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Hostage
How does one survive when all hope is lost?
In the middle of the night in 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André was kidnapped by armed men and taken away to an unknown destination in the Caucasus region. For three months, André was kept handcuffed in solitary confinement, with little to survive on and almost no contact with the outside world. Close to twenty years later, award-winning cartoonist Guy Delisle (Pyongyang, Jerusalem, Shenzhen, Burma Chronicles) recounts André's harrowing experience in Hostage, a book that attests to the power of one man's determination in the face of a hopeless situation.
Marking a departure from the author's celebrated first-person travelogues, Delisle tells the story through the perspective of the titular captive, who strives to keep his mind alert as desperation starts to set in. Working in a pared down style with muted colour washes, Delisle conveys the psychological effects of solitary confinement, compelling us to ask ourselves some difficult questions regarding the repercussions of negotiating with kidnappers and what it really means to be free. Thoughtful, intense, and moving, Hostage takes a profound look at what drives our will to survive in the darkest of moments.
In the middle of the night in 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André was kidnapped by armed men and taken away to an unknown destination in the Caucasus region. For three months, André was kept handcuffed in solitary confinement, with little to survive on and almost no contact with the outside world. Close to twenty years later, award-winning cartoonist Guy Delisle (Pyongyang, Jerusalem, Shenzhen, Burma Chronicles) recounts André's harrowing experience in Hostage, a book that attests to the power of one man's determination in the face of a hopeless situation.
Marking a departure from the author's celebrated first-person travelogues, Delisle tells the story through the perspective of the titular captive, who strives to keep his mind alert as desperation starts to set in. Working in a pared down style with muted colour washes, Delisle conveys the psychological effects of solitary confinement, compelling us to ask ourselves some difficult questions regarding the repercussions of negotiating with kidnappers and what it really means to be free. Thoughtful, intense, and moving, Hostage takes a profound look at what drives our will to survive in the darkest of moments.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2016
78 people are currently reading
5557 people want to read
About the author
Guy Delisle
39 books1,787 followersBorn in Quebec, Canada, Guy Delisle studied animation at Sheridan College. Delisle has worked for numerous animation studios around the world, including CinéGroupe in Montreal.
Drawing from his experience at animation studios in China and North Korea, Delisle's graphic novels Shenzen and Pyongyang depict these two countries from a Westerner's perspective. A third graphic novel, Chroniques Birmanes, recounts his time spent in Myanmar with his wife, a Médecins Sans Frontières administrator.
Drawing from his experience at animation studios in China and North Korea, Delisle's graphic novels Shenzen and Pyongyang depict these two countries from a Westerner's perspective. A third graphic novel, Chroniques Birmanes, recounts his time spent in Myanmar with his wife, a Médecins Sans Frontières administrator.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 978 reviews
June 16, 2017
Posted at Heradas Review
I’m convinced that graphic novels are the perfect form for historical accounts and memoirs. Like film it’s partly a visual medium, but it’s free from the tropes, narrative boundaries, and language of film. It’s also firmly in the realm of literature, but free from the usual trappings of that medium as well. It has all of the strengths of both, and few of their weaknesses. The story can be presented in a simpler language, straightforward and raw, and this often gives it a lot more emotional impact. In several ways historical accounts feels more real, and more personal when presented in panels. There’s a long history of doing just that: Persepolis, Maus, and last year’s March for example were all exemplary, and Hostage belongs right alongside them.
Delisle has done admirable work capturing the disorientation of Christophe’s hostage experience. The language barrier between him and his captors keeps him entirely in the dark as to why he’s been kidnapped, where he’s being held, what the status of negotiations (if any) for his release are, etc. His world is reduced to 4 walls and a ceiling. The reader is kept in the dark right there along with Christophe, experiencing his story as he tells it. Noises and events occur outside of his view and understanding, and he’s left only to guess what they are; constructing his greater world from fantasy. His mind escapes through his love of military history, as he attempts to lose himself in some of the great battles of Napoleon and the American Civil War.
The illustration uses subtlety and simplicity to emphasize how slight the differences in Christophe’s day-to-day life become while in captivity. For example, the thin light moving across the wall shows how his perception of time has been drastically reduced. It’s absence after he’s moved to a more tightly controlled area, is devastating. This isn’t said, but subtly shown. There’s a story unfolding in the words, and more detail unfolding in the illustrations. They meld together, and create the greater story where they overlap. It’s fantastically well done.
Occasionally a new person feeds him, or forgets to, or leaves him uncuffed at night. Sometimes he’s allowed a shower, sometimes his captors offer him a cigarette. The most heartbreaking part of this for me was the hyper excitement that Christophe experienced at the most basic of pleasures; things I take for granted every day of my life. Finding some Garlic in a storeroom that he’s kept in, and eating it after months of the same soup and bread day after day puts him into a state of euphoric bliss unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. That hit me really hard. When your life consists of being handcuffed to a radiator for months, any little deviation from the norm is the highest peak imaginable. At one point he’s given an omelette, and nearly forgets that he’s a captive, it’s so indescribably delicious to him.
Christophe obviously lived to tell his story to Delisle, but I’ll leave that resolution up to you to discover for yourselves. I will say that it’s quite a nerve wracking ordeal, and the most thrilling part of this book. I highly recommend checking it out.
I’m convinced that graphic novels are the perfect form for historical accounts and memoirs. Like film it’s partly a visual medium, but it’s free from the tropes, narrative boundaries, and language of film. It’s also firmly in the realm of literature, but free from the usual trappings of that medium as well. It has all of the strengths of both, and few of their weaknesses. The story can be presented in a simpler language, straightforward and raw, and this often gives it a lot more emotional impact. In several ways historical accounts feels more real, and more personal when presented in panels. There’s a long history of doing just that: Persepolis, Maus, and last year’s March for example were all exemplary, and Hostage belongs right alongside them.
Delisle has done admirable work capturing the disorientation of Christophe’s hostage experience. The language barrier between him and his captors keeps him entirely in the dark as to why he’s been kidnapped, where he’s being held, what the status of negotiations (if any) for his release are, etc. His world is reduced to 4 walls and a ceiling. The reader is kept in the dark right there along with Christophe, experiencing his story as he tells it. Noises and events occur outside of his view and understanding, and he’s left only to guess what they are; constructing his greater world from fantasy. His mind escapes through his love of military history, as he attempts to lose himself in some of the great battles of Napoleon and the American Civil War.
The illustration uses subtlety and simplicity to emphasize how slight the differences in Christophe’s day-to-day life become while in captivity. For example, the thin light moving across the wall shows how his perception of time has been drastically reduced. It’s absence after he’s moved to a more tightly controlled area, is devastating. This isn’t said, but subtly shown. There’s a story unfolding in the words, and more detail unfolding in the illustrations. They meld together, and create the greater story where they overlap. It’s fantastically well done.
Occasionally a new person feeds him, or forgets to, or leaves him uncuffed at night. Sometimes he’s allowed a shower, sometimes his captors offer him a cigarette. The most heartbreaking part of this for me was the hyper excitement that Christophe experienced at the most basic of pleasures; things I take for granted every day of my life. Finding some Garlic in a storeroom that he’s kept in, and eating it after months of the same soup and bread day after day puts him into a state of euphoric bliss unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. That hit me really hard. When your life consists of being handcuffed to a radiator for months, any little deviation from the norm is the highest peak imaginable. At one point he’s given an omelette, and nearly forgets that he’s a captive, it’s so indescribably delicious to him.
Christophe obviously lived to tell his story to Delisle, but I’ll leave that resolution up to you to discover for yourselves. I will say that it’s quite a nerve wracking ordeal, and the most thrilling part of this book. I highly recommend checking it out.
June 21, 2017
How the paradoxes multiply – a very fast read about an excruciatingly slow passage of time; a visual medium used to tell a story of which the main feature is that a guy is chained to a radiator – not much to see in that godforsaken room; and yes, the sophisticated art form of the graphic novel this time discloses the brutal human-reduced-to-a-chunk-of-maybe-valuable-maybe-not meat that is your grotesque fate if you’re ever crazy enough to work for an international charity in a famously dangerous country. In this case it was Ingushetia. There are only two things known about Ingushetia in the West. 1) No one has heard of it. 2) It’s dangerous.
This is a crushingly simple yet painfully suspenseful and also true story. How is Christophe going to get out? And will he lose his mind before that happens? Why are the negotiations dragging on and on and on? Because the entire tale is scrupulously from Christophe’s point of view, us readers end up seething with frustration. We never do get to find out why the hostage takers did what they did, who they were anyways, and what were Christophe’s bosses doing all that time. And I also wanted to know WHY a Westerner like Christophe would go off to a very foreign country without learning at least one of the local languages?! I don’t want to blame the victim here, heaven forbid, but that seemed pretty crazy.
Anyway, I love graphic novels like this – more please – and this was one of the fastest ever experiences from hearing about the existence of a book (yesterday morning) to getting it and reading it and reviewing it, all within 24 hours. You can probably beat that record but my head is spinning, in a good way.
Christophe's jailer forgets to handcuff back to the radiator one time after bringing him his daily soup
This is a crushingly simple yet painfully suspenseful and also true story. How is Christophe going to get out? And will he lose his mind before that happens? Why are the negotiations dragging on and on and on? Because the entire tale is scrupulously from Christophe’s point of view, us readers end up seething with frustration. We never do get to find out why the hostage takers did what they did, who they were anyways, and what were Christophe’s bosses doing all that time. And I also wanted to know WHY a Westerner like Christophe would go off to a very foreign country without learning at least one of the local languages?! I don’t want to blame the victim here, heaven forbid, but that seemed pretty crazy.
Anyway, I love graphic novels like this – more please – and this was one of the fastest ever experiences from hearing about the existence of a book (yesterday morning) to getting it and reading it and reviewing it, all within 24 hours. You can probably beat that record but my head is spinning, in a good way.
Christophe's jailer forgets to handcuff back to the radiator one time after bringing him his daily soup
November 14, 2016
Guy Delisle always does a great job with understatement and can pass beautiful and strong messages with minimalist drawing and text. I loved his books on Shenzen, Pyongyang, Burma and Jerusalem where he was working as a cartoonist and they were autobiographical accounts. This one was quite different as it dealt with the kidnapping and captivity of a humanitarian activist, Christophe André held for over 100 days in 1997 in Chechnia. It is told simply with a spare black, white, grey and occasionally blue palette. It feels highly realistic and is very engrossing. I really enjoyed this one!
May 14, 2021
Kitap 1997 yılında Kafkasya’da, bir insani yardım kuruluşunda çalışan Chistophe Andre’nin kaçırılma ve yaklaşık dört ay süren tutsaklık döneminin hikayesi. Konu zaten çok çarpıcı zaten. Ancak Guy Delisle’nin çizimleriyle bambaşka bir çekim kazanmış. Çizerin daha önceden de Pyongyang Günlükleri’ni okuduğumda da aynı şeyi hissetmiştim. Çok zorlu durumları karşı cepheleri -örneğin bu kitapta gardiyanlar- en kötü ilan etmeden, şeytanlaştırmadan ama çizimlerinde nasıl yaptığını çözemediğim bir şekilde şartların zorluklarını ve ruhsal baskısını çok iyi yansıtabiliyor. Aslında diyaloglar da çizimler de çok basit ancak aşırı detaylandırılmış notlar, tasvirler olmadan tutsak edilmenin, belirsizliğin ve zamanda kaybolmanın insan psikolojisindeki etkisini anlıyorsunuz. Elimdeki muhtelif günlükleri ile kendisini okumaya devam edeceğim. Çok beğendim.
May 8, 2017
Delisle is known for his autobiographical comics and cartoons, chronicles of his experiences in different countries he visits on his wife's professional trips, and more recently, amusing cartoon collections of his own bad parenting. Hostage is by far his most ambitious work to date, based on an oral history account he audiotaped of the kidnapping of Christophe André, who was held captive for over 3 months in 1997 in Chechnya.
The book is 432 pages, in which very little happens (though as you might have guessed, he does survive the ordeal, though I won't reveal how), as one might expect. Christophe, an humanitarian activist, is taken in the middle of the night within the first days of his new job, and he learns over time that his kidnappers just want money. Ironically, he is carrying the only key to a safe housing a lot of money that was very near to the bed from which he was taken.
If I were to describe what happens in this book you would probably think it is pretty boring, since every day he is handcuffed and only rarely gets free to go to the bathroom or eat. A history buff, he recounts in his head various epic historical incidents, and he also passes the time trying not to imagine his worst fears about what is going on. The gulf between his daily actions and the historical events is telling. History is the account of great people, recorded in history books; Christophe is not impressive or particularly courageous. We know little about him. What we know from this book is mainly the psychological account of his experience, what it was like for him, how he managed, emotionally. We know little of his life, we know nothing of his work or politics. We know little of his captors or their purposes. It's just mainly about his mind while kidnapped, and he is a simple, straightforward guy.
The effect of the few words and spare, clean black and white drawings is increasing anxiety we feel for him, and maybe also worries about how we might manage such insanity. We are there. When would we crack?! Overall, I think this is a pretty impressive work about an ordinary man under extraordinary circumstances.
The book is 432 pages, in which very little happens (though as you might have guessed, he does survive the ordeal, though I won't reveal how), as one might expect. Christophe, an humanitarian activist, is taken in the middle of the night within the first days of his new job, and he learns over time that his kidnappers just want money. Ironically, he is carrying the only key to a safe housing a lot of money that was very near to the bed from which he was taken.
If I were to describe what happens in this book you would probably think it is pretty boring, since every day he is handcuffed and only rarely gets free to go to the bathroom or eat. A history buff, he recounts in his head various epic historical incidents, and he also passes the time trying not to imagine his worst fears about what is going on. The gulf between his daily actions and the historical events is telling. History is the account of great people, recorded in history books; Christophe is not impressive or particularly courageous. We know little about him. What we know from this book is mainly the psychological account of his experience, what it was like for him, how he managed, emotionally. We know little of his life, we know nothing of his work or politics. We know little of his captors or their purposes. It's just mainly about his mind while kidnapped, and he is a simple, straightforward guy.
The effect of the few words and spare, clean black and white drawings is increasing anxiety we feel for him, and maybe also worries about how we might manage such insanity. We are there. When would we crack?! Overall, I think this is a pretty impressive work about an ordinary man under extraordinary circumstances.
October 18, 2017
Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André tells the story of his kidnapping in Ingushetia (North Caucasus) in 1997. His story is both heartbreaking and inspirational: his struggle to maintain his humanity in a situation that stripped him of the ability to make even the most basic decisions (urinating when you have to) yet moving past despair, to trusting his fellow man again, is a powerful story of survival and redemption.
May 29, 2021
I absolutely loved this memoir! Kidnapped and how the author survived those days have been illustrated really well. It may seem repetitive but I was more curious and enjoyed every page except for the last few pages. My heart was pounding with each page. It's really liberating to read this memoir. The art and the colour hues totally synched with the theme. I never thought I would enjoy such a read. Wow!
I couldn't come in terms with the last part. Like it doesn't seem real at all. But nevertheless, this graphic novel is one of the most uplifting I have ever read.
I couldn't come in terms with the last part. Like it doesn't seem real at all. But nevertheless, this graphic novel is one of the most uplifting I have ever read.
May 18, 2025
****NO SPOILERS***
Hostage is huge, and most of its pages are repetitive, yet this harrowing nonfiction account of the kidnapping of Christophe André held my attention. An administrator with Doctors Without Borders, André was grabbed from his bed one night in July 1997 and held hostage somewhere in Chechnya. His captors handcuffed one of his hands to a radiator and locked him in an empty room for three long months. He spent a lot of time dozing on a straw mattress, and when awake, a lot of time wondering—about why he was taken, when he would be rescued, and what was happening outside the room.
The book is so long because it counts the days, each starting with André silently noting the date to keep himself oriented and grounded. Author Guy Delisle skipped some here and there, but he was generally dedicated to the chronology, and each day unfolds almost identically to the one before. As this repetition emphasizes, André's captivity was defined by a torturous, mind-numbing sameness. Fortunately for the reader, on the page such sameness is not only not mind-numbing but actually suspenseful. Further underscoring the bleakness of André's predicament is the color palette, which is only in shades of gray.
Nevertheless, the graphic novel format is merely adequate for this man's plight. The story is matter-of-fact, and although I felt sympathetic and at times worried, I mostly felt detached because André's emotions are so muted. Maybe he really was this accepting of his situation, but it's hard to believe he wasn't at times paralyzed by fear, anxiety, and sadness. It doesn't help that the story opens with the kidnapping and needed a lot of fleshing-out overall, with some context and back story to build emotional investment, not to mention a proper introduction to André as a worker with Doctors Without Borders. Hostage could also have benefited from a point-of-view shift to show the efforts being made toward his rescue. Because it's told from André's point of view only, all that's here is a spare story. Then when his imprisonment ends, it happens in a whirlwind and is weirdly anticlimactic.
Although I wasn't blown away by Hostage, I did enjoy this graphic novel by Delisle and will seek out more by him. I just hope his other work is more complete. This is mainly a sampling of André's story to pique interest in learning full details in a nonfiction book or articles.
Hostage is huge, and most of its pages are repetitive, yet this harrowing nonfiction account of the kidnapping of Christophe André held my attention. An administrator with Doctors Without Borders, André was grabbed from his bed one night in July 1997 and held hostage somewhere in Chechnya. His captors handcuffed one of his hands to a radiator and locked him in an empty room for three long months. He spent a lot of time dozing on a straw mattress, and when awake, a lot of time wondering—about why he was taken, when he would be rescued, and what was happening outside the room.
The book is so long because it counts the days, each starting with André silently noting the date to keep himself oriented and grounded. Author Guy Delisle skipped some here and there, but he was generally dedicated to the chronology, and each day unfolds almost identically to the one before. As this repetition emphasizes, André's captivity was defined by a torturous, mind-numbing sameness. Fortunately for the reader, on the page such sameness is not only not mind-numbing but actually suspenseful. Further underscoring the bleakness of André's predicament is the color palette, which is only in shades of gray.
Nevertheless, the graphic novel format is merely adequate for this man's plight. The story is matter-of-fact, and although I felt sympathetic and at times worried, I mostly felt detached because André's emotions are so muted. Maybe he really was this accepting of his situation, but it's hard to believe he wasn't at times paralyzed by fear, anxiety, and sadness. It doesn't help that the story opens with the kidnapping and needed a lot of fleshing-out overall, with some context and back story to build emotional investment, not to mention a proper introduction to André as a worker with Doctors Without Borders. Hostage could also have benefited from a point-of-view shift to show the efforts being made toward his rescue. Because it's told from André's point of view only, all that's here is a spare story. Then when his imprisonment ends, it happens in a whirlwind and is weirdly anticlimactic.
Although I wasn't blown away by Hostage, I did enjoy this graphic novel by Delisle and will seek out more by him. I just hope his other work is more complete. This is mainly a sampling of André's story to pique interest in learning full details in a nonfiction book or articles.
May 8, 2017
In July 1997 while on a mission for Doctors Without Borders, French worker Christophe Andre was kidnapped in the Russian Caucasus by Chechens and held for a $1m ransom. He thought his release would be secured in one or two days, not realising the months of captivity ahead of him!
Best known for his autobiographical comics about his travels in dangerous regions like North Korea and Jerusalem, French-Canadian cartoonist Guy Delisle’s graphic adaptation of Christophe’s account is also his longest book to date, clocking in at 430 pages. I mention the length because it’s the main reason why I didn’t love this one, though I didn’t dislike it that much either.
After the compelling beginning when Christophe is kidnapped, he’s moved from one bare room to another where he stays handcuffed to radiators, desperately trying to remember the date and waiting for his crappy meals. Luckily his jailers aren’t violent towards him and leave him to his own devices but that doesn’t mean much! There’s no dialogue with his captors as he doesn’t speak Russian and his inner monologue is limited, most of which is taken up with wondering when he’ll be freed and occasionally recounting historical battles to distract himself from total boredom. He’s a bit of a boring protagonist!
As a result the majority of the book is largely repetitive and dull, blurring into one unmemorable, sparsely-worded static scene after another – it makes for a quick read though. Delisle’s minimalist art doesn’t help liven things up either (though it’s perhaps an appropriate match for the bland material).
I understand why Delisle structured the book this way - to give insight into and convey the tedium and frustration of Christophe’s experience to the reader – but it doesn’t make the book any more interesting to read. It does heighten the excitement of the finale though as, after hundreds of pages where barely anything happens, a lot of thrilling stuff starts happening at once. Still, the reader does have to endure a lot of dreariness to make it to the worthwhile payoff.
Hostage is a decent comic with a gripping beginning and end but a very mediocre middle - which is unfortunately the longest part! Nonetheless it’s a remarkable story that I’m glad I read and I suspect that if you’re a Guy Delisle fan like me you’ll pick this up regardless. Though I would’ve preferred a heavily edited down version, I can still appreciate Delisle’s artistic vision for the comic, even if that makes Hostage my least favourite of his books.
Best known for his autobiographical comics about his travels in dangerous regions like North Korea and Jerusalem, French-Canadian cartoonist Guy Delisle’s graphic adaptation of Christophe’s account is also his longest book to date, clocking in at 430 pages. I mention the length because it’s the main reason why I didn’t love this one, though I didn’t dislike it that much either.
After the compelling beginning when Christophe is kidnapped, he’s moved from one bare room to another where he stays handcuffed to radiators, desperately trying to remember the date and waiting for his crappy meals. Luckily his jailers aren’t violent towards him and leave him to his own devices but that doesn’t mean much! There’s no dialogue with his captors as he doesn’t speak Russian and his inner monologue is limited, most of which is taken up with wondering when he’ll be freed and occasionally recounting historical battles to distract himself from total boredom. He’s a bit of a boring protagonist!
As a result the majority of the book is largely repetitive and dull, blurring into one unmemorable, sparsely-worded static scene after another – it makes for a quick read though. Delisle’s minimalist art doesn’t help liven things up either (though it’s perhaps an appropriate match for the bland material).
I understand why Delisle structured the book this way - to give insight into and convey the tedium and frustration of Christophe’s experience to the reader – but it doesn’t make the book any more interesting to read. It does heighten the excitement of the finale though as, after hundreds of pages where barely anything happens, a lot of thrilling stuff starts happening at once. Still, the reader does have to endure a lot of dreariness to make it to the worthwhile payoff.
Hostage is a decent comic with a gripping beginning and end but a very mediocre middle - which is unfortunately the longest part! Nonetheless it’s a remarkable story that I’m glad I read and I suspect that if you’re a Guy Delisle fan like me you’ll pick this up regardless. Though I would’ve preferred a heavily edited down version, I can still appreciate Delisle’s artistic vision for the comic, even if that makes Hostage my least favourite of his books.
February 1, 2023
Ta historia świetnie sprawdza się w formie graficznej. Doskonale oddane uczucie beznadziei, niepewności i utknięcia w rutynie, która nie jest zależna od nas- ciemne, ciasne kadry, mała ilość tekstu, ogólna surowość. Trochę jednak gubi się w swojej objętości, która z jednej strony potęguje monotonię, ale z drugiej w pewnym momencie zaczyna irytować czytelnika (celowo lub nie, irytacja to irytacja). Wiem, że ten komiks nie jest o tym, ale chętnie przeczytałbym też odrobinę na temat tła historii, np. czym dokładnie zajmował się Christophe na misji przed porwaniem lub czego dotyczył konflikt. 3,5
March 19, 2020
Κορονοϊού παρόντος και μεσούσης της καραντίνας, με το χέρι στην καρδιά, μπορώ να βεβαιώσω ότι είναι καλύτερο να είσαι κλεισμένος μέσα στο σπίτι σου, με τις βιντεοκλήσεις σου, με τα σμαρτφόνια σου, με τα βιβλία σου, τη μουσικούλα σου, ακόμα και με τα παιδιά σου (λολ), αντί να είσαι όμηρος στην Τσετσενία για 4 μήνες χωρίς να ξέρεις αν σε ψάχνει κανείς, ότι το αντάλλαγμα για την απελευθέρωσή σου είναι 1 εκ.δολλάρια, αν και ποια θα είναι η μέρα που θα σου βγάλουν τις χειροπέδες με τις οποίες σε έχουν δεμένο σε ένα καλοριφέρ, σε ένα δωμάτιο με κλειστό παράθυρο, σε ταΐζουν ζωμό με τσάι σχεδόν κάθε μέρα, σε αφήνουν να πλυθείς το λιγότερο κάθε 15 μέρες και δε μιλάς τη γλώσσα κανενός από τους φύλακές σου.
Παιδιά, βάζω ΤΩΡΑ ένα ποτηράκι κρασί και άντε γεια μας!
[Ο ταλαντούχος Καναδός κομίστας Guy Delisle καταγράφει την τυραννική περιπέτεια του Christophe André, μέλους ανθρωπιστικής αποστολής των Γιατρών χωρίς Σύνορα στον Καύκασο το 1997. Ο André πιάνεται όμηρος και μετά από 4 μήνες, από αστοχία στη φύλαξή του, δραπετεύει. Οι άνθρωποι που τον βοήθησαν να βρει την αποστολή του και να επιστρέψει στη βάση του δέχτηκαν απειλές θανάτου και με τη βοήθεια των ΓΧΣ και του ίδιου του André κέρδισαν άσυλο μαζί με τις οικογένειές τους στη Γαλλία.]
Παιδιά, βάζω ΤΩΡΑ ένα ποτηράκι κρασί και άντε γεια μας!
[Ο ταλαντούχος Καναδός κομίστας Guy Delisle καταγράφει την τυραννική περιπέτεια του Christophe André, μέλους ανθρωπιστικής αποστολής των Γιατρών χωρίς Σύνορα στον Καύκασο το 1997. Ο André πιάνεται όμηρος και μετά από 4 μήνες, από αστοχία στη φύλαξή του, δραπετεύει. Οι άνθρωποι που τον βοήθησαν να βρει την αποστολή του και να επιστρέψει στη βάση του δέχτηκαν απειλές θανάτου και με τη βοήθεια των ΓΧΣ και του ίδιου του André κέρδισαν άσυλο μαζί με τις οικογένειές τους στη Γαλλία.]
November 15, 2018
This was my night time read for a couple of weeks, and boy was it bleak! As you can see from the picture, it was a hefty book. It didn't send me off into slumberland with pleasant dreams. Christophe is kidnapped from the NGO he's working for in 1997, and held captive in Chechnya. While his captors seek a ransom from officials in Christophe's native Paris, he endures harsh conditions, and tries to keep from losing his sanity. The ending of this story, because he does live to tell it, was so inspiring! I raced through it all tonight. Highly recommend!
May 3, 2021
"iyi ya, bu bayağı kalınmış, birkaç gün arka planda buna bakarım" diye başladığım kitabı yarım günde bitirmem rezaleti.
çok iyi, çok. hikaye ayrı iyi, çizimler ayrı iyi. yani o zaman mevhumunu yitirme hissi çizimlerle anca bu kadar iyi verilebilirdi. bayıldım.
çok iyi, çok. hikaye ayrı iyi, çizimler ayrı iyi. yani o zaman mevhumunu yitirme hissi çizimlerle anca bu kadar iyi verilebilirdi. bayıldım.
October 8, 2017
Good book, first graphic novel I read since I was 13 . It was refreshing to read a book in which I don’t have to put too much of an effort. The story deals with a NGO worker that was kidnapped by CHechnyan forces and kept there for 3 months, the graphics help the story move along and the color pallet of the comic strips do feel in tone with the story .
June 4, 2017
With this new book released in the U.S. in the spring of this year, French Canadian graphic artist and animator Guy Delisle takes a departure from his more usual graphic novels about his life as the spouse of a Médecins Sans Frontières physician to tell the story of a real innocent abroad, Christophe André, on his first assignment for MSF in Ingushetia, in the North Caucasus in 1997.
Christophe was taken hostage, driven across the border into Chechnya, and outside of Grozny he was held for ransom for three months. He had been in his post for three months when they came for him. He spent the bulk of his captivity chained to a radiator in a small room with a mattress stuffed with straw. He was fed watery soup and allowed bathroom breaks, but otherwise had no opportunity to speak, see the sky, move freely.
Ransom negotiations were slow: when he escaped, finally, the translator assigned to his office in Ingushetia told him other foreigners had been kidnapped in the time he was being held. The 400+ pages of this book are not a struggle; readers spend the time thinking about what they might do in similar circumstances, and interrogate themselves about the scene and their own strengths. André himself passed the more terrible stretches by recalling in great detail the military commanders and engagements he'd studied, including Russian, French, and American battles.
The escape at the end is harrowing, and stomach-dropping. André simply did not know whom to trust. Eventually he made it back to his home in Paris, and six months after that went back to MSF and asked for a new assignment. He worked twenty years for MSF after that experience.
Here is a Public Radio International The World radio interview with the artist Delisle about this new book, Hostage. It is the kind of story that lingers.
Christophe was taken hostage, driven across the border into Chechnya, and outside of Grozny he was held for ransom for three months. He had been in his post for three months when they came for him. He spent the bulk of his captivity chained to a radiator in a small room with a mattress stuffed with straw. He was fed watery soup and allowed bathroom breaks, but otherwise had no opportunity to speak, see the sky, move freely.
Ransom negotiations were slow: when he escaped, finally, the translator assigned to his office in Ingushetia told him other foreigners had been kidnapped in the time he was being held. The 400+ pages of this book are not a struggle; readers spend the time thinking about what they might do in similar circumstances, and interrogate themselves about the scene and their own strengths. André himself passed the more terrible stretches by recalling in great detail the military commanders and engagements he'd studied, including Russian, French, and American battles.
The escape at the end is harrowing, and stomach-dropping. André simply did not know whom to trust. Eventually he made it back to his home in Paris, and six months after that went back to MSF and asked for a new assignment. He worked twenty years for MSF after that experience.
Here is a Public Radio International The World radio interview with the artist Delisle about this new book, Hostage. It is the kind of story that lingers.
November 14, 2018
Lejos del tipo de novela gráfica a la que nos tiene acostumbrados, en Escapar. Historia de un rehén Delisle nos cuenta la historia real de Christophe André, secuestrado en 1997 durante su primer trabajo humanitario, llevando la gestión económica y administrativa de una ONG médica en la ciudad de Nazran (República de Ingusetia), cerca de la frontera con Chechenia.
Ser rehén es peor que estar en la cárcel. En la cárcel, sabes por qué estás allí y en qué fecha saldrás. Cuando eres rehén, ni siquiera tienes esas referencias. No tienes nada.
Christophe pasó 111 días secuestrado, y en esta obra de 432 páginas, vemos esos meses tal y como se los contó al autor después de numerosas entrevistas. Puede parecer que no ocurre nada, pero la monotonía, el lento paso del tiempo, la incertidumbre y la angustia, el ¿cómo habría actuado yo?, la esperanza y la tortura de no saber qué pasará están perfectamente plasmadas y la historia resulta fascinante. El dibujo, con viñetas monótonas, sencillas y en tonos grises y azulados, acompañan de maravilla a la historia.
Ser rehén es peor que estar en la cárcel. En la cárcel, sabes por qué estás allí y en qué fecha saldrás. Cuando eres rehén, ni siquiera tienes esas referencias. No tienes nada.
Christophe pasó 111 días secuestrado, y en esta obra de 432 páginas, vemos esos meses tal y como se los contó al autor después de numerosas entrevistas. Puede parecer que no ocurre nada, pero la monotonía, el lento paso del tiempo, la incertidumbre y la angustia, el ¿cómo habría actuado yo?, la esperanza y la tortura de no saber qué pasará están perfectamente plasmadas y la historia resulta fascinante. El dibujo, con viñetas monótonas, sencillas y en tonos grises y azulados, acompañan de maravilla a la historia.
December 16, 2018
In 1997, an NGO worker, Christophe André, was held hostage in Chechnya.
His horrifying story is told in this book in a graphic novel format. The art and storytelling are both wonderful. It did get a bit repetitive, but that’s done intentionally, in order to show how repetitive and painful his days were. It perfectly matches his own experience.
I have such admiration for his strength and perseverance, how he was able to keep himself together, and not break down mentally.
His horrifying story is told in this book in a graphic novel format. The art and storytelling are both wonderful. It did get a bit repetitive, but that’s done intentionally, in order to show how repetitive and painful his days were. It perfectly matches his own experience.
I have such admiration for his strength and perseverance, how he was able to keep himself together, and not break down mentally.
December 17, 2018
Christophe André worked with MSF (Doctors without Borders) in 1997, stationed in Chechnya. Staying late at the office one evening, his complex is raided, and he is abducted by a group of separatists. Delisle graphically depicts the 3+ months that André was held hostage in various villages in Chechnya.
It's mostly an internal journey, although there are some notes about Chechnya and its people. Throughout all of this time of confusion, of hunger and weakness, André remains (largely) hopeful that he will be released. One man's harrowing experience, detailed in pictures, with his own words as narration.
If you are familiar with Delisle's work from Jerusalem, Burma Chronicles, and Pyongyang (which I just read last week!) Hostage is a departure from his witty and sarcastic travelogue writing style. There are a blessed few moments of humor in Hostage, just noting what André does when he is held hostage, and his musings on French history, etc. Delisle's art is largely the same cartoon, simply colored (this is a grey/blue palette throughout), paneled style that you may be familiar with from previous work. In many ways, the panels serve to show time's passage for the hostage in this story.
It's mostly an internal journey, although there are some notes about Chechnya and its people. Throughout all of this time of confusion, of hunger and weakness, André remains (largely) hopeful that he will be released. One man's harrowing experience, detailed in pictures, with his own words as narration.
If you are familiar with Delisle's work from Jerusalem, Burma Chronicles, and Pyongyang (which I just read last week!) Hostage is a departure from his witty and sarcastic travelogue writing style. There are a blessed few moments of humor in Hostage, just noting what André does when he is held hostage, and his musings on French history, etc. Delisle's art is largely the same cartoon, simply colored (this is a grey/blue palette throughout), paneled style that you may be familiar with from previous work. In many ways, the panels serve to show time's passage for the hostage in this story.
Read
June 23, 2017You will have to pardon my snorting a little when I read 'How does one survive when all hope is lost?
In the middle of the night in 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André was kidnapped by armed men and taken away to an unknown destination in the Caucasus region. For three months.....' from the GR blurb for the book. Not to take anything away from this one, but I couldn't help it, for the day before I discovered this story....
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In the middle of the night in 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André was kidnapped by armed men and taken away to an unknown destination in the Caucasus region. For three months.....' from the GR blurb for the book. Not to take anything away from this one, but I couldn't help it, for the day before I discovered this story....
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
November 10, 2017
3.5 stars.
Translated from the French by Helge Dascher.
Moved this up my TBR for non-fiction November. If you are familiar with his oeuvre, you know that the author usually writes graphic memoirs about his life as the spouse of a Doctors Without Borders administrator in various parts of the world. This book departs from his usual fare and tells the true story of Christophe Andre, a man kidnapped on his very first MSF assignment. You know that Christophe survives because he is the one telling the story to the author, but I think if you decide to read this book, the less you know about where he's taken, how long he's held, and how he survives the better the reveal.
The author uses his signature illustration style and a limited color palette to wonderfully evoke the right mood for this experience. Boredom and mundane life stuff is intermingled with moments of sheer terror, and the use of first person point of view is very effective. How would one stay sane when held captive and is mostly in isolation? I couldn't help thinking that this would have been a very different story if the kidnapped person was a woman.
I really liked the art style, but this one is over 400 pages and very little happens for most of it. I understand that we don't know anything about the kidnappers and their motivation because of the language barrier, so we only know what the narrator knows, which is nothing at all. On the plus side this created the right level of bleakness in the reading, but on the other hand, there were times when all that day to day repetition seemed tedious. I do think that the author captures the slow manner in which time passed for the hostage effectively, so for that I'll round up.
Translated from the French by Helge Dascher.
Moved this up my TBR for non-fiction November. If you are familiar with his oeuvre, you know that the author usually writes graphic memoirs about his life as the spouse of a Doctors Without Borders administrator in various parts of the world. This book departs from his usual fare and tells the true story of Christophe Andre, a man kidnapped on his very first MSF assignment. You know that Christophe survives because he is the one telling the story to the author, but I think if you decide to read this book, the less you know about where he's taken, how long he's held, and how he survives the better the reveal.
The author uses his signature illustration style and a limited color palette to wonderfully evoke the right mood for this experience. Boredom and mundane life stuff is intermingled with moments of sheer terror, and the use of first person point of view is very effective. How would one stay sane when held captive and is mostly in isolation? I couldn't help thinking that this would have been a very different story if the kidnapped person was a woman.
I really liked the art style, but this one is over 400 pages and very little happens for most of it. I understand that we don't know anything about the kidnappers and their motivation because of the language barrier, so we only know what the narrator knows, which is nothing at all. On the plus side this created the right level of bleakness in the reading, but on the other hand, there were times when all that day to day repetition seemed tedious. I do think that the author captures the slow manner in which time passed for the hostage effectively, so for that I'll round up.
June 26, 2021
The majority of the book is set in rooms and as reading it, I felt that I too was trapped, isolated, hopeless and anxious. I even stopped to search the song 'Aicha' in Russian on YouTube but couldn't find it (will resume later). This graphic novel also made me think of what I would have done if I face the same situation-- probably the same.
An excellent read.
An excellent read.
May 19, 2021
Günler/aylar süren bekleyiş ne olacağını bilemeden. Çok zor ve berbat bir süreç. Gerilerek ve üzülerek okudum. Çizimler de çok iyiydi
August 18, 2017
Hostage is the true story in graphic novel form of the 1997 kidnapping of Frenchman Christophe André, who was working with a charity organization in Chechnya. He was kept hostage for three months while his kidnappers shuffled him from house to house while trying to work out a way to exchange him for money. Not knowing why he was taken, how long he would be in captivity, or how he would be treated by the rotating cast who kept him chained and barely fed, Andre kept his wits and sanity by working out in his mind the logistics of how his kidnapping and ransom were unfolding out there in the real world, oh and by thinking of historic battles and their details in alphabetical order.
It appears that there's not much going on in Hostage, but plenty is happening—outside in the world where he hopes his friends and co-workers are negotiating his release; beyond the doors of the rooms where Christophe André is being held hostage; in his own mind. I really enjoyed this even though it was difficult to read about a man's spirit being broken.
It appears that there's not much going on in Hostage, but plenty is happening—outside in the world where he hopes his friends and co-workers are negotiating his release; beyond the doors of the rooms where Christophe André is being held hostage; in his own mind. I really enjoyed this even though it was difficult to read about a man's spirit being broken.
October 17, 2021
Nunca li um relato parecido com esse antes. Uma leitura incrivel
August 9, 2022
Gerçekten müthiş bir kitaptı. O gerilimi ve heyecanı iliklerime kadar hissettim. Özellikle de konusu itibariyle sayfalarca tek bir mekanda geçmesiyle birlikte hem çizim hem de diyaloglardaki yalınlıktan güç almış bir kitap, bu da beni çok etkiledi.
September 27, 2017
This is the story of Christophe André, who had been working in the Caucasas for three months during his first stint for Médicins Sans Frontières when he was kidnapped. He was held for over four months, often handcuffed to a radiator or bedpost.
What makes this book sing is the pacing. André had almost nothing to do but sit and think during his ordeal, and Delisle rises brilliantly to the challenge of depicting monotony while keeping the story compelling. Yes, André imagines various escapes, but depictions of these imaginary scenarios are kept brief, and we are never allowed to forget the realities of the situation.
I don't think it's revealing too much to say that freedom is the ultimate outcome of this tale. There's a nice text epilogue--about a paragraph or so--that goes into a bit of detail about what happened to some of the people in the story, André included. One of the aspects that lingers for me is the ordinariness of it all. André is no action movie hero, and if I were in his place, I doubt I would have done better. At one point, he seems to have an opportunity to grab a forgotten gun, but realizes that he doesn't know if it's loaded, or even much about using it--is the safety on or off? Does it even have a safety? Ultimately, his guard returns, rendering the point moot, but the moments of indecision resonated with me. Highly recommended!
What makes this book sing is the pacing. André had almost nothing to do but sit and think during his ordeal, and Delisle rises brilliantly to the challenge of depicting monotony while keeping the story compelling. Yes, André imagines various escapes, but depictions of these imaginary scenarios are kept brief, and we are never allowed to forget the realities of the situation.
I don't think it's revealing too much to say that freedom is the ultimate outcome of this tale. There's a nice text epilogue--about a paragraph or so--that goes into a bit of detail about what happened to some of the people in the story, André included. One of the aspects that lingers for me is the ordinariness of it all. André is no action movie hero, and if I were in his place, I doubt I would have done better. At one point, he seems to have an opportunity to grab a forgotten gun, but realizes that he doesn't know if it's loaded, or even much about using it--is the safety on or off? Does it even have a safety? Ultimately, his guard returns, rendering the point moot, but the moments of indecision resonated with me. Highly recommended!
October 11, 2017
I didn't think I could get so anxious over a comic book. The color palette really helped build this almost claustrophobic sense of anxiety.
The date, then the day, the radiator, the light bulb and the soup.
Somehow G. Delisle turned repetition into some of the most tense reading.
The date, then the day, the radiator, the light bulb and the soup.
Somehow G. Delisle turned repetition into some of the most tense reading.
April 18, 2023
Guy Delisle, 1997 yılında, Kafkasya’daki Sınır Tanımayan Doktorlar’ın sorumlusu olan Christophe André’nin 111 gün süren kaçırılma öyküsünü anlattığı Rehine adlı çizgi romanında, kaçırılma halinin insan üzerinde yarattığı psikolojik etkiyi/süreci ele almakta ve bunu yaparken okuyucuyu bitmek tükenmek bilmeyen aksiyon sahneleri yerine, sakinliğin/bilinmezliğin/monotonluğun ve rutinlerin oluşturduğu bir dünyaya davet etmektedir. Delisle, insanın bu süreç içerisinde yaşadığı duygu değişimlerini veya insan üzerinde yarattığı tahribatı, kaçırılma olayının nasıl sonuçlanacağından daha merkezi bir konuma taşımayı başararak, klasik bir anlatım biçiminden uzaklaşmaktadır.
Bu anlatım biçimiyle, Rehine'yi okurken, aklıma sürekli "keşke Nuri Bilge Ceylan bu kitabı sinemaya uyarlasa" düşüncesi geldi. İlgi çekici bir uyarlama olacağı kesin...
Bu anlatım biçimiyle, Rehine'yi okurken, aklıma sürekli "keşke Nuri Bilge Ceylan bu kitabı sinemaya uyarlasa" düşüncesi geldi. İlgi çekici bir uyarlama olacağı kesin...
June 24, 2017
Delisle is one of the greatest graphic novel journalists of all time, a master at giving a feel for the locations where he and his wife live and helping us understand the culture, all the while amusing us with his own personal narrative of life events, mostly small but occasionally big. In this book, in frame after similar frame, we experience the culture of being a hostage. It's exactly how you would expect: boredom, frustration, discomfort and anxiety punctuated by moments of adrenaline. But mostly long stretches where nothing happens.
There's no link here to the broader context of what's happening, no attempt to understand (or vilify) the hostage takers, no view of broader role the protagonists employer (an NGO) plays in the region.
The second star in my rating is because while the subject matter and narrative are fully unexceptional, Delisle portrays it masterfully. Viewed as a stylized document of what the hostage went through, there's nothing to be faulted here. Viewed as a rewarding or enlightening reading experience, there's nothing to be found here.
There's no link here to the broader context of what's happening, no attempt to understand (or vilify) the hostage takers, no view of broader role the protagonists employer (an NGO) plays in the region.
The second star in my rating is because while the subject matter and narrative are fully unexceptional, Delisle portrays it masterfully. Viewed as a stylized document of what the hostage went through, there's nothing to be faulted here. Viewed as a rewarding or enlightening reading experience, there's nothing to be found here.
May 9, 2023
Depicted in minimalist illustration – this graphic novel is based on a true story of an NGO worker and humanitarian activist, Christophe André. Specifically, his account of his abduction in Nazran in the summer of 1997. It's a bit of a torture to read because of the inaction but still a distressingly good experience. I love how the colour palette and repetitive tone achieved a claustrophobic feeling that helps you get absorbed into the story and make you feel like you're the one being held captive fighting for your grasp on time and sanity.
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