Simon Bournel-Bosson's stunning graphic novel debut, Trumpets of Death, explores growing up, intergenerational conflict, and the clash between humans and the natural world through one child who is changed into a deer.
The last thing young Antoine wants is to be left with his grandparents in the middle of nowhere, but his father gives him no choice in the matter. Antoine is lonely there; his grandmother is kind but constantly complaining about her aches and pains, and his avid hunter grandfather is openly hostile toward him. When Antoine's grandmother sends him and his grandpa foraging for trumpets of death (mushrooms also known as the horn of plenty or black trumpet), the boy gets lost. He finds a mysterious type of mushroom, picks it, and is transformed into a white deer. The forest becomes his home: "For the first time, the forest is speaking to me. Comforting me." But such transformation is not without risk; in joining the natural world, Antoine the deer is seen by other humans as prey.
Bournel-Bosson's graphic novel, translated by Edward Gauvin, is a thought-provoking bildungsroman that features surreal images and color palettes expertly used to elicit emotion. The author changes palette to match moods, tones, and experiences, depicting happy outdoor Antoine in peppy greens, oranges, and yellows or gentle deer Antoine in comforting pink, white, and blue. Moments of fear, upset, discouragement, and conflict literally clash. Trumpets of Death has little internal narration and sparse dialogue, yet it is a powerful story about what it might mean to have enough space to grow up, or grow into oneself. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer