A dark and bloody fairy tale where a scullion maid's wish for beauty turns her into a Helen whose face launches a thousand wars. The ups and downs in her fortunes and her personality get a bit much at times, but the engaging side characters help to carry interest through the lowest points.

FOR REFERENCE:

Collects Beauté - tome 1 - Désirs exaucés, Beauté - tome 2 - La reine indécise, and Beauté - tome 3 - Simples mortels.

Contents: 1. Wishes Granted -- 2. The Indecisive Queen -- 3. Ordinary Mortals ( )

TRIGGER WARNING! Psychological and emotional abuse,graphic sexual assault and exaggerated violence is depicted heavily throughout.

A young woman is granted one wish,and she wishes to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Her wish is granted. But everything comes with a cost. Standard fare,right? No. While the plot is simple and direct, the overarching themes,societal and gender norms, psychological trauma,and sexual abuse is not. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Every element is organically weaved into a harrowing (often times very traumatic) tale of one woman's journey, Cloudine. No matter what Coddie/Cloudine did/didn't do I,I was invested in not only her journey but the side characters journey as well, especially her daughter. I was her biggest cheerleader until i wasn't and then I was again. I was nervous when she got pregnant. I hoped her first husband would let go of his obsession with her. I was very much conflicted with how she wad being framed. In some ways it was as if the writer was saying at times"when you're this beautiful or this sexy it's putting too much responsibility on men to control themselves" . An direct and artistic way of basically saying " but she was asking for it" ( )

Somewhat peculiar fairy tale that's more in the realm of a contemplation on physical beauty than a morality tale. Fascinating illustrations, which work off this theme, and interesting depictions of part-bird or part-animal fairies. Not for kids -- some grim areas, depictions of abduction and rape, and violent conflicts. ( )

Poor Coddie, repulsive and abused and constantly stinking of fish, accidentally frees a wicked fairy and wishes for unimaginable beauty. This beauty drives men mad, and almost immediately Coddie (later renamed Beauty) has to flee for her safety and her life. She's exchanged many times to many men, lusted over and hated for her beauty in equal measure. She does eventually find her strength, and this coupled with her beauty cows and subdues all before her.

Until then, unfortunately, Coddie is also vain, naive, and foolish. She sees the trouble her beauty brings, and is pathologically driven to be admired anyway. She's a good queen and mother, at stretches, but easily led and whimsical.

Unable to rely on men (except for her childhood friend, who meets an unfortunate end simply for being in her inner circle), she turns to the women in her life, who constantly let her down, out of greed or jealousy. The only positive female relationship she has is with her daughter.

The art the accompanies the story is absolutely gorgeous. Coddie's wish cannot change her physical appearance, just how people perceive her, and so for the majority of the story she is drawn as she is - big ears, weak chin, etc. But sometimes we get a beguiling glimpse of how others see her. This is an incredible way to portray the reality of her wish/curse (that could only be done in a graphic novel!).

Overall, an interesting and symbolic story about the true power of beauty and attraction. ( )

A terrific, transcendent riff on fairy tales, which at seems at first to be a great parody or sendup of the genre, but finally in my opinion BECOMES a great timeless story. Hilarious, tragic, and insightful writing by Hubert and carrer-best art by Kerascoët. ( )