Carl Norac, the author of this very beautiful Lucky Joey, was elected at the beginning of the year “national poet” in his native Belgium. It is therefore with happiness that we rediscover his sensitive prose, taking here and there delicate cross roads which make the expressions unique, which take the reader by the hand to show him all the possibilities, all the why not.
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Joey is a young squirrel living in Central Park. He works hard (window cleaner in New York, imagine), he has a sweetheart, Léna, and a dream: a beautiful wedding “with a hill of flowers to dance to and a shower of caramel nuts”, followed by a beautiful trip.
Among those that Joey meets near or far, depending on the buildings he climbs, there is Mr. Grizzli, who makes the best cookies in the world. But one day the old bear is no longer in his apartment. He left a jewel for his friend, as well as a letter in which he claims that this golden nut is his most precious treasure.
Tiny life
Each sentence summons a rich universe, transforms the protagonist’s daily life into a fantastic adventure and his tiny life into an exemplary destiny. Because nothing is simple, for the little ones, in the jungle of megalopolises. Léna and Joey are going to lose their jobs, and at Goldarnac, where a horrible Mr. Strump (!) Is rampant, our hero learns that his nut is not worth a peanut. But maybe she is hiding a secret?
References and winks also flourish in the sumptuous images of Stéphane Poulain. The Montreal illustrator once again demonstrates his mastery, with his oil paintings where the streets and buildings of New York are populated by a whole anthropomorphic fauna: a dandy foal from Manhattan, a walrus taxi driver, the Joey’s brothers, oversized hip-hop dancers, and so many other stunning figures.
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Vertiginous – sometimes you even have to turn the album to discover scenes whose crazy verticality required a change of point of view – the pages multiply the striking perspectives, like the cover, where Joey and Léna savor their happiness perched on a metal beam: unlike the workers in mythical photography, our two heroes are too small to have their feet in the air. But not to have dreams in your head.
And happy ends are common in American romantic comedies …
Carl Norac
Illustrations by Stéphane Poulin
Lucky Joey
Editions Pastel
From 6 years old
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