplative, almost zen-like storytelling style revolving around swimming in a pool with very little in the way of dialogue and mostly panels showing slight variations of the previous one. In this way it's almost like animation and if you read it quickly it's like watching an animated indie feature.
In the end, I wasn't sure what to make of the story. I enjoyed the book but the ambiguity made sure that I was kept in the dark. The end is like the end of "Lost in Translation" when Scarlett Johannson whispers something in Bill Murray's ear and the audience doesn't hear it - something is "said" which basically ends the book and it's never explained.
Even so, the book is well drawn and intriguing if only to see how the story will play out. The ambiguity and lack of an ending continue the feeling of intrigue set out by the writer and though that might be unsatisfactory for some, I still came away from the book thinking it was worthwhile.
Definitely an acquired taste but for those looking for indie comics or a comic book that has something a bit different to it, this is a decent read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Those are two words you don't often see together. But for the past couple of months one of the images I've often seen whilst waking in the mornings is that of a swimming-bath, roofed over with glass and enclosed by two tiers of corridors with many doors. I struggle to remember when I was in that place, and it's not till fully awake that I remember it exists only in this book. Even had I not liked A Taste of Chlorine so much, this would tell me that there's something special about it: My visual sense is weak and it's rarely that so specific an image would impress itself upon me as strongly as this.
The story is very simple indeed. A lad of perhaps 15 goes swimming in this pool each Wednesday. He becomes friendly with another teen-ager he meets there, one who has inexplicably given up competitive swimming and who gives him pointers on swimming technique. Sometimes she doesn't show; once she turns up at the pool with an older chap. After being asked a serious question by the lad, she mouths to him underwater an unintelligible reply. That's all, really, but a faint air of mystery underlying the events gives the story an unexpected depth.
The artwork is distinctive and well-considered, coloured with a limited palette suited perfectly to the setting. And the subtly-told story is a welcome change from the full-on portrayals of angst, of life-changing first love, or of coming-of-age moments more commonly found in comics--and in novels, for that matter--with teen-aged protagonists. It's a book I'll probably re-read several times in the future and for the present would recommend without reservation.
3 1/2 stars.
The story is very simple indeed. A lad of perhaps 15 goes swimming in this pool each Wednesday. He becomes friendly with another teen-ager he meets there, one who has inexplicably given up competitive swimming and who gives him pointers on swimming technique. Sometimes she doesn't show; once she turns up at the pool with an older chap. After being asked a serious question by the lad, she mouths to him underwater an unintelligible reply. That's all, really, but a faint air of mystery underlying the events gives the story an unexpected depth.
The artwork is distinctive and well-considered, coloured with a limited palette suited perfectly to the setting. And the subtly-told story is a welcome change from the full-on portrayals of angst, of life-changing first love, or of coming-of-age moments more commonly found in comics--and in novels, for that matter--with teen-aged protagonists. It's a book I'll probably re-read several times in the future and for the present would recommend without reservation.
3 1/2 stars.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book for my Sweetie, a keen swimmer. It is still next to his chair and we both pick it up regularly, to look at it or read it. So it isn't just about the story, it is the graphics, the design and the excellent production values of the book. Love it... especially the drawings on the end pages
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