Blue is the Warmest Color (Blue Angel)

I read this superb graphic novel after watching the award winning, controversial film version (which was somewhat disowned by the graphic novel's author Julie Maroh). There are differences, but both book and film are fantastic in their own right. The film is powerful, gripping and emotionally draining, with a magnificent central performance by Adele Exarchopoulos, who was unjustly overlooked for major awards in my view. The GN may be a more subtle pleasure but, in both story and art, it is of comparable excellence. It tells the story of Clementine, a teenaged French girl, eventually coming to terms with her sexuality (she is gay), and of her relationship with the love of her life, the blue-haired Emma, older and more experienced if not wiser. The story is told mostly in flashback, as Emma reads through Clementine's diaries following a tragic event. Past and present are depicted in distinct colour schemes (full but muted colour for the present; sepia tones, apart from one other colour -- blue of course -- for the past). This works really effectively, and the splashes of blue serve to highlight dreams, visions and images that are important to Clementine. In fact, the art throughout is a real strength: deceptively simple, subtle, explicit at times, and always beautifully composed. Maroh has a real talent for conveying characters' emotions through their body language and facial expressions. Unlike a lot of comics art, nothing is exaggerated -- everything looks natural. And the art serves the story perfectly. It is a simple narrative, with little in the way of contrivance or plot, but filled with complex, conflicting emotions. Essentially, we see Clementine as she grows up from uncertain teenager to adulthood, revealing her fears, insecurities and desires to her diary. As it is Clementine's narrative, we do not really get to know many of the other characters that well -- Emma to some extent as the object of Clementine's growing love, Clementine's parents and and some of her friends -- she is such a well-drawn, relatable and sympathetic character that I was completely moved by her struggles and triumphs. Their love affair ends harshly (though not as crushingly as in the film), and although there is a subsequent reconciliation of sorts (more so than in the film), the ending is devastating. This may not be what the reader wants, but it certainly adds to the emotional impact. Overall, a powerful, beautifully illustrated graphic novel, and highly recommended.

Okay, I am going to start off by saying I completed this Graphic Novel at 4 am and read it under 2 hours. That is a sign that this Novel was BRILLIANT. Even though it was only 160 pages long, I am normally not a quick reader at all. In the past when I have made the mistake of watching a movie before I have read the book I have noticed that my imagination is coated by the images I have seen in the film. This was not the case at all, I found the storyline of this Graphic Novel to still be very beautiful, intriguing and interesting. Personal and emotional issues were dealt with so well in this book and it can be seen as a real eye opener for people who have not had to deal with some of the issues mentioned in this story. The way the art was used was just amazing, I loved how when emotions had changed the art reflected that and made it even more interesting for the reader. I do wish that the ending used in the Graphic Novel was used in the movie as it was a lot more emotional and I felt it fitted the story much better. At the end of the movie I found myself getting quite bored and we never got to see Adéle really express her love for Emma the way she did in the novel so that would have been great to see. I don't normally get emotional at novels but this brought tears to my eyes. ​Even though it was a short novel it contained so many different situations but they all flowed together really nicely. The casting for the movie was also good as they matched the characters in the novel perfectly. Plus, every time I watched the movie I would crave Spaghetti Bolognese and the book did not fail to keep up that tradition. Blue is the Warmest Colour has left me with a serious book hangover and I will definitely be adding more of Julie Maroh's books to my TBR list. Without any hesitation I have given this Graphic Novel a Goodreads review of 5 stars!

After hearing about this everywhere I decided to try it out, I didn't want to rally watch the film as it was apparently disapproved of by the author and some people who'd seen it said it was quite gawdy, I'm a book-girl anyway so.... I do like to buy paper publications for those books I know are picture-heavy, and neither am I a comic book reader, but I decided to try this on my kindle paperwhite due to the price difference. I was aware it will lose some of its visual presence being in black and white and I felt it did lose something in the way of how easy it was to read the dialogue on the kindle but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story or indeed the quality of the artwork via my kindle paperwhite. Really refreshing and unique, had me in tears at the end. You read the story as flashbacks of memory from a diary. The story is quite a delicate romance and coming-of-age story about a high-school girl that meets her soulmate who turns out to be a woman and how she deals with the ramifications of that throughout different areas of her life. I'm not generally a romance kind of girl as I find it all quite repetitive but this was really lovely, if quite ... well blue. Read it all in two sittings and that was only as I had to stop to go to work!

Muy buen libro, lo recomiendo a todos viene en muy buena calidad en papel y la portada, excelente presentación. Además de que como historia es muy interesante y diferente a lo que estamos acostumbrados.

I loved the film, and though there are significant differences between both works, I still consider them both equals. I'm personally attracted to all facets that can be associated with love; with both the ugly and the beautiful. The sex scenes portrayed are brief and innocent, the art is quaint and charming, the flashbacks make your heart cringe and mind reel. The story, though brief, appropriately weaves the tale of one young woman's life cut tragically short by her inability to cope with one of life's many cruel, debilitating lessons. Was she truly a lesbian? Or did she just happen to indiscrimanently fall in love with someone she happened to truly be compelled towards? Why couldn't she cope, be happy? To me, the direction the film took concerning the aspect of her 'cheating' was more apparently conveyed; and while there are plenty who bitch about the film being 'pornographic', all I can say is that they are puritanical hypocrites (I thought the sex scenes were actually realistic and adequately portrayed two people finally being able to be physically united after such a period of longing) who really just shouldn't deal with sexual material to begin with; let's face it, not all of it is "pretty" people. Love certainly isn't, it can be exciting and wonderful one moment, harsh and unforgiving the next. The original version of the story is clearly the 'tragic' tale, while the film ends on an unfinished note. The expressions Maroh gives to her characters, brief dialouge, and placed settings/time all contribute nicely to the overall affect of the story. But for some, there may be some dissatisfaction with 'reading in between the lines' at times and the rapid progression of the story at various parts. Would recommend! For once, there's a poignant, realistic take on romance, with all that can progress and flourish, and all that can wither and haunt. Ultimately, the theme concerns the everlasting connection that can take place between two people, as rare and trying as it can be.

This graphic novel is beautiful and sad and romantic. It is a coming out tale with artwork that is quite raw but stylish. The art contributes greatly to a sense of honesty about the characters, as though the shaky lines are a result of the characters showing us their inner selves and not quite being able to bear such searing openness. I read this graphic novel the day after I watched the movie. I read this graphic novel purely because I had seen the movie and was so affected by it that I needed to read the source. The experience of both has merged in my head and I ask you to forgive my inability to review the graphic novel without reference to the movie. I can't help but picture Adele's bound hair and quirky smile with each frame of Clementine (Clementine's name was Adele in the movie). I am constantly comparing and contrasting each difference and similarity. They complement each other. All the things I found lacking in the movie are filled in here by the graphic novel, such that even though they are different stories, they form a complete whole in my imagination. The most important paragraph in this entire novel filled in an emotion that I don't think was adequately explored in the film "For Emma, her sexuality is something that draws her to others, a social and political thing. For me, it's the most intimate thing there is." The movie became more about how the relationship between the two lovers changed, while the graphic novel focuses on how Clementine changes. the book is more a coming out tale, but coming out to herself only. The emotion expressed in this paragraph is truly the crux on which the entire book rests: it makes the ending (which we are informed of at the very beginning) so much harder to bear. It is bittersweet, and makes me so sad. This conflict was stated just before the novel jumps from 1997 to 2008: I found it fascinating that it was left to us to fill in that one big gap. It was a surprising contrast with the movie, which leaves us to fill in many small gaps. I wonder how different this graphic novel would be if there was more showing their domestic relationship. It is something that the movie managed quite well, but in doing so became a very different story. The intense sadness of the movie comes because we see them drift apart, and feel Adele's pain when she cannot repair what she has lost. She is set adrift, unable to forgive herself and move on. In this way, both stories deal with a tragic loss. And both are quite tender in the tiny details they each give about their loved characters. You can't review this novel without addressing the fact that it is an adult graphic novel. Both this graphic novel and the movie contain explicit sexual imagery. I feel that in each, they serve a different purpose, and the graphic novel does it with infinitely greater compassion and love. In the movie, these scenes show us that Adele has an almost insatiable appetite: for sex as much as love and food. In the graphic novel it is more about showing Clementine's acceptance of her own desire and her earnest need to connect in every way with her lover. The graphic novel has flaws. I think the way it draws to the inevitable conclusion (which we are told at the very beginning) could have been done with more finesse. But I accepted it as much as I accepted the flawed nature of the illustrations. Many reviewers on Amazon criticise the Kindle version of the the graphic novel as having some scene transition flaws. There are two or three instances of this, but it did not spoil the experience for me. If thoroughly recommend this story for anyone who enjoyed the emotional impact of the movie; anyone who appreciates the sadness and exhilaration that accompanies coming out - to yourself. Or anyone that loves a heartbreaking romance. 10/10

It was an amazing book, i simply loved it. Bought it as a gift for my friend, i hope she'll like it as well.

Great graphic novel. Arrived in perfect condition.