Between Toulouse, Brittany and Tarn-et-Garonne, “The little brother”, the poignant comic strip by JeanLouis Tripp
By Lucie Fraisse
Published on
It is a moving story. That of the death of a child. Gilles, was eleven years old when he was knocked down by a driver on a small road in Brittanyin August 1976. A true story that his big brother, the comic book author Jean Louis Tripp chose to tell The little brotherwhich has just been published by Casterman.
“This book stood out to me”
A comic strip that continues the autobiographical work that JeanLouis Tripp took up with the two volumes ofecstasies. “This book was not planned, says the author born in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne). He imposed himself on me. »
Two facts placed this story under the pen and pencils of JeanLouis Tripp. The death of the younger brother of a close friend first, in 2019. Then, a few months later, a tragic news item in Brittany, which led to the death of a 10-year-old child, killed on the road by a Driver. Two facts that echoed the death of Gilles, 46 years earlier. Him too died too young. He too was the victim of a driver on a Breton road.
From the accident to the life that goes on despite everything
The accident, the announcement of the death, the repatriation of Gilles’ body to Montauban, the burial, the driver’s trial… And all the years that followed where feelings of guilt, attempts at reconstruction and sometimes deafening silences mingle. JeanLouis Tripp recounts – often bluntly and with particular very nice plates without dialogues that seize you by the throat with emotion – the earthquake caused by the death of a child in a family.
“When I told my mother that I was going to tell the story of Gilles’ death, her first reaction was ‘Oh my god!’ Then quite quickly, she said to me: ‘if you want to do it, do it. the !”
Very quickly, the mother of JeanLouis Tripp – who still lives in Toulouse – becomes part of the comic strip. In the book, the author also evokes the long Skype conversations with her while he was writing The little brother. “I needed as much information as possible on the chronology of events, there are also things that I did not know about what happened at the time, it helped me a lot. This comic book may also have allowed him to move on and finally chose…”
Excellent critical and public reception
Since its release, The little brother received excellent critical and public acclaim. “I did not expect it, smiles the author. I’m a little overwhelmed by events! What is disturbing is the unanimity of the reactions and their intensity. There is sometimes a gap because today, for me, this story is digested: that’s probably why I was able to write the book elsewhere. »
In the afterword to his book, JeanLouis Tripp confides his hope “of having perhaps ensured, with this story in the form of testimony, that the memory of Gilles survives. Bet succeeded in the most beautiful of ways, with this poignant comic strip but without any pathos. With a special mention for the last board of the book, of a sweetness that squeezes the heart… To read absolutely!
Practical information :
The little brother by Jean Louis Tripp, published by Casterman. 28 euros
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