'The Big Empty Life of Alphonse Tabouret' by Sibylline Desmazieres with art by Jerome d'Aviau is a graphic novel about the search for meaning.

Alphonse finds himself somewhere new with a large creature asking him to have a conversation. He runs away, and this starts an odd journey. He runs in to all kinds of creatures looking to fill meaning in ordinary and extraordinary ways. Alphonse tries many different things.

With some editing, I could have enjoyed this more, but it's a long meandering story with basically stick figures for art. I had issues with some of the dialogue lettering too. I get what this was about, but it lost me along the way.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Lion Forge, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

The Big Empty Life of Alphonse Tabouret: An Introduction to French Abstract

The opening sentence is one of my favourites in a long time:

Once upon a time, early one morning...In the middle of a quiet, not-so-special clearing in the woods, a wee-tiny whatsit woke up without any memory at all. He couldn't remember what he was doing there or what he wanted, or that he had ever been sleeping in the first place.

I enjoy how we are told which character says which part of dialogue. The Big Man helped Alphonse, but then he left. Alphonse is so cute.

A quaint, abstract little book is this one. Without the Big Man, Alphonse has a big empty. Alphonse begins to speak to himself in his reflection and does not realise that it's not another person.


Alphonse makes friends with himself, but eventually meets an elephant. When Alphonse realises that the man in the puddle is just his reflection, he gets quite down about it.

Life wasn't exactly filled with signposts to lead the way.

Eventually Alphonse looks for a hobby, but struggles to find one that sticks. Alphonse is essentially living a big empty life. Never has a title rung so true to a book. I really enjoy the illustrations in this one. They're cute, cartoon life but still convey the serious message the book is trying to convey about emptiness.

Alphonse begins to collect a lot of things (he basically becomes a hoarder) and becomes extremely happy. Alphonse meets...a hole? And begins to play with it. I really don't get it. Perhaps it's just too French for me to understand. But he changes the hole to different shapes. Is it commentary on how we can spice up the holes in our lives? Wait I get it now! And then when Alphonse gives hole something of his, hole becomes whole! And people can fill the holes in your life and disappear, just like that, leaving a bigger hole.


This is not a happy comic. It's a rabbit hole of commentary, depression and loneliness.

Alphonse meets Penelope, who is pessimistic and grumpy. She sucks the life out of him and his relationship with her is vampiric and he's the victim.

"...Alphonse realised that fear catches up to you superfast...and there was no way to lose it...so he stopped running."

This book comments on a lot of life's difficulties, but does not seek to give solutions. Instead, it only exposes more problems. I mean, the personification of anxiety is a character.

But the world becomes better when Alphonse meets Lilili. I guess what the book is trying to say is that you need someone in your life who goes "me too!" and is relatable.

They reflected each others dreams, rang each other's bells to turn the paged and opened each other's skylight so they could count the stars together.

But then their relationship fails. Obviously, because this book is so pessimistic. But then it's optimistic. I'm uncertain if the tonal dissonance is on purpose or not.

3.5 stars. It felt like a 3 star level of enjoyment, but 4 stars for effort and messages. Overall this book was entertaining but left a dry taste in my mouth.

So strange, but in the best way possible! Everything about this book was unique. From the intriguing story line, to the strange creatures/characters, to the monochrome color choice to the outstanding artwork, to the way the author/artist include the speech blurbs. I loved everything about it! I hope to see more like it in the soon to be future!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I truly appreciate it!

Unfortunately I couldn't finish this book due to personal connections with issues depicted combined with a lack of connection to the style of the story, however I think the concept is extremely promising and interesting and I appreciated each facet of it despite it not working for me personally.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

For being a mostly stick figure drawing, the deeper meaning of this book is pretty profound. We see Alphonse go on a quest to find someone to love him, battle with depression, and go through and escape a damaging relationship. While on the surface it looks like a cutesy little sketchbook, every page is laden with hidden meaning and dives into the real struggles of life. I think it's a very creative way to explore these topics but if you're not looking for hidden meanings, you may literally only see the drawings.

4 stars.

Alphonse Tabouret begins his life safely contained and cared for by a large, omnipresent figure. Eventually, though, the figure leaves him, and ALphonse must wander the vast forest alone to find out just who he is and what he wants from his new, independent existence.

He makes a number of friends and acquaintances along the way. Each interaction is packed with meaning and metaphor, but the story is just as enjoyable at the surface level. It reminded me a bit of Shel Silverstein, but less silly (and slightly less disturbing than The Giving Tree).

The art is sparing, black and white, and very beautiful. I haven't been this fascinated by a simple, straightforward graphic novel in quite a while. It's one I will be buying and sharing.

"The Big Empty Life of Alphonse Tabouret" is a beautifully told story about a tiny being searching for meaning in a large, often meaningless world. The illustrations are enchantingly adorable, the perfect contrast to the often darker subject matter surrounding depression, codependence, and loss. The story is steeped in metaphors, yet they never feel overdone. Innocently told while still deep in meaning, "The Big Empty Life of Alphonse Tabouret" is stunning graphic novel, well worth a read.

The Big Empty Life of Alphonse Tabouret enchanted me at the start. The seemingly simple drawings often have much more going on than they appear to at first glance. I enjoyed meeting Alphonse and seeing him get started on the journey of life. Alphonse met his first friend...then lost his first friend. Then heads off to find more friends.

Some parts near the beginning of this book were so silly that I chuckled out loud. Like the drawings, the story seems very simple, but it's actually got more layers going on depending on how deeply you happen to be thinking.

As the story progressed, though, it became somewhat confusing, and I began to realize that perhaps the title is very apt. Much like in real life I had no idea what was going on -- like some big inside joke that the world forgot to clue me in on.

In the end, it's hard to rate this book, because parts of it charmed me, but other bits left me a bit cold. I'll give it 3.5 stars, mostly for the amusing bits and the charming illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with a free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

**And again, thanks Netgalley!**

This one fell kind of flat. I enjoyed it well enough. But I didn't love it. I don't care to ever read it again.

But it was cute, and sometimes silly. My son had me read it to him, but he never picked it up. It just didn't move fast enough, and it really didn't make enough sense.

Knowing this was a translation, I wonder if it's a bad story or a bad translation.

This graphic novel is a creepy Seussian adventure and a delightfully bizarre read. It is a weird and whimsical allegory about what it means to be human and the search for meaning and connection.

The Big Empty Life of Alphonse Tabouret is described as an existential fairy tale, and the main character, Alphonse, spends most of the story in a state of naïveté; however, he’s annoyed by injustices experienced and is frustrated by his lack of understanding in the world around him. While there’s a child-like overtone, the characters grapple with depression, narcissism, consumerism, addiction, grief, and the reality of growing up.

I appreciate the nonlinear storytelling because that’s life, and it’s messy, and roundabout, and emotionally tumultuous. The simple black and white line drawings capture the fragility of the human spirit in a way that is as pensive as it is wacky.

An interesting type of graphic novel. Not quite for me, but I know people who will really enjoy it. Will recommend it to them.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in return for my honest review.

This is Alphonse Tabouret's journey. I didn't know what to expect. But i enjoyed it. We have different journeys and when we go through our paths we will meet people and thats what Alphonse did. I love little angry fire and the big man. But in the end they all met their perfect ones. Drawings are so cute. In the end we can see different artists drawings of Alphonse. I think it is really good detail too.

This is a journey book, which makes it hard to review, first of all, because I loath journey books. Second problem I had with it is that it is a bit on the boring side. Alphonse is confused most of the time, about life, about love, about people in general, and what friendship is, and those around him aren't much help.

And some reviewers have said it is symbolic for how life is, and that may be so, but I never really cared about Alphonse, and saw no reason to continue reading about his journey.

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Very simple to read, and a few funny thing moments, but nothing to keep me engaged.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.