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28th out of 68 books
—
20 voters
Aya of Yop City (Aya)
“[Aya] wittily delves into both the political and the pop during an enchanted era when anything seemed possible.” —Vibe Vixen
The original Drawn & Quarterly volume of Aya debuted last year to much critical acclaim, receiving a Quill Award nomination and praise for its accessibility and for the rare portrait of a warm, vibrant Africa it presents. This continuation of the...more
The original Drawn & Quarterly volume of Aya debuted last year to much critical acclaim, receiving a Quill Award nomination and praise for its accessibility and for the rare portrait of a warm, vibrant Africa it presents. This continuation of the...more
Hardcover, 112 pages
Published
September 16th 2008
by Drawn and Quarterly
(first published September 29th 2006)
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I don't think I would have appreciated this book as much as I did had I not been to West Africa. It is wonderfully evocative of the spirit, sense of humour, environment, culture, and people of this region. That being said, I would have all the same enjoyed this graphic novel even if I hadn't. For anyone who may be curious about contemporary Africa, I would recommend this to them without reservation.
The second in a series translated from French, this graphic novel details the life story of a teenage girl growing up in a working class neighbourhood of Abidjan Ivory Coast in the 1970s (prior to the current issues of civil war, corruption and economic collapse that this country has faced for the last 30 years). Well, really this story tells very little about Aya (I see her as being more of a foil for her friends than an actual person inhabiting these stories, but maybe that will change as the...more
I read the first Aya book after several years of avoiding comics and really enjoyed it. The artwork was fresh, the story (though somewhat soap opera-ish) was enjoyable, and the world seemed familiar to Westerners yet distinctively African. I picked this sequel up after a few years of reading hundreds and hundreds of comic books and found it to be not at all what I was expecting it to be.
The artwork is ok but the story is just too slight to make up an entire book. Aya is an independent woman who...more
The artwork is ok but the story is just too slight to make up an entire book. Aya is an independent woman who...more
Aya
Written by Marguerite Abouet
Art by Clement Oubrerie
The standard narrative of any story set in Africa includes an empathy numbing array of horrors: Child Soldiers wielding machetes and AK-47's, famine, rape, AIDS, corruption, slavery. The desire to call attention to this awfulness is understandable, important even. Yet by having tragedy so omnipresent, it dehumanizes those dealing with that as a part of their life. Marguerite Abouet's series Aya consciously bucks this trend. The charming st...more
Written by Marguerite Abouet
Art by Clement Oubrerie
The standard narrative of any story set in Africa includes an empathy numbing array of horrors: Child Soldiers wielding machetes and AK-47's, famine, rape, AIDS, corruption, slavery. The desire to call attention to this awfulness is understandable, important even. Yet by having tragedy so omnipresent, it dehumanizes those dealing with that as a part of their life. Marguerite Abouet's series Aya consciously bucks this trend. The charming st...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The artwork in this graphic novel set in Cote d'Ivoire makes this book worth reading. The plot started mid-way in the usual comic book cycle and there wasn't enough character differentiation to hold a rather jarred storyline peppered with the usual African stereotypes: the young single mother, the authoritarian father, the bad boy whose come back from overseas. I would look through the pictures in the other installments, but otherwise not bother.
If you want your socks charmed off your feet this graphic novel will do that big time. Immensely evocative of time and place -- the Ivory Coast in the 1970s -- tales of families and sundry other relationships is layered one atop the other.
I love that edge you get with story telling like this that is ruled by wry humour and a keeness to indulge and forgive its characters' frequent failings.
Fortunately Aya is a series so there is more to be had from this stable: Marguerite Abouet (writer) and Cl...more
I love that edge you get with story telling like this that is ruled by wry humour and a keeness to indulge and forgive its characters' frequent failings.
Fortunately Aya is a series so there is more to be had from this stable: Marguerite Abouet (writer) and Cl...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I really regret having to read this book before the first book in the series ("Aya"). For some reason, my position on the hold list is going up, instead of going down.
"Aya of Yop City" was exactly as promised, and very enjoyable. It was the kind of story that could have happened anywhere, with strategic detail that placed in firmly on the Ivory Coast of the late 70's. The characters are interesting and three dimensional, and they change over the course of the story. The main characters are youn...more
"Aya of Yop City" was exactly as promised, and very enjoyable. It was the kind of story that could have happened anywhere, with strategic detail that placed in firmly on the Ivory Coast of the late 70's. The characters are interesting and three dimensional, and they change over the course of the story. The main characters are youn...more
While Aya's name is in the title, she's too good to have much of a story. So most of this is about her family and friends, and all their wicked ways. Her girlfriends are a couple of gold-diggers, her dad and most of the other men chase skirts, and Aya's left with nobody to love but her mom and her girldfriend's baby. I'm guessing that changes in the next few volumes, but for now that's how it goes.
There's nothing so unusual about this plotline, as the author herself says. The interest here is in...more
There's nothing so unusual about this plotline, as the author herself says. The interest here is in...more
Jan 15, 2009
Robin
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those who like quirky graphic novels
Shelves:
2009-list,
graphic-novels
As a friend who reads comics pointed out the other day, with a graphic novel, it can go wrong in two ways, the text and the illustrations. For me it's often very difficult to get past the illustrations if they don't interest me but that is NOT the case with these books. I love the pictures and it's just a neat slice of life story about the Ivory Coast in the 1970s. This book focuses on the paternity of Aya's friend's new baby but other secrets are revealed with the ending a bit of a cliff-hanger...more
Pretty delightful! I don't know how I came to pick up the second volume without any knowledge that it was a series, but while it was clearly picking up threads (that had been left off at quite a cliffhanger, I would imagine!) and didn't tie up all of its own loose ends, the action was surprisingly comprehensible. I'm curious to read both the first and later ones. I especially enjoyed not just the art but the cultural attitudes that are unapologetically embedded in the story--I've pretty much dou...more
Purely by accident I read Aya of Yop City before the original Aya. Clearly this volume is not meant to be a story in itself, as it opens in the middle of several characters' relationship dramas, most of which remain unresolved, and the story leads up to a beauty pageant that doesn't happen before the book ends. I'm not against serial stories, but in a hardback volume they can be a little frustrating.
Still, the art is good and the storyline is intriguing; the 1970s Ivory Coast setting is certainl...more
Still, the art is good and the storyline is intriguing; the 1970s Ivory Coast setting is certainl...more
I love my library but there are some shelving decisions there that baffle me. Graphic novels, for instance, are shelved separately but within reach of fiction for middle grades and young adults. Adult graphic novels though are put with the nonfiction according to their Dewey decimal call number. Because they aren't put near fiction I had no idea there were any adult graphic novels until I happened to see the cover of one from the reading area at the back of the library.
The cover I happened to se...more
The cover I happened to se...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
"Aya of Yop City" is a playful, lower-class soap-opera style introduction to West Africa. Abouet conjures three interrelated families, focusing her attention on one young woman from each family all of whom are trying to navigate their way towards dependable spouses in a landscape of dirt bags and forced marriages. The writing is light and conversational, leaning towards slang, with absolutely nothing brooding, poetic or introspective about it (thought bubbles do not appear at any time). Despite...more
How refreshing to read a book about Africa based on universality of experience, warm family ties, and beautific commonality. Of course conflict and class are never far away (just as in the US and elsewhere), but Abouet succeeds admirably in telling stories of people that are familiar and friendly. At the risk of losing some of the gravitas that other tales of war-torn Africa carry, this book tells a relatively simple story (several stories, actually), but in that simplicity lies the agreeable co...more
This book is so close to being good. The illustrations are lovely and I have never read a book set in Cote d'Ivoire. The story, however, had plenty of plot lines, only one of which was resolved. I enjoyed the supplemental information at the back more than the tale itself. It is a pleasant way to pass an afternoon, but it raises more questions than it answers.
I recently discovered there is another book by the author, "Aya." If this is a sequel, then I may need to rewrite the review.
I recently discovered there is another book by the author, "Aya." If this is a sequel, then I may need to rewrite the review.
I gave the first Aya book 3 stars mostly because it seemed to lack closure. Now that I know that this slice-of-life ensemble story is a series, it makes much more sense. This second Aya volume is as gorgeous as the first and slowly builds out the title character's web of friends and families and their secrets with humor and love. I see on D&Q's webpage that there's at least one more volume. I could keep reading these volumes indefinitely and be happy.
Why did I start with the second book? I didn't know any better. But it was alright- it's not like there was alot that couldn't be figured out. I was worried it would be like those books that depict Africa as either a land of people who talk in parables and eat yams, or everyone is starving or has AIDS. This definitely avoided those stereotypes and really just depicted a group of likable people and their (mis)adventures of daily life. Not bad.
this volume is much more compelling than the first. the story continues to follow the lives of Aya's friends and family (while barely following the life of Aya herself). the slice of middle (and upper) class life in Côte d'Ivoire is illuminating. the illustrations are often beautiful, although the characters' rudimentary eyes continues to disappoint. the extras at the end aren't quite as fun as last volume, but still are cute nonetheless.
Not as good as the first volume but still a nice read anyway. I'm enjoying this series so far but I'm a bit concerned that the amount of story does not really justify the high cost of each volume. Although I must admit, they look really good printed on what feels like high-quality paper stock and bound in gorgeous hardcovers.
I'm still undecided on whether I'll get the next few volumes because of the price. Maybe if they go on sale...
I'm still undecided on whether I'll get the next few volumes because of the price. Maybe if they go on sale...
Both Aya books were good, but the 2nd one was much more complex, running several story lines simultaneously, based on character knowledge acquired during the more conventional and slower-paced first book.
It was really fun to learn about the Ivory Coast in the 1970s, and I especially enjoyed the notes at the end of the story about customs (like the print of your pagne literally advertises how you're feeling about life and love).
It was really fun to learn about the Ivory Coast in the 1970s, and I especially enjoyed the notes at the end of the story about customs (like the print of your pagne literally advertises how you're feeling about life and love).
Ivory Coast, slice of life stories, and you get the feel of the place in the seventies... the pull to Europe and the US, the pull to maintain some cultural integrity, but this is not a big ambitious political book. It is an attractively drawn and entertaining view of this country in transition, with a focus on Aya and her mostly girl friends....
Oh, the ups and downs of family life are universally human, and Abouet gives us a look at some everyday interactions in the Ivory Coast that don't center around violence.
I particularly enjoyed the "Ivoirian Bonus" at the end of the book, including tips on how to carry your baby on your back, some recipes, and interviews with the authors.
I particularly enjoyed the "Ivoirian Bonus" at the end of the book, including tips on how to carry your baby on your back, some recipes, and interviews with the authors.
Not as lovely as the first, but Abouet is clearly setting things up for the third volume of the series. This one seems to move too abruptly between story lines and characters, and I was especially disappointed to see that Aya doesn't play a very larger role in the narrative. Let's hope the next book pulls everything together nicely. I love the premise and setting of this comic so much, that I'm still looking forward to reading more.
I liked this one even better than Aya the original. This is the second of a three-part graphic novel series that features characters from 1970s-era Cote D'Ivoire. It's a really neat concept and the storytelling is done so well in this graphic novel format. It's easy to picture what it must look like and the characters seem so universally appealing and REAL!
This graphic novel is the #2 book in the Aya series. The story continues from where the last book ends, and the father of the baby is resolved. Like book #1, I enjoyed following the lives of Aya and her friends and am looking forward to seeing how the cliff hanger at the end of the book is resolved.
After reading the first book, I had a better idea what I was getting into when I borrowed this one from the library, so I did not have the same disappointment I had the first time around. This was a clever story with a twist, that certainly resonated with my professional experience, so I enjoyed that aspect of the book. My biggest criticism is that the story is just too short, but I guess that is the nature of a graphic novel.
Wow, the ending on this book. This story is so entertaining to read, the artwork (while I'm used to Japanese styled stories) was enchanting and expressive. I wasn't too keen on the plot in the first volume, but things seem to come to a head in this volume. I can't wait to see where it goes.
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Marguerite Abouet naît en 1971 à Abidjan. Elle grandit en famille dans le quartier populaire de Yopougon jusqu'à l'âge de douze ans. Puis, ses parents l'envoient avec son grand frère à Paris, où les héberge leur grand-oncle. Elle y découvre avec émerveillement les bibliothèques et se passionne pour les livres. Elle écrit bientôt des romans qu'elle ne fait lire à personne, tout en devenant tour à t...more
More about Marguerite Abouet...
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