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lastblossom 's review for:
Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief
by Maurice Leblanc
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
With thanks to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
tl;dr
If you've never read Arsène Lupin before and you want to, this is absolutely the way to do it. Would also look very attractive on your shelf.
About:
Arsène Lupin, the original gentleman thief! This is an illustrated collection of the first nine Lupin novellas, detailing several classic Lupin tales.
What I Liked:
Okay, so there are a lot of things to cover, here. I will try to organize them.
1.) The actual stories (you can skip this if you've already read them)
As the original gentleman thief and inspiration to generations of thieves after him, Lupin continues to hold up surprisingly well! I was worried that all the plot twists and tricks would feel old and stale after seeing them remade for so many years, but the absolute audacity of this man transcends all who followed him. His battle against the "I swear this is not copyright infringement" British detective Herlock Sholmes was especially entertaining. They don't include all the Herlock Sholmes stories here, but the one that is here is the best one, anyway. Stories are tightly plotted and fast-paced, written with the feeling of someone recounting a story to you.
2.) The localization
Translation is tricky business. I've read other translations of these books before, but since I don't know French, I cannot speak to the accuracy of any of them. I can say, however, that this is a very readable book. Nothing feels too "translate-y," and the flow is quite natural. The story is very dialogue-forward, and the localization does a reasonable job differentiating the various character voices.
3.) The illustrations
I love them! The sketches are lovely, and the full page color shots are very well-composed. I'm a fan of the soft lines, and the "mystery adventure" vibe that most of the images give off.
What Wasn't For Me:
Genre-savvy readers will find very few surprises when it comes to plot twists, and some of the reveals might be disappointing. The fact-forward writing is not very immersive. But if I'm being honest, these are very minor issues. The description promises a Miyazaki-like flair for the illustrations, which I didn't really see. At the most, maybe Miyazaki pulled from similar influences, but there's a distinctly French look to this, and I don't really feel any anime influence.
tl;dr
If you've never read Arsène Lupin before and you want to, this is absolutely the way to do it. Would also look very attractive on your shelf.
About:
Arsène Lupin, the original gentleman thief! This is an illustrated collection of the first nine Lupin novellas, detailing several classic Lupin tales.
What I Liked:
Okay, so there are a lot of things to cover, here. I will try to organize them.
1.) The actual stories (you can skip this if you've already read them)
As the original gentleman thief and inspiration to generations of thieves after him, Lupin continues to hold up surprisingly well! I was worried that all the plot twists and tricks would feel old and stale after seeing them remade for so many years, but the absolute audacity of this man transcends all who followed him. His battle against the "I swear this is not copyright infringement" British detective Herlock Sholmes was especially entertaining. They don't include all the Herlock Sholmes stories here, but the one that is here is the best one, anyway. Stories are tightly plotted and fast-paced, written with the feeling of someone recounting a story to you.
2.) The localization
Translation is tricky business. I've read other translations of these books before, but since I don't know French, I cannot speak to the accuracy of any of them. I can say, however, that this is a very readable book. Nothing feels too "translate-y," and the flow is quite natural. The story is very dialogue-forward, and the localization does a reasonable job differentiating the various character voices.
3.) The illustrations
I love them! The sketches are lovely, and the full page color shots are very well-composed. I'm a fan of the soft lines, and the "mystery adventure" vibe that most of the images give off.
What Wasn't For Me:
Genre-savvy readers will find very few surprises when it comes to plot twists, and some of the reveals might be disappointing. The fact-forward writing is not very immersive. But if I'm being honest, these are very minor issues. The description promises a Miyazaki-like flair for the illustrations, which I didn't really see. At the most, maybe Miyazaki pulled from similar influences, but there's a distinctly French look to this, and I don't really feel any anime influence.