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Translation: Michiel Horn
Pages: 168
UK Price: £11.99
US Price: $18.95
Co-published by
Fanfare
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Charles is a man in his fifties, married
to Simone with a regular job and his
only child, Jack, is the apple of his
eye. Then one day the Police come
to their door with terrible news - Jack
has killed himself by jumping off the
roof.
From the very first page, Linthout draws
us into the difficult processes that
await Charles as he lurches between loneliness, grief, incomprehension
and love, often losing sight of the
difference between reality and fiction.
In its eight chapters Linthout describes
the various tragic, beautiful, emotional
events that Charles experiences as
he passes through his mourning. Told
in unpolished pencil drawings this
deliberate stylistic choice has made
this comic an exceedingly personal
document, which it is.
The story is autobiographical and the
main character is, in fact, Linthout himself. In 2004 his only child, 21
year-old Sam, decided to end his life
and Years of the Elephant is based
on this tragic occurrence. The book
was initially intended as self therapy
to help Linthout deal with the loss
of his son however, the originally
modest project unleashed a flood of
reactions and therapists now use the
book as a recognised aid for coping
with grief.
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