Lightness

vividly remember the proliferation of 'Je Suis Charlie' in the months immediately following the massacre at the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices and still sometimes spot the slogan as we travel in France. For those of us not directly affected, life has moved on. Catherine Meurisse however, would probably have been killed in her Charlie Hebdo offices on that day had it not been for the chance combination of oversleeping and a missed bus. In this graphic novel memoir, she shows us her immediate shock and her lengthy process of attempting to come to terms with both the loss of her long-time colleagues and her own survival.

At the beginning of Lightness, I was disappointed by the simplistic cartoon self-portraits of Catherine. I hadn't seen any of her work before so was expecting a richer style - more common to graphic novels - rather than that of a newspaper cartoon. As the story progresses, I felt the flexibility of this simple style did suit the tale especially when it contrasts with detailed representations of classic artworks or embellished with colour sweeps that beautifully evoke the natural world.

Lightness is a memoir about struggling through grief so it is never a light read, even though there is humour dotted through its pages. Meurisse drew me into her experiences and I felt more emotionally involved than I had expected. Where I felt disconnected though was in a lack of knowledge about classic literature and art. I haven't (yet)! read Proust or Stendhal and I am not sure if I have ever studied a Caravaggio painting either. I understood how these works were vital to Catherine's personal journey and recovery, but did find myself distanced from her memoir at those points. I think Lightness is an important addition to our understanding of survivors' experiences, especially in this genre where it is likely to appeal to people who might not read a traditionally written memoir.