A Boy Named Rose by Gaëlle Geniller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Release Date: July 18, 2023

This is the story of a preternaturally likeable and enthralling young cabaret dancer, the titular boy named Rose. Rose’s entire life has been lived in the cabaret that his mother runs, and much of the story revolves around his introduction to the broader world as his fame grows.

It is eye-catchingly illustrated in a way that creates and facilitates a unique feel for the story.

As stories go, it’s not particularly emotionally rousing. I suspect that is partly because, as is common with literary fiction, it’s more character-driven than story-driven, and this presents a challenge for the graphic novel format in which the reader has more direct exposure to the characters’ external happenings. One may see a character being pensive, but without insight into that individual’s mental world one doesn’t feel it as intensely as one would with a novel that allows one some internal insight.

That said, a world is presented that is so foreign to most of us, life inside a cabaret, that it generates interest in that sense.

Overall, it was an enjoyable, light-hearted read.

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