La Plus Belle Plage Du Norde by Lucas Burtin and Sun Bai. Fidèle Editions, 2021. 9782492290015. 76pp. In French, but there’s a translation of each panel that contains text on the inside of the dust jacket, in both English and Chinese. Images of / from the book plus ordering info at https://fidele-editions.com/products/la-plus-belle-plage-du-nord-lucas-burtin
Here’s the description of the book from the publisher’s website (English version):
“Following the rise of sea levels, on a deserted Earth, a Northern restaurant pours one last coffee to two friends who came to say goodbye. Just a moment to remember the strolls on the windy coast, confronted to the choice of leaving or staying. Further away, a thick cloud of smoke rises from the silent depths of the northern sea.”
This is a quiet, melancholy book. Humans have mostly abandoned the planet. A young woman travels to a nearby town to meet a friend at a cafe to say goodbye. Their meeting is awkward.
This graphic novella is a stunning physical object. I tracked down how to order a copy after seeing some of Bai’s illustrations online, and was super happy to receive mine within a week. (The publisher is located in France but shipped my order from a US location.) I’ll be ordering more books from the Fidèle Editions again soon.
