German Calendar No December

ISBN-13: 9781911115618 / Angielski / Twarda / 2019 / 192 str.

Sylvia Ofili

Opis

A coming of age tale following Olivia, a dreamer whose search for more takes her from a boarding school in Lagos to her mother's homeland of Germany.

Recenzje

As the oldest daughter of a German mother and Nigerian father in a small Nigerian town where everybody knows everybody, Olivia has valued books as windows to a life beyond. While anticipating boarding school in big-city Lagos, Olivia dreams of "all kinds of adventures," Enid Blyton-style, filled with games, picnics, perhaps even a mystery to solve. What she endures instead is senseless abuse at the whim of upperclasswomen, until one scorching afternoon, she refuses further punishment, inspiring her fellow students to revolt. After graduation, Olivia "can't wait to get the hell out," choosing university in her mother's birthplace of Hamburg. While she was oyinbo (white European) in Nigeria, she's suddenly Black in Germany and the object of intrusive scrutiny. A part-time bakery job provides a welcoming haven, more so when the diverse staff starts sharing secrets. Artist Weyhe presents Nigerian Hungarian Ofili's debut in a palette of greens and rusty browns, as if ironically invoking earthy tones to underscore Olivia's own unsettled journeys. As Olivia readies herself to "move on" and find her own cause, the vast world awaits.

O autorze

Ofili, Sylvia
Sylvia Ofili is a writer and teacher currently based in Stockholm. She was born in Lagos, Nigeria of Nigerian/Hungarian parents and her writing has appeared in the Guardian Nigeria and Brittle Paper. She is also known as "The Waffarian" and has been writing on her blog for over ten years. German Calendar No December is her first full length graphic novel. Weyhe, Birgit
Birgit Weyhe is a comic book artist. Born in Munich, she spent her childhood in East Africa before moving back to Germany to study. Her work has been exhibited in numerous European countries and her comics have been published in a wide range of international magazines and anthologies. In 2016, her graphic novel Madgermanes won the Max-und-Moritz-Prize for best German Comic. She has lectured at various international workshops on behalf of the Goethe Insitut and currently teaches at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.