Rating: 3/5
Synopsis: This historical memoir takes a poetic, passionate look into 19th-century French poet Charles Baudelaire’s affair with Creole mistress Jeanne Duval.
Disclaimer: This being part erotica, expect some graphic descriptions ahead try as I might to tastefully present it.
My Thoughts: Plot (4/5) – While ample information on Baudelaire’s life is available, Jeanne Duval has become more of a figure mythologized as Black Venus in his body of work with little else known. Therefore, this book takes several creative liberties with its interpretation of their relationship, making this mostly a historical dramatization which was a sufficient premise for me given how many works there are focusing on mysterious figures, a subject I tend to find fascinating.
Pacing (2/5) – This is where most of my problems lie. Throughout much of the narrative, there are paragraphs of waxing poetic from Baudelaire’s flowery monologuing to the continual epistolary exchanges between the characters, the latter of which’s perspective became confusing to discern. The writing itself is articulated with descriptive beauty galore and would have been perfect in prose, but it clogs up so much of the panels’ space that it feels more distracting and grueling to read through considering how much of the story is conveyed through visual metaphor.
Art (5/5) – I would consider this part the book’s strongest suit. Yslaire masterfully used his thinly sketched lineart and harsh, fuzzy colors to convey a dreary tone that complemented the actions well. The hallucinatory imagery was particularly a marvel to the eyes, amplifying the symbolism throughout. My favorite instance of this is how Baudelaire’s penis is depicted as a serpent insatiable in its voracious lust for pleasure while Duval is juxtaposed to a wild leopard which tragically reflected upon how he views her as a person. That is to say, a savage beast which he has tamed into civility with Western assimilationism, an ethnocentric bar which a lot of society still sets to this day.
Final Thoughts: Mademoiselle Baudelaire is an ambitious project which, while successful on an artistic level and thematic level, was heavily bogged down by its bloated text thus leaving an average impression overall. However, if this is something you can get past, you might enjoy this graphic novel.
Thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for providing me with my first advance ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.
