*I received an advance copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own*
I like a graphic novel with beautiful art and to be honest, that’s all this graphic novel seemed to have going for it. I didn’t really understand the point of it since there wasn’t a plot and no character development. All I really got from it is that wind is a woman and a talking fox and a girl named Jeanne.
Overall, the art was cute, but not a graphic novel I really enjoyed story-wise.

Pistouvi is a kind of weird story and definitely not one for the masses. There basically is no over-arching plot, it's just a couple of chapters, showing the life of a girl and her fox in this very weird world. The art style is really great and everything had this mythical feel to it that I quite enjoyed. I would have liked to have an actual story better, but the symbolic nature of it all will definitely be interesting to many people.

This story was a dream within a dream within a dream, in a fantasy land where the wind is a benevolent woman, a half giant half tractor roams shaping the land, and a young girl and a fox live together facing the elements and the strangeness of birds. I call this a dream because the plot isn't crisp, I was never entirely sure what was going on, and it seems like there is a logic to going on in the world, until you look too close. I'm fine with the ambiguity,

Pistouvi is the story of Two Friends, Jeanne, a little girl and Pistouvi, a fox man. There are a bunch of strange characters in the book making it unique in its own way. The book comprises of unrelated episodes talking about their adventures. The storyline isn't very prominent yet the book leaves an impact on you. The monochromatic illustrations are the real appeal of the book making it very attractive. An interesting pick for people looking for an offbeat graphic novel.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited for this graphic novel because of the gorgeous looking artwork on the cover. However, this was highly disappointing.

Not only was the artwork not consistent throughout, particularly regarding the characters’ facial expressions, there was no plot and no development of any kind. The whole book felt empty and hollow. There were some interesting vignettes within the larger book but overall, I felt lost and underwhelmed throughout. Sadly I wouldn’t recommend this.

1 out of 5 stars!

While this strange graphic novel had its charms, I'm clueless as to the intended audience. The story of a young girl and a cute, mischievous fox living together seems sure to appeal to children, yet the tale is dark and dreary, and well, frankly - a little confusing. I did like the artwork, but the plot left me scratching my head.

This is such a sweet graphic novel with an important message. The storyline was well done, and the art. style engaging.

Beautiful artwork and monochromatic vignettes. It had some Calvin & Hobbes vibes, as in reminiscence of childhood imagination, but it wasn't funny or deep at any level and quite difficult to understand and not a cohesive story.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I love love the illustrations in this book, but the story or stories were choppy and did not flow cohesively.

I don't think I fully comprehended this story (maybe because it's translated?), it seems like more of a collection of vignettes, about a child and her wild imagination, as I assume. And as she starts to grow up, she starts losing her rich imagination and all the "friends" she made within her imaginary world. The art style was amazing and the atmosphere was wonderful, but the story wasn't very clear, I still enjoyed most of it.

I thank Netgalley for the digital ARC.

beautiful linework is not enough to save dead-eyed characters within a meaningless plot.

if "pistouvi" is supposed to be an extended metaphor, it fell flat for me. the components for a classic modern fairytale are all there – whimsical girl, anthropomorphic fox, wind spirit, machine man, ominous birds – but they remain the sum of their parts. there is no character development, no explanations, not even any true cohesion between chapters; the book simply starts and keeps going until it doesn't.

the art, while crisp and pleasingly stylized overall, contains several quirks: lifeless eyes, strangely detailed teeth (but only for the girl), and a few oddly-angled panels.

ultimately, i wanted from "pistouvi" something that it was ill-equipped to give. i wanted a fairytale; i got disjointed vignettes.

thank you to netgalley and diamond book distributors - magnetic press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, Pistouvi was dark and suffocating all the while being nice and fluffy. Such a great combination that makes your skin crawl. Jeanne is your normal and playful little girl who spends her days with a mischievous young fox called Pistouvi. The two play and live in their cute tree house. The normality in this case is wonky already. The two play pranks and tease the tractor-man and they want the wind lady to help them, mostly to blow away the nasty and scary birds. But the birds are on their way to get Pistouvi and there's nothing Jeanne can do. The whole thing is like dark liquid in which you are stuck knee deep. I love it how Merwan doesn't explain things and how the birds are just looming there until they ask why our duo makes their lives hard. Who's the bad guy really? This all sets a spiral going downhill and it's weird and wonderful.

The line art is beautiful and precise. I wish the comic was in colors, since it would fit this so marvelously. Now something is lost, which is a shame. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, since Pistouvi is like a nightmare, but you notice that only too late. Those of you who like their stories nice and clean? Perhaps not for you. But those who travel into exciting adventures at night? This is for you.

Sometimes a book gets you right in the feels. The art is breathtakingly good, and it is in service of a story and characters that immediately capture your heart.

It is a story about growing up, friendship, and, how eventually everything changes. Pistouvi is a rascal given to fits of tempers and acts of general cheekiness that are, for the most part utterly charming. Jeanne, his best friend and who I think the story is really about, is brave, kind, and, because of her curiosity is often impatient.
Pistouvi is told in vignettes of almost self-contained stories. Some are eerie; others are wholesome. If I were to describe the tone and feel of the book, it would be somewhere between the melancholy weirdness of the Moomins and the eccentric fun of Adventure Time. A friend of mine once said Tove Jansen’s books taught her how to be human to other human beings. Relationships, especially the friendships we have as children are difficult things to maintain; people grow up, move away and change. Nothing lasts. Everything hurts more when you’re a kid. This book brought back a lot of emotions and memories I had growing up. I’m not saying I cried, but I’m not saying I didn’t.

This is a wonderful book. It does that Pixar thing of giving something substantial for both children and adults to enjoy. I loved this. I’ll be purchasing a copy for the little ones in my life, and I would recommend you do the same.

Got a copy of this graphic novel from NetGalley.

The intricate artwork in this is really interesting and it would be wrong not to appreciate the level of detail that makes up each panel.

The narrative is about a young girl and her fox. I found the intimacy between them a bit weird and almost...abusive? The girl has a temper. The fox has a fear of birds. There are crows and some sort of pond lake birds. There’s a bearded truck man person. Wind, the force of nature, is female. Altogether this story is bizarre and nonsensical, and I usually enjoy that blend but the structure of this felt really disjointed and I could not find any cohesive meaning in the various chapter divisions.

The ending, however, was interesting but abrupt...implying that our most prized possessions/attachments will one day...fly away from us, and that will be that.

This is without a doubt the worst graphic novel I have ever read in my life. The only recommendation I can make about it is not to read it. There is no plot. The characters are so flat and boring and the way the human girl's teeth are drawn is disturbing to say the least. The is no conflict or character development. This was a waste so many people's time. Honestly wish I could've given a half star.

I abandoned this after 60 pages and still feeling super confused about what was going on. I felt like it kept dropping its train of thought and going in some random new direction. I know there's a fox and a girl and that the fox likes bugs but that's about all I know after 60 pages. The illustrations were cute.

When I had the opportunity to read Pistouvi, I was very excited because I like graphic novels a lot, in this case when I saw the cover I had my first good impression, I though and I still think that the cover was an excellent choice for the book. But I have to say that from the beginning it was a very weird story. I keep thinking what was the purpose of this story and why the author took all those bad decisions about the story. Without the talent of the illustrator, I have to say that this graphic novel would be one of the worst. As I said the cover was what drew me to this graphic novel, and to be honest, the art is the only thing worth mentioning at all.

I know that not all stories are lineal, that is something good sometimes, but in this case it was pretty bad because the reader is reading something quite interesting and suddenly the scene ends with no explanation, then the next chapter or the next scene is completely different from what we were reading. While I was reading I thought that it was a fantasy story, something for children at least, but that is a complete mistake, there is information difficult to understand, then a weird drawing appears and you simply disconnect from the reading.

If I had known the story before it was published, I would recommend to the creators to pay attention to finishing the scenes, and that the dialogues should be more accurate and not just dialogues that want to give an idea but not all the idea. Also, I didn't like any of the main characters, they have a strange personality that I just didn't quite understand.

In the book description it says "A beautiful, lyrical fable about the inevitable transition from childhood freedom to adult responsibility." But no, it is not a beautiful fable and I did not saw the inevitable transition anywhere, in the end something happens that could represent freedom, but the story handles it in an unpleasant way, which could be better and more digestible.

Pistouvi is a character who had a lot of potential but who got lost in a poorly managed story that is difficult to understand and that fails to please the reader.

Pistouvi is a mystical read that reminds me a lot of watching a Studio Ghibli movie. The art is beautiful and the story is creative in its telling of a young girl and her fox friend, but overall, it fell a bit flat for me. While I can tell this was supposed to be about growing up, the end was rather sudden and quite sad compared to the rest of the story. Also, almost nothing makes sense, which somewhat fits the Ghibli feel, but it isn’t executed nearly as well. Lastly, given that this graphic novel is nearly 200 pages, I expected more from the development. The birds are never explained and all the characters lacked depth, making it hard to connect with any of them. I’m a bit disappointed, but the art and magical feel of the book is good enough that I don’t regret picking it up.

Pistouvi is a cute fox who lives with his friend , a girl with magical music instrument and wind.
They have few nauances around them in form of birds and a beard man with tractor.
They plant a tree in their kitchen and then strange things start to happen.
Fox is irritated with birds who put their feathers on her.
Artwork is excellent. It is simple and innovative.
Backgrounds are great especially shadow effects of light are wonderful.
A very good graphic novel.
I Liked character of beared man.
A easy recommendation for graphic novel lovers.

This book had wonderful artwork and the world had some some of the most unusual creatures and beings which made it seem whimsical and mystical. I loved the cute friendship between Jeanne and Pistouvi, Best friends for ever, and how they loved to play together and always stay close to one another.
Ill be honest i felt a little confused reading it, as if we were jumping from one moment to another. I really would've liked to know the reason as to why the birds were such despicable creatures, to be cautioned against. Maybe if there were to be a following book giving more info on the world and the background of the characters would definitely be awesome