Two foreigners in France reach across language barriers and turn each other’s lives upside down in this stunningly beautiful queer romance graphic novel painted in dazzling watercolor.
Sarah Huxley has moved from London to Paris, only to find a lonely life of corporate drudgery and disappointment—a far cry from her romantic expectations of the city. She collides with Ping Loh, a young woman working as an au pair to a wealthy family of Hong Kong expats, and the two bond over their shared struggle with the French tongue.
In museums and markets, over text messages and translation apps, Ping and Sarah slowly begin to learn each other’s languages, communicating in a rich and ever-shifting blend of English, French, and Cantonese. As their friendship blooms, so does their private dialect—a personal linguistic patchwork, a shared secret just for them. But when their feelings for each other start to deepen, they discover that the simplest words to translate can be the hardest words to say.
In these sumptuously painted pages, award-winning graphic novelist James Albon (The Delicacy) presents a dazzling love story about cross-cultural connection, the bewildering sensation of feeling one’s brain rewrite itself, and the intoxicating rush of the foreign becoming familiar.
James Albon is an award-winning author and illustrator from Scotland. His illustrations and stories explore his fascination with people, places, languages, and the dynamics of relationships. His graphic novels include The Delicacy, A Shining Beacon, and Her Bark & Her Bite. As an editorial illustrator he has worked with a wide range of clients, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Libération, the Paris Review, and the South China Morning Post. He has traveled all over the world and has lived in London, Hong Kong, Lyon, and Strasbourg. He currently lives in Edinburgh.
“James Albon’s decadent cartooning and delicate watercolors perfectly capture the beauty and loneliness of wandering through new places that are supposed to be your home, and the specific halting beauty of intense connections forged across language barriers. I'm especially charmed by Sarah and Ping's emoji-strewn text conversations and their sinuous overlapping word bubbles as they gain fluency with each other. I loved this book!” — Shing Yin Khor, author of The Legend of Auntie Po
“Opening with a painfully awkward multilingual friendship, this delightful graphic novel soon made me laugh out loud and even brought me to tears. A masterfully painted celebration of languages and love!” — Rumi Hara, author of Nori and The Peanutbutter Sisters
Two foreigners in France reach across language barriers and turn each other’s lives upside down in this stunningly beautiful queer romance graphic novel painted in dazzling watercolor.
Sarah Huxley has moved from London to Paris, only to find a lonely life of corporate drudgery and disappointment—a far cry from her romantic expectations of the city. She collides with Ping Loh, a young woman working as an au pair to a wealthy family of Hong Kong expats, and the two bond over their shared struggle with the French tongue.
In museums and markets, over text messages and translation apps, Ping and Sarah slowly begin to learn each other’s languages, communicating in a rich and ever-shifting blend of English, French, and Cantonese. As their friendship blooms, so does their private dialect—a personal linguistic patchwork, a shared secret just for them. But when their feelings for each other start to deepen, they discover that the simplest words to translate can be the hardest words to say.
In these sumptuously painted pages, award-winning graphic novelist James Albon (The Delicacy) presents a dazzling love story about cross-cultural connection, the bewildering sensation of feeling one’s brain rewrite itself, and the intoxicating rush of the foreign becoming familiar.
Creators
James Albon is an award-winning author and illustrator from Scotland. His illustrations and stories explore his fascination with people, places, languages, and the dynamics of relationships. His graphic novels include The Delicacy, A Shining Beacon, and Her Bark & Her Bite. As an editorial illustrator he has worked with a wide range of clients, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Libération, the Paris Review, and the South China Morning Post. He has traveled all over the world and has lived in London, Hong Kong, Lyon, and Strasbourg. He currently lives in Edinburgh.
“James Albon’s decadent cartooning and delicate watercolors perfectly capture the beauty and loneliness of wandering through new places that are supposed to be your home, and the specific halting beauty of intense connections forged across language barriers. I'm especially charmed by Sarah and Ping's emoji-strewn text conversations and their sinuous overlapping word bubbles as they gain fluency with each other. I loved this book!” — Shing Yin Khor, author of The Legend of Auntie Po
“Opening with a painfully awkward multilingual friendship, this delightful graphic novel soon made me laugh out loud and even brought me to tears. A masterfully painted celebration of languages and love!” — Rumi Hara, author of Nori and The Peanutbutter Sisters
