Name: Hostage (kf8)
Rating: 4.428571428571429 (14 reviews)
ISBN: 9781473557789

G. U. Y. DELISLE

Hostage (kf8)

Guy Delisle

How does one survive when all hope is lost? In the middle of the night in 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André was kidnapped by armed men and taken away to an unknown destination in the Caucasus region. For three months, André was kept handcuffed in solitary confinement, with little to survive on and almost no contact with the outside world. Close to twenty years later, award-winning cartoonist Guy Delisle (Pyongyang, Jerusalem, Shenzhen, Burma Chronicles) recounts André’s harrowing experience in Hostage, a book that attests to the power of one man’s determination in the face of a hopeless situation. Marking a departure from the author’s celebrated first-person travelogues, Delisle tells the story through the perspective of the titular captive, who strives to keep his mind alert as desperation starts to set in. Working in a pared down style with muted color washes, Delisle conveys the psychological effects of solitary confinement, compelling us to ask ourselves some difficult questions regarding the repercussions of negotiating with kidnappers and what it really means to be free. Thoughtful, intense, and moving, Hostage takes a profound look at what drives our will to survive in the darkest of moments.

Hostage

Maggie Gordon

Hostage is the true story of Christophe Andre, a worker at Doctors Without Borders who was kidnapped in the mid-1990s. He spends several months help captive by strangers that spoke a language he could not understand. Delisle uses the sparse setting to capture the monotony of Andre's experience, trapped in barren rooms with no company and no one to talk to. It's a claustrophobic book. However, I don't think it really plumbed the emotional depths of Andre's experience. We never see the man really experience unbridled emotion. Even when he's rescued, it seems like something is being held back.

Kemie G

Abby Beatrice Quick

HOW DOES ONE SURVIVE WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST? In the middle of the night in 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe Andre was kidnapped by armed men and taken away to an unknown destination in the Caucasus region. For three months, Andre was kept handcuffed in solitary confinement, with little to survive on and almost no contact with the outside world. Close to twenty years later, award-winning cartoonist Guy Delisle (Pyongyang, Jerusalem, Shenzhen, Burma Chronicles) recounts Andre's harrowing experience in Hostage, a book that attests to the power of one man's determination in the face of a hopeless situation. Marking a departure from the author's celebrated first-person travelogues, Delisle tells the story through the perspective of the titular captive, who strives to keep his mind alert as desperation starts to set in. Working in a pared down style with muted colour washes, Delisle conveys the psychological effects of solitary confinement, compelling us to ask ourselves some difficult questions regarding the repercussions of negotiating with kidnappers and what it really means to be free. Thoughtful, intense, and moving, Hostagetakes a profound look at what drives our will to survive in the darkest of moments.

Hostage (kf8)

Reviews

Highlights