The Great Wave

At last ! My new story is born...

What delight !

 

With the new book comes Naoki...

Naoki arrived newborn one winter’s day on the boat named Taro, in a high wind, deposited there by a giant wave.

Since then, seven years have passed, but Naoki is still small, very, very small.

In order to grow, should he turn towards the ocean? The answer will come to him from a fabulous silver fish...

 

Like Journey on a Cloud, this book initially belonged to the ''Pont des Arts" collection published by L'Élan Vert: an invitation to enter – to dive into, I should say! - a masterpiece of world heritage.  It was translated into English (and German too) by Prestel Publishing (Prestel Verlag, in Germany). Thus, after the Married Couple of the Eiffel Tower by Marc Chagall, I chose to explore The Great Wave (real name ‘Under the Great Wave off Kanagawa’) by Hokusai.

This time, I did not fly off to distant lands, but concentrated on Japanese folklore relating to children and the sometimes excessive hopes that their parents have for them. It deals with themes such as birth, unknown origins, being different, many unanswered questions and internal resources... It touches on the theme of adoption, of identity, the passage from childhood to adolescence and resilience. One can also simply see an Eastern tale, full of mystery, transformation and... love!

For the illustrator, the challenge was great! He was paying tribute to the "Master" while maintaining his own style and, quite honestly, I think Bruno Pilorget achieved this with great success. He even allowed himself a few quotations, to invite the reader to discover other prints in The Great Wave series: the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. So, like Hokusai, he tried to represent this volcano, so emblematic of Japan, in each if his illustrations.

But enough bla-bla! Let’s take a look at the images...

 

 

Not all the illustrations are here. The suspense is safe and sound !

> The Great Wave sold in India, in South Africa or in Australia :-)

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