The Strange

The Strange follows an unnamed undocumented immigrant who tries to forge a new life in a Western country where he doesn’t speak the language. Jérôme Ruillier’s story is deftly told through myriad viewpoints as each narrator recounts a situation in which they crossed paths with the newlyarrived foreigner. Many of the people he meets are suspicious of his unfamiliar background or of the unusual language they do not understand. By employing this thirdperson narrative structure Ruillier masterfully portrays the complex plight of immigrants and the vulnerability of being undocumented. The Strange shows one person’s struggle to adapt while dealing with the often brutal and unforgiving attitudes of the employers neighbors and strangers who populate this new land. Ruillier employs a bold visual approach of colored pencil drawings complemented by a stark limited palette of red orange and green backgrounds. Its beautiful simplicity represents the almost childlike hope and promise that is often associated with new beginnings. But as Ruillier implicitly suggests it’s a promise that can shatter at a moment’s notice when the threat of being deported is a daily and terrifying reality. The Strange has been translated from the French by Helge Dascher. Dascher has been translating graphic novels from French and German to English for over twenty years. A contributor to Drawn Quarterly since the early days her translations include acclaimed titles such as the Aya series by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie Hostage by Guy Delisle and Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoët. With a background in art history and history she also translates books and exhibitions for museums in North America and Europe. She lives in Montreal.