Publication
Seattle, WA : [New York?] : Fantagraphics Books ; Distributed in the U.S. by W. W. Norton, 2009.
Physical description
71 p.; 28 cm
ISBN
9781606992951
Language
Collections
Description
"George Gerfaut, aimless young executive and desultory family man, witnesses a murder and finds himself sucked into a spiral of violence involving an exiled war criminal and two hired assassins. Adapting to the exigencies of his new life on the run with shocking ease, Gerfaut abandons his comfortable middle-class life for several months (including a sojourn in the countryside after an attempt to ride the rails turns spectacularly bad) until, joined with a new ally, he finally returns to settle all accounts-- with brutal, bloody interest"--Publisher's web site.
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member jasonlf
West Coast Blues is a graphic novel by Jacques Tardi adopted from the original novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette. The illustrations are in black and white – matching the noir of the story it is illustrating, an ordinary man who unwittingly witnessed a murder is now trying to escape from two hired
I haven’t read the novel itself, but given that the story is a little think and conventional it is probably better suited to this visually stylish format than to plain, and more lengthy, prose.
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killers who are trying to tie up loose ends. As he leaves his family to flee the killers, he himself become increasingly ruthless and the body count of innocent and less-than-innocent victims caught in the crossfire grows as the book motors to its propulsive conclusion.I haven’t read the novel itself, but given that the story is a little think and conventional it is probably better suited to this visually stylish format than to plain, and more lengthy, prose.
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LibraryThing member kirstiecat
I'm always so excited to find more Tardi books that have been translated and this is a really interesting one. It's actually a graphic novel that has been adapted from the original novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette. I haven't read the original so I am not sure how this compares in terms of accuracy
This is much less whimsical than the Adventures of Adéle Blanc-Sec and the narrative is more an outlandish crime fiction. Still, the drawings are great and it's engaging enough to make it worthwhile reading.
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but the best part about this one is the mood. In many ways, the plot is far fetched and yet a little formulaic, though somewhat reminiscent of Cohen Bros. It starts with a late night 90mph drive and an accident..wrong place, wrong time then running for one's life. The protagonist is married with kids but certainly doesn't act the part for one frame of the novel. He meets a whole set of characters on the run from the hired assassins and one gets the impression that he's able to handle everything and everyone that comes to him until his life returns to normal..and if by chance he doesn't really have amnesia about the whole thing, he'll just take his Five Roses Bourbon and his barbiturates before hitting the road again. This is much less whimsical than the Adventures of Adéle Blanc-Sec and the narrative is more an outlandish crime fiction. Still, the drawings are great and it's engaging enough to make it worthwhile reading.
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LibraryThing member nosajeel
West Coast Blues is a graphic novel by Jacques Tardi adapted from the original novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette. The illustrations are in black and white