Tunis to Sydney - Review

Tunis to Sydney is a graphic novel co-written by Christian and Meriam Carnouche and illustrated by Sam Rapley.

Tunis to Sydney is a story of reflection, internal struggle, and relationships. The Carnouche's have crafted a slice-of-life story that tackles the extremely real fallout of losing loved ones - and they succeed in every sense of the word.

Tunis to Sydney is not my usual fare. You've heard me talking about Transformers and Night Thrasher on my channel, so slice-of-life is a bit of a departure. Christian Carnouche put out a post asking for people to take a look at his and his wife's upcoming graphic novel, I thought I'd get out of my comfort zone - and I am glad that I did.

The story focuses on Lilia and Bill - the former Tunisian and the latter Austrailian living in Sydney. Lilia starts the book talking about how she hasn't seen her parents in so long, and shortly after finds out that they have died in a car accident. The remainder of the story follows Lilia's struggle through grieving her parents. A more typical, surface level story might have the main character go through the 5 stages of grief, but the Carnouche's take on a more difficult to qualify emotion that often takes place during grieving: guilt. Lilia struggles throughout the story feeling as though she is at fault for not being around more before her parents died. Guilt isn't always an easy emotion to understand in relation to grieving because from the outside, it seems very apparent that it's not the grieving individual's fault. However, in several kinds of coping, regardless of if its grieving a loved one or handling trauma, guilt is a very common response. I think that in this story, that feeling of guilt is highlighted and captured excellently by the Carnouche's. I want to keep this review spoiler-free for those who want to read the story, but I will say that the narrative of highlighting not only that guilt but also the subsequent desire to try to make it right, was just a beautifully told story.

Additionally, the relationship between Bill and Lilia is not displayed as perfect, but I really enjoyed how real their conflict was - and in the end it displayed the perfect way to communicate with your spouse in moments like these - often a difficult position to be in, and a frequently overlooked struggle.

The art was very beautifully done. I appreciated the creative shots that Sam Rapley obtained; it made me feel like I was watching a movie (when I say this, I mean it as a compliment - I love cinematic art). The colors are well done - I feel that flatter colors are better for a more somber story like this. Perhaps the best part of the art is Rapley's depiction of the dark. The shading in these pages is spectacular, I had to stop for a few moments and just appreciate it.

I appreciated the lettering - from the unique section headers, to distinct character narration boxes, to excellent use of bolding to put emphasis on certain words in phrases - this lettering was as good as any I've seen.

Slice-of-life may never be my genre of choice, but I'm extremely glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone for this book. If you take any two things away from this, it should be this: 1) go hug your parents before it's too late, and 2) go order this book. It was extremely well done, a delight to read, and I hope you consider picking this up from your local comic shop.

Previews Code: APR241509

In Stores July 24th, 2024