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How does one survive when all hope is lost?

In the middle of the night in 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André was kidnapped by armed men and taken away to an unknown destination in the Caucasus region. For three months, André was kept handcuffed in solitary confinement, with little to survive on and almost no contact with the outside world. Close to twenty years later, award-winning cartoonist Guy Delisle (Pyongyang, Jerusalem, Shenzhen, Burma Chronicles) recounts André's harrowing experience in Hostage, a book that attests to the power of one man's determination in the face of a hopeless situation.

Marking a departure from the author's celebrated first-person travelogues, Delisle tells the story through the perspective of the titular captive, who strives to keep his mind alert as desperation starts to set in. Working in a pared down style with muted color washes, Delisle conveys the psychological effects of solitary confinement, compelling us to ask ourselves some difficult questions regarding the repercussions of negotiating with kidnappers and what it really means to be free. Thoughtful, intense, and moving, Hostage takes a profound look at what drives our will to survive in the darkest of moments.

Author: Helge Dascher, Guy Delisle
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Published: 04/25/2017
Pages: 436
Weight: 2.7lbs
Size: 8.60h x 6.60w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9781770462793


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 05/01/2017
Booklist 05/15/2017 pg. 37
Library Journal 06/01/2017

About the Author
Guy Delisle was born in Quebec City, Canada. His bestselling and acclaimed travelogues (Pyongyang, Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, Burma Chronicles, and Shenzhen) are defining works of graphic nonfiction, and in 2012, Delisle was awarded the top prize in European cartooning when the French edition of Jerusalem was named Best Album at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. He lives in France with his wife and children.