Guy Delisle

A few months ago I was walking around the ByWard Market in Ottawa late at night and stumbled upon a bookstore (yes, some still exist). Although it was late in the evening, I noticed through the window a peculiar book on the shelves with a hammer, sickle, and one object that I didn’t recognize on the cover. The front of the book stated in bold letters “PYONGYANG” and an author by the name of Guy Delisle. Having read several books about North Korea, including Escape from Camp 14 and Without You, There Is No Us, I wanted to find out what this one was about.

I later found out, the author, Guy Delisle, is a cartoonist and animator from Quebec City, although he now lives in France with his wife, an administrator for Doctors Without Borders. As such, he has had the opportunity (or misfortunate, you decide), to travel and draw many cities and countries around the world including Shenzhen, Burma, and Jerusalem while his wife was on assignment.

I borrowed his book about Pyongyang first from my University library (use yours, they’re fantastic) and finished it the next day. Although a novel can express a supreme amount of emotion and description through words, Guy’s sketches can express a whole different level of story telling. As a French-Canadian, he frequently mixes in funny anecdotes or stories, including his description of French toast, which keeps you smiling until the end.

Other books I’ve read about North Korea frequently describe the struggles the people of the DPRK face. Guy Delisle was neither a resident nor a tourist. He was a strange anomaly in one of the world’s most ruthless dictatorships. Reading Pyongyang shows how close the city can be to the modern world, yet completely cut off from any contact beyond its borders.

After finishing Pyongyang, I quickly read his other three graphic novels about cities he’s lived in, along with a few other books he has written/drawn. If you’re looking for a quirky but very interesting series of books from a Canadian author, I suggest you check out Guy Delisle.

Originally published on October 22, 2015