|
|
Products by Abouet & Oubrerie
( back )
Aya
Abouet & Oubrerie
"That's what I wanted to show in Aya: an Africa without the...war and famine, an Africa that endures despite everything because, as we say back home, life goes on."--Marguerite Abouet
Ivory Coast, 1978. Family and friends gather at Aya's house every evening to watch the country's first TV ad campaign promote the fortifying effects of Solibra, "the strong man's beer." It's a golden time, and the nation, too--an oasis of affluence and stability in West Africa--seems fueled by something wondrous.
Who's to know that the Ivorian miracle is nearing its end? In the sun-warmed streets of working class Yopougon, aka Yop City, holidays are around the corner, the open-air bars and discos are starting to fill up, and trouble of a different kind is about to raise eyebrows. At night, an empty table in the market square under the stars is all the privacy young lovers can hope for, and what happens there is soon everybody's business.
Aya tells the story of its 19-year old heroine, the studious and clear-sighted Aya, her easy-going friends Adjoua and Bintou, and their meddling relatives and neighbors. It's a breezy and wryly funny account of the desire for joy and freedom, and of the simple pleasures and private troubles of everyday life in Yop City. An unpretentious and gently humorous story of an Africa we rarely see-spirited, hopeful and resilient.
Aya won the 2006 award for Best First Album at the Angouleme International Comics Festival. Clement Oubrerie's warm colors and energetic, playful line connect expressively with Marguerite Abouet's vibrant writing.
ISBN: 9781894937900
$19.95 US / $19.95 CDN
out of stock
|
|
Preview (PDF) |
|
Aya: The Secrets Come Out
Abouet & Oubrerie
September 2009
Aya has captured the hearts of North American readers of all ages for the rare portrait it paints of a vibrant, happy, bourgeois Ivory Coast in the 1970s, based upon Marguerite Abouet's youth in Yop City. Not only is Aya complemented with Cl�ment Oubrerie's gorgeous artwork but the volumes offer a slice-of-life peek into African culture: complete with recipes, glossaries, and wardrobe instructions for turning one's pagne (brightly colored fabric) into a skirt, headwrap or baby carrier. Engaging and fun, the universal stories in Aya provide a much-needed context for today�s all-too-common unfortunate and heartbreaking news stories.
Aya is the winner of the Best First Album award at the Angouleme International Comics Festival, the Children�s Africana Book Award, and the Glyph Award; was nominated for the Quill Award, the YALSA's Great Graphic Novels list, and the Eisner Award; and was included on "best of" lists from The Washington Post, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.
Praise for Aya:
"Based on Abouet's remembrance of her childhood in Abidjan...the story, along with French illustrator Oubrerie's artwork, brings to life an Ivory Coast not seen before, a place overflowing with vibrant, rich textiles, new words, music, food, and lively characters filled with humor, love, and the hope for a better life."Library Journal, starred review
Hardcover, 128 pages, 6.75 x 9.5 inches, color.
ISBN: 9781897299791
$19.95 US / $19.95 CDN
in stock
add to cart
|
|
Aya of Yop City
Abouet & Oubrerie
The original D+Q 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 and vibrant Africa it presented. This continuation of the dynamic story by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie returns to Africa's Ivory Coast in the late 1970s, where life in Yop City is as dramatic as ever. Oubrerie's artwork synchronizes perfectly to Abouet's funny and lighthearted writing, which together create a spirited atmosphere and scenarios that, however unique to the bygone setting, remain entirely contemporary in their effect.
The original cast of characters is back in full force, with a case of questionable paternity fanning the flames of activity in the community. The new mother Adjoua has her friends to help with the baby, perhaps employing Aya a bit too frequently, while a new romance leaves Bintou with little time for her friends, let alone their responsibilities. The young women aren't the only residents of Yopougon involved in the excitement, however; Aya's father is caught in the midst of his own trysts and his employer's declining Solibra beer sales, and Adjoua's brother finds his share of the city's nightlife.
ISBN: 9781897299418
$19.95 US / $19.95 CDN
in stock
add to cart
|
|
Preview (PDF) |
|
copyright ©2010 drawn & quarterly
|
|
