I thought this was interesting with lovely artwork and colouring but I don’t think the story sufficiently gripping for me. Still a good read though.

Thanks to NetGalley and Fantagraphics Books for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily. The publisher only offered the first 130 pages of this graphic novel for review.

Content warnings provided by Storygraph readers: Graphic: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Violence; Moderate: Slavery, Murder, Sexism; Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment.

I’ve tried to be more purposeful with my reading choices and ARC requests. Raging Clouds lands squarely in the thematic pocket I’ve been interested in lately-women pushing against the walls that men build around them. The 16th century Dutch setting and the manga format is an interesting choice. As mentioned above, there are some trigger warnings such as repeated marital rape and domestic violence, so please be aware of that before going in.

The novel follows Amelie Adelbert, a housewife whose true interests are suppressed by society’s restrictions. She’d much rather be studying birds and bats and how they fly than doing domestic chores like cooking and cleaning. Until one day when her husband brings home a big surprise.

I can’t wait to dive into the rest of this piece of manga. The illustrations are great, although I do have to admit that at times, I had a hard time distinguishing one woman from another. One of my daughters that reads manga says that is just how characters are drawn in this art form.

This is an interesting story set in the past, during a time when women couldn’t do much without their husbands and were expected to obey them. The main character is a young woman who has a deep curiosity about how things work, yet she’s held back by the duties and expectations of being a wife. The art adds to the atmosphere, with a gloomy tone that reflects the weight of her struggles.

I’m not sure what I just read. A young married Dutch woman is not happy with her marriage. There are rules that Dutch women, even rich women, work. And when her husband goes off to work it lasts over a year. She enjoys her freedom. Until the husband comes home and brings his mistress. The overarching theme of this book is what does god do to punish and reward women. Our main character is frequently thinking of god and that everything is for god. Even the bad things. This just left me with a blank feeling. A feeling of what was the point of that book? The illustrations are lovely, and they are NSFW. Sex acts are rudely described and there is full female nudity.

This is a very good start and I look forward to the adventures of the two women. Unique story with beautiful art. My only problem was I was not aware that this is a sample and not the whole story. Would love to read the whole story.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Fantagraphics Books for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Preview

Tw; racism, rape

A good start, interested in reading the rest of the book.

I was very intrigued by the sample of Raging Clouds I received. As this is not the full story, my thoughts are based solely on these pages—so take them with a grain of salt.

This manhwa is a historical period piece told from the perspective of a woman trapped in a rigid, male-dominated society. She dreams of learning, advancing, and experiencing freedom, yet finds herself stifled by the constraints around her. The frustration and injustice she faces—especially from her husband and those in her immediate circle—made me genuinely infuriated on her behalf.

The art style has a delicate, expressive quality that reminded me of old-school shojo manga. Based on what I’ve read so far, I would definitely be interested in experiencing the complete version and seeing where her journey leads.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this sample in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely and unique story. Beautiful and feminine artwork. Great to see more LGBTQ+ stories by people of color.

I didn't realise the arc I was reading was a sample, but based on the 130 pages I just read I can say this book has a lot of potential, the artwork was incredibly beautiful, it felt like watching a movie, the expressions the characters made where perfectly captured in the images, the characters felt like real people, you root for the women in this story and I really hope that they manage to free themselves somehow.

I'll definitely be continuing the whole book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the sample.

Everyone is holding Amélie down. Dutch society of the mid-sixteenth century tells her that she must be the perfect wife, cooking, cleaning, and supporting her husband, as well as sleeping with him whenever he wants. Hans, the husband in question, tells her that she should focus on housework and not his business. And God tells her that there's only one right way to be a good woman, even though He has also seen fit to give her a mind that yearns for answers about the natural world. It's only in looking to the sky that Amélie can feel like herself, for, as creator Yudori says in both the opening and closing lines of the book, “She looked at the land. It was taken by men. She looked at the sea. It was also taken by men. So Amélie turned her head to the sky.”

It's a powerful statement. In Amélie's views, she has no place on either land or sea, the two most significant spaces in Dutch life, while the sky is viewed as strictly being God's domain. Or at least, men see it as being God's domain – for Amélie, it's simply the only place where she has any hope of escaping men's domination. It also demonstrates that she's more engaged with science than religion. Because of certain religious groups of the time, her desire to use the sky as a scientific inquiry (and freedom) could be seen as a direct slight against the church. She's quite literally trespassing on God's domain in her bid to be seen as a full person, something her society tells her she's not.

Raging Clouds understands that its heroine is trapped, and that makes it fascinating, a bitter look at what its heroine must face because of the time and place when she was born a woman. Yudori uses few words to tell the tale, mostly allowing her art to show us Amélie's unhappiness and the freedom she feels when Hans is away for far longer than expected on a merchant voyage. When Hans is gone, Amélie doesn't put up her hair. She eats what and when she wants. And even more importantly, she studies the birds, desperate to understand what allows them to fly. Although it isn't explicitly stated, it's clear that Amélie hopes to escape her life like a bird does, although whether she intends that literally or figuratively isn't entirely clear. Perhaps it doesn't matter – she wants to use her time while Hans is away for herself and her own pursuits, to feel like herself.

Of course, Hans does eventually come back, and he brings with him a foreign woman he bought at a slave market because he felt sorry for her – or at least, that's what he tells his wife; the truth, when it comes out, turns out to be much different. (This is a good point to mention that there's some casual racism and antisemitism “appropriate” to the setting.) Amélie feels hurt, especially since she still has to endure sex with Hans, something the art makes very clear she doesn't enjoy. But mostly Hans' return, with or without another woman, drives home to Amélie how very trapped she is. Even this woman, who was bought and sold, has experienced more freedom than she ever will.

It is in the relationship between Amélie and the slave, whose real name we never learn (Hans calls her “Sahara”), that the story truly blossoms. Sahara was a Korean priestess, raped and kidnapped by Japanese raiders and eventually sold into slavery in Lisbon. She has a very clear-eyed view of men and what she can expect from them, and to Amélie, this at first looks like subservience. But it's not, as later chapters slyly explain, and Sahara is using her position as a way to make a life for herself – and to rescue Amélie from one that holds her back. While it is possible to read a romantic attraction between the two women, what's more important here is the ways in which they come to understand and support each other. Sahara's life has taught her how to subvert men's actions and expectations. That's a lesson that Amélie never got to learn before. Her life hasn't been good or easy, but Sahara has come through it smarter and stronger than before. Amélie looks to the sky, but Sahara looks to herself for the same freedom.

Yudori's feminist historical fiction leaves a lot for us to pull out from the story, which is frankly a draw. We can see Amélie begin to realize that perhaps she's a lesbian, slowly understand what motivates Eva, the servant who accompanied Amélie when she married, and even see that not everyone denigrates Amélie's scientific mind – a miller is only too happy to explain how his windmill works. The art doesn't shy away from showing bodies as they are; Amélie doesn't shave and is drawn with full pubic hair and underarm hair, and her breasts hang without artificial fullness. The art is harsh when it needs to be, but still has an appealing cleanliness of line that enhances the story.

Between Amélie, Eva, Yolente (another servant), and Sahara, Raging Clouds explores what it means to be powerless and to be a woman. Hans' true nature is shown with clearer and clearer eyes as the book goes on, and ultimately, it becomes a story about how women can find their way out of a world that seems desperate to tie them down.

I am anxious to have the chance to read the rest of this novel. I appreciated the illustrations in this graphic novel and I was intrigued by the dynamics within their household. I hope to see these two women break free from the structures that are restricting and controlling them.

I think when the publishers made a decision to provide an ARC of this novel only as a third of the whole thing, they miscalculated badly: by the time I read to the end of 130 pages made accessible to me, the two characters you see on the cover have barely met and only just about had their first interaction… this isn’t remotely enough to make a conclusion on what kind of story this is. The art is fab, the history seems well-researched and comes alive with a sense of place and time, and the conflict within the main character isn’t hard to gauge - but I haven’t seen enough of the main story to see if it comes together. What a baffling decision! Maybe it’s easier to think of this as a first volume in a manga: in which case yes, I’d pick up the second. The reviews from people who have read the whole story make me cautious, however…

Thank you to NG and publisher for providing a portion of the book in exchange for a review.

Star Rating: Tentative 3.5 / 5.0 *May change in the future.

This was definitely an interesting read! I was confused why it felt so unfinished, but then I saw the publisher note that the ARC is only the first 130 pages. It’s hard to fully review something that I did not fully read. But it did leave me wanting to know more and how these women might come to know each other more. It was interesting, however, but the overall tone left me feeling sad and frustrated with the system the main characters were set in. I would be interested in reading the rest of the graphic novel! The art was gorgeous and evocative of so many feelings with little words needed. It is sexually explicit, for those that are sensitive to that content, but it serves to further the story’s realism and reality of the characters lives in this historical setting. I could see how the finished story might tell of feminine rage personified in the main characters, and possibly healing with one another? I’m curious to read more from this author/artist.

Please note that this is a review of what I was able to read, so if I can access the rest, I will return and update this review and rating. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this partial eARC to review! :)

Thanks to NetGalley and Fantagraphics Books for the ARC copy of Raging Clouds. This has not affected my review at all, which are my own thoughts.
I should also say that I was lend a preview blad that only carried the first 130 pages of the graphic novel, so my review will only cover the part I was able to read and whether I would recommend it or not base in this (around) a third of the novel.

Amélie is a brilliant woman trapped in the restricting social expectations of high Dutch society (mid-16th century). Her marriage to Hans, a gallant merchant, was a terrible idea. Charming to townsfolk, he treats Amélie with cruelty at home. Expected to be a devoted housewife, Amélie finds true freedom, her time to be her free-spirited self, when Hans announces he's going away on business. Amélie looks to the skies, dreams of flying away from her miserable life, so she takes this found time to explore around on her own and study birds and any winged animal that might shown light to her questions.
But Hans returns, and not alone. His companion: a slave mistress woman called Sahara. At first, Amélie sees her as a rival, the enemy, but soon, they're drawn to each other, reflected in each other's misery, and they decide to work together to get to freedom.

What called me to this book from the start was the art style; Yudori is amazing, with a distinct style, some touches of realism but enough originality to be recognizable even if you don't know them at all. Second, it was the premise of Amélie's life; I'm no the biggest fan of historical fiction, I'll be honest, it is just a genre I don't normally partake in, but the cover, the art style and, ultimately, the promise of a story about two women making the best of their situation, finding each other at the precise moment they needed and how they would get read of impossible impositions, really called to me. And so here we are.

Now, when it comes to the story, this 130 pages cover that plot-description I gave you, of course, to introduce us to the characters and the world they inhabit, to immerse us in the story and leave us wanting more. And wanting more it left more, so much so that I'll most definitely will get me a copy to read it completely!

But, yeah, Amélie's character was compelling, even in her worst moments, being a complex woman and three rounded character. She longs for freedom and, hopefully, she'll get it. With her intelligence and willingness. Raging clouds is the story of a bold and clever woman with a vision that she'll accomplish no matter what, but it is also a social critique, a study of constriction, a commentary on restriction both social and impose. Amélie has still a lot to learn to be completely free.
In Sahara's part, she appears almost at the end of the preview blad, so I still don't have a full formed opinion of her, but for what little I saw, she looks as rich a character in personality and dreams as Amélie, and so I want to get to know her completely. Also, I loved how she clocked Amélie and her flying dream right from the start, these two are right for each other! (in my most humble opinion)

I may have only read a third, but I think I can say I recommend this one, like a lot of other people. Yudori definitely has a subtle but strong way of telling stories while bringing to the table important social commentary that we ought to keep alive for its relevance. I also had lots of fun reading it at times; what else can I ask from a book, really?

This was such a strange manga based on women in a older time setting and how they meet when the FMC husband pays for her to sleep with him and then keeps her. This was such a mix of women empowering each other and caring for each other then being defiled by the husband i was so confused but also supportive and disgusted at the same time.

I received an advance sample of this manuscript (approximately the first 130 pages), so it’s difficult to give a complete assessment, but even from this partial read the impact is undeniable. The story feels deliberately fragmented, evoking the style of certain manga with its sudden time skips and narrative leaps. While this can be disorienting, it also enhances the sense of confinement and tension, fitting the era’s oppressive atmosphere remarkably well.

The contrast between Amelie and Hans’ mistress is handled with subtlety and depth, setting up a compelling emotional and ideological tension. The artwork is exceptional: expressive, atmospheric, and often breathtaking. I was genuinely disappointed when the sample ended, not because it was lacking, but because I was fully invested and eager for more.

It’s clear Fantagraphics knew exactly what they were doing with this teaser. I’ll likely be picking up the full release! The setting of pre-Calvinist Netherlands adds a rich, historical texture, and the early signs of a feminist undercurrent were just beginning to emerge when the sample cut off. I suspect that theme will only intensify in powerful ways.

Highly recommended. This one has the potential to be something truly special.

Note: this is only a sampler, but it’s got me interested for the full release. A young woman in the Netherlands finds her life as a wife stifling and dreams of creating wings. Little does she know the mistress her shitty husband has bought home and she is jealous of will be her path forward. Hell of a read, and gorgeous art.

The copy I received was only a partial copy so it was hard to assess it when the plot was changing as it ended.

The main character was fascinated by wings and was tinkering, trying to make wings.. When her controlling husband returns home with a mistress, the whole household is in disarray. My copy ended with the main character bonding with the mistress, but who knows what happens next...

As a side note, I really hate when ARCs are not marked as samples or partial copies here on netgalley. It's frustrating to invest time in something like this and be left short.

Beautiful line work and an interesting historical story, I'm interested to see where this goes in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fantagraphic Books for this partial eARC of this book.

I've always liked the work done by Yudori, and getting an official publishing of her work in English is such a cool feat! I think almost all of her books were originally published in other languages. The partial aspect of this eARC made me want the rest of the story, but what I did read I found interesting and compelling, with complicated characters and their need to feel seen and heard within the confines of their own societal structure.