The curse of the umbrella

- Little Nothings, vol. 1: The curse of the umbrella. Lewis Trondheim. 

Trondhem, alias Laurent Chabosy, first published the autobiographical vignettes that were later released as “Little Nothings” on his comics blog. Primarily immediate observations about his everyday life —family and pet anecdotes, travel journals, his own status as one of France’s most prestigious cartoonists, and chronicles of his everyday rituals and little insecurities. 

Of course, journal entries have the potential to become interesting through their layered revelations of the person making them, of their place in society or their artistic impulses… but they also have the potential of coming across as banal trivia. 

Unfortunately, this volume of Little Nothings more often veers to the second. His travel musings are always made with the eye of the casual, almost bored tourist, with little interest for the local history or culture (particularly jarring when he spends a long vacation in the African island of Réunion, one of many French colonies —and all he can seem to think about is fears of Chikunguya, portraits of the landscape and his boredom. Nothing of colonization). Whenever autobiographies make a choice to avoid talking about politics, they wind up revealing far more about the author’s sympathies than they may have intended. Sometimes the exact opposite can happen, such as with Guy Delisle’s oft disappointing “Pyongyang”, in which his attempt to make a chronicle results in generally hollow observations. 

Now, beyond the lack of social sight, are the comic vignettes at least funny, or entertaining? Sometimes, in the same way as maybe hearing candid anecdotes from a distant uncle at family gatherings. There is not much in the way of intimate revelations. 

The art is pretty good, however. Trondheim has a good eye for backgrounds and landscapes, often rendered in a seemingly simplistic yet precise style. 

So… not really recommended, but at least it’s pretty to look at. 

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