Vertraute Fremde Rezension / Review

If you want to let your soul dangle, the graphic novel "Vertraute Fremde" (遥かな町へ / Haruka na Machi e) by Jiro Taniguchi is highly recommended. It often captures moments that life writes. While looking at the pictures and reading the text, you can automatically be carried away into a dream world. The direction of this dream determines the respective story. This is also the case with this work, which was published by CARLSEN.

What "Vertraute Fremde" is about:

Hiroshi Nakahara, a 48-year-old father, works tirelessly to support his family. However, his wife is worried about his well-being and asks him to reduce his workload and spend more time with his children, who hardly see him anymore. Mr. Nakahara agrees and promises to step down a bit after his upcoming business trip.

The next day, Mr. Nakahara returns from his business trip to Kyoto. At the station, which is actually well signposted, he gets lost and accidentally gets on the wrong train. He actually wanted to take the Shinkansen to Tokyo, but finds himself on the Super Hakuto express train to Kurayoshi, his hometown.

As he makes his way to his hometown, which he has not visited for many years, Mr. Nakahara is confused and hesitant to get out. He remembers his mother's death 23 years ago when she was his age. She must have been working. He wonders if she was happy.

The journey to Kurayoshi from Kyoto takes exactly three hours. Arriving at the station, Mr. Nakahara checks the departure time of the train to Tokyo to determine how much time he has to visit the familiar street. He has two hours left, so he sets out to explore all he can. To his surprise, he doesn't enjoy strolling through the streets as much as he expected. In addition, a lot has changed. Suddenly he finds himself in front of the cemetery where his mother was buried. Was that a coincidence? Since he is already there, he decides to pay her a visit.

There he is now, at his mother's grave. He can't remember exactly when he was last here. The thought comes to him again whether his mother was happy. She had never said anything, not even when his father left her. He will probably never get an answer to this question. Or is it? Suddenly, something seems to change around Mr. Nakahara. He suddenly finds himself in the past, on the 7th. April 1963. That can't be, right? Mr. Nakahara can remember everything. What's going on here? He must answer this question in order to perhaps find the answer to his question.

Assessment:

Jiro Taniguchi is an extraordinary talent, a poet who knows how to visualise capturing moments. Whether it is a single picture or a series of images, his work has a special attraction.

I'm fascinated by pictures that talk to you. They have a special power. No matter how hard you work, you will never be able to describe a moment the way a picture can. That's exactly what Jiro Taniguchi recognised. That's exactly what he offers us in his graphic novels.

The really remarkable thing is that he manages to refine the images with written information. This unique narrative allows the reader to dive deep into the story. It makes it very emotional.

Conclusion:

Jiro Taniguchi, a master of his craft, creates picture stories that are so vivid that you can smell the cherry blossoms, feel the sun on your skin, hear the birds chirping and see the wind on the grasses that rock in time. His works not only stimulate reflection and reflection, but also capture the essence of life and leave the reader with the feeling of what if.

If you want to embark on a journey of imagination, you should take a closer look at the works of Jiro Taniguchi in general.

Here you will find the sample in Germany of "Vertraute Fremde". Source: CARLSEN

We would like to thank the publisher for the review copy and the great pictures!