Graphic Novel Review: Yvan Alagbé’s MISERY OF LOVE will devastate you

Misery Of Love

Cartoonist: Yvan Alagbé
Translator: Donald Nicholson-Smith
Publisher: New York Review Books
Publication Date: July 2025

Yvan Alagbé continues his examination of racial relations and traditional family dynamics in France with Misery of Love, a spiritual sequel to his widely acclaimed graphic novel Yellow Negroes and Other Imaginary Creatures. The story follows the dream-like memories of a woman named Claire, who is forced to spend time with her family during her grandfather’s funeral. Gliding between memories of the past, and the cruel reality of the present, the narrative is haunted by the legacy and impact of France’s colonial subjugation of Africa. Finally translated into English twelve years after its initial release in France, the book rings even more true today, with Alagbé’s unique style creating an intimate, haunting read that will emotionally run you through the ringer.

Alagbé has described comics as:

A sacred dimension which celebrates, questions and perpetuates life. I believe that life is not damnation but grace.

Presented mostly in sepia-toned, cinematic panels, we inhabit Claire’s mind and memories as she recollects her long-term relationship with Alain, an immigrant to France. As we pour through both the abuse she suffered at the hands of her family and the abuse her lover regularly endured by almost all of those around him, Alagbé crafts a devastatingly intimate and tragic tale of romance and hatred. She recalls the good, the bad, and everything between, resulting in an unflinchingly emotional real book. 

Art by Yvan Alagbé

Alagbé’s style is one of the most interesting in modern day comics. His graphic novels funciton somewhat like a puzzle, a blur of interlocking memories and experiences presented in one consistent visual style with relatively minimal dialogue. It’s akin to Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun, but with more a opaque visual style. He emphasizes visual storytelling at every turn, trying to craft a mindscape that feels incredibly vivid and intimate. That style isn’t going to be for everyone, because it requires you as a reader to quite heavily invest into it, but in my mind that investment is worth it, because it unlocks a heartbreaking story about the brittle dichotomy between love and hatred. How can you love someone if everyone around them hates you? How can you build a life together? It’s actively exploring how staunchly traditional iterations of French culture lead to inherent prejudices, and whether or not those can be changed or resolved. 

Claire herself is such an interesting, messy character. She’s quite heavily flawed, which I greatly appreciated. She often will hurt Alain out of stubbornness or ignorance, and in her attempts to do right by him, will often make things worse. I appreciate how Alagbé lets us sit in the ambiguity of her, because ultimately she is a product of her culture and upbringing, but she’s actively trying to change because of how deeply she loves Alain, regardless of whether he’s an immigrant or not. We are in her perspective throughout, the blurred recollections of memories that haunt her like ghosts, so it would’ve been easy to make her plain in order to encourage easier investment from the reader. By making her flawed, he’s enriching the material itself, but also enriching his investigation into the topics at hand. Claire did not chose her upbringing, and there’s certain things in her family that have always gone unacknowledged, but she’s actively attempting to acknowledge them now. 

Her family, in comparison, are utterly vile, and function as the embodiment of traditonalist systems of religion and culture in France. Physical and emotional abuse, consistent undermining of Claire and her wants and desires so that she can better fit into a system pre-determined for her. Claire understands race as a topic that’s painful, enciting shame and embarrassment at open expressions of racism from older male relatives. Their judgement turns into her open rebellion, and it causes us to question exactly why she is with Alain to begin with. Is it love, or is it simply the newest form of Claire rebelling against her family? Ostensibly, we love our families, even if we can hate and disagree with them too. Memories of her family impact Claire heavily, because she cares deeply about what they think, and she can’t stop herself from caring, even when she knows she won’t win their approval. 

Art by Yvan Alagbé

Alain himself is a fascinating character. Given that the story is from Claire’s perspective, we don’t often have a glimpse inside his own mind, so he comes across as a bit of a mystery. What we do get, however, is a complicated character. He is eager to break stereotypes and not be seen as what people perceive him as, but he’s found himself in a situation which is directly impacted by traditional racist beliefs. He loves Claire, but doesn’t want to be seen as taking advantage of her, and he often pushes her away because he struggles to express his own pain. He was initially introduced in Alagbé’s previous book, which does help provide additional context to his character, but you don’t have to read that to understand this, and both stand seperate. If I have one issue from this book, I think we could’ve used a bit more of Alain’s perspective, but at the same time I understand that would break from the book’s intimate structure.

This book has interludes of sexual exchanges, but I wouldn’t say it’s pornographic or particularly enticing. It’s often cold, detached and ugly, showing people for their plain truths when they are as naked as the day they are born. Lust comes hand in hand with both love and hatred, and large swathes of this book explore how sexual relationship dynamics reflect socio-cultural ones. Many of Claire’s relatives have problematic sexual dynamics and relationships, and Claire is attempting to move away from that as best as she can. This book does delve into the sexualisation of black men, another example of how unflinching it is in its examination of its central dynamic. Not many narratives are willing to go to the places this goes to, and I applaud Alagbé’s skill in tackling these themes and subjects with sensitivity and grace. 

Ultimately, this book goes down to France’s colonial past and the present day repurcissions of it. No one forced France to invade and conquer African countries, they did it of their own accord, and then express anger and frustration when people who have been raised to speak French, believe in French beliefs, and appreciate the country of France want to move there or live there. Alain is just one of many, but so is Claire, and the inevitable cycle of prejudice and hatred may never be solved. There’s still a chance, however, that it might be, even if only for a moment. Alain and Claire’s relationship is just that, a series of moments, where at it’s most euphoric, nothing else matters, and everything just makes sense. It may have splintered apart and broken, but the memory remains.

Art by Yvan Alagbé

To conclude, Misery of Love isn’t an easy book. It’s unflinching in its brutal emotional honesty, veering into the ugliness and hatred that fuel prejudices. It also portrays love in a pessimistic, heartbreaking manner, and the ending will leave you devastated and hollow like its characters. It’s a puzzle, a blur of memories and recollections, that form into one cohesive and gut-wrenching whole, but only if you put in the effort into it.

Alagbé’s newest release in English is visceral and topical, and it’s not going to be a fun bit of escapism, if that’s what you’re looking for. That’s not to say this book bathes in or celebrates misery. There’s a consistent throughline of life anew, as older generations fade and newer generations are presented with the change to create actual lasting societal change. This book doesn’t hold your hand, but it’s vital and it’s deeply necessary. If you let it wash over you and embrace it, let yourself feel through it as it ebbs and flows between the past and the present, you’ll be treated to a truly exceptional graphic novel that you won’t forget.

Art by Yvan Alagbé

Misery of Love is available now

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