Title
The Silence of the Page: Une Trop Bruyante Solitude, The Graphic Novel Adaptation of "Too Loud a Solitude" by Bohumil Hrabal
Document Type
Article
Publisher
Berghahn Books, Inc.
Publication Source
European Comic Art
Abstract
This article discusses the issues faced by two French artists who have produced a bande dessinee adaptation of a novel, Prilis hlucna samota ['Too Loud a Solitude'], by the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal, and the reception of their work in the Czech comics community. In adapting the novel to another medium, the artists have not merely illustrated the original, but have used a variety of techniques intended to convey its emotional coloration and its self-referentiality. Furthermore, they have changed its context from Prague during the Communist era to twenty-first-century Lyon at a time when the jobs of print workers are threatened by out-sourcing. The article argues that the adaptation thereby enhances the contemporary resonance of the original.
Comments
Published by Berghahn Books, Inc. in European Comic Art, volume 1 issue 2, 2008. Bryant users may access this article here.