To The Last Page

At the end of Book I. Conquête de l'Est the two groups of wandering musicians had come together in Odessa and been immediately engaged by an elderly lady for a birthday party. Despite being initially introduced to the Baron of Backside in Book I, the first person narrative and perspective of Yaacov takes prominence in Book II of Klezmer . The 15-year-old boy is wildly attracted to Hava, and a shared bathing interlude to the all-night party that takes up most of the second volume brings out all the sensuality in Sfar's artwork. There's less of the adventure story that introduced each of the characters in Book I, but there is still a wonderful variety of moods and tones that is reflected in the artwork in Bon anniversaire Scylla ; a warmth and humanity that also seems to be part of the intent of the artist, and it's one that is doubtlessly inspired by love of the Klezmer music. It also adheres to Sfar's way of using the musical theme as a liberating and unifying forc...

I read and wrote a brief review of the first part of Joann Sfar's Klezmer in 2008 - a scarily long time ago now that I go back to look for it - when it was published in English translation by FirstSecond. I remember the thrill of seeing the artist's remarkable facility for colour and fluidity bringing a unique story to life. Despite French editions of the series being available, I somehow never got around to picking them up, hoping that FirstSecond would get around to translating subsequent volumes and presenting them in what I thought at the time were better quality editions. Well, it's taken 15 years but I've finally given up on the idea of seeing the subsequent volumes translated, and I've changed my mind about the presentation. Or at least, as far as reading the first two volumes of the series now. I've promised myself I will not take as long getting around to finish reading the series in the original French. Klezmer, for those who don't know - and I...

According to the author's book notes, if The Rabbi’s Cat is Joann Sfar’s exploration of his father’s Sephardic roots, then Klezmer is seeped in the tradition of his Ashkenazi mother tracing the birth and sensibility behind the Klezmer folk music of Jewish origin through a group of East European wandering musicians. Outcast by their own community the Baron of Backside, Chava, Yaacov and Vincenzo find themselves consequently even lower in the social chain in a period when European Jews are brutally oppressed. Through a series of misadventures and a few found instruments, they come together with a persecuted gypsy Tshokola and set about creating wondrous, hypnotic music to entertain both Russians and Jews and earn the few pennies they need to survive. Sfar’s art and storytelling are astonishingly fluid. Reminiscent of Sempé with the colouring of Chagall, he makes the music come alive on the page, as well as giving full expression to the emotions of the characters and bringing the lan...