Ethel & Ernest

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Ethel & Ernest tells the story of Raymond Briggs' parents, from 1928 to their deaths in the 70s - spanning a period of great social change for the country. The illustrations were beautiful and reminiscent of Briggs' other masterpiece, The Snowman, and the ending was very, very poignant. Creo que no me equivoco si digo que casi nadie sería capaz de recordar demasiado del argumento de la película ‘Up!’, pero que quienes la vimos recordamos muy nítidamente los primeros minutos en los que, a modo casi de cortometraje paralelo al film, se narra la vida de un matrimonio en unas pocas escenas y se condensa en algunos minutos una preciosa e inolvidable historia de amor. Pues, ahora que he leído esta novela gráfica, me resulta difícil creer que quienes escribieran aquella escena no se inspirasen en este librito: como mínimo coincide que ambas historias son las postales que resumen una vida a lo largo de las décadas y están contadas desde una nostalgia dulcísima y un humor lleno de ternura. Park says: "They only had a clip ready and they showed it as a treat at the London Film Festival. I remember hearing about it and I was so thrilled to see it. For me it was like a dream come true - I was just so hoping it would reflect his original comic book artwork and it did. It was a real groundbreaker." But friends knew another side to Briggs – loyal and playful, an inveterate practical joker. Lord once made the mistake of confessing to a dislike of dogs in the presence of Briggs, thereby immediately committing himself to becoming the recipient of all manner of canine-related gifts on subsequent birthdays and Christmases. Like so many of his characters, Briggs’s grumpiness never quite managed to conceal an underlying warmth and kindness. In 2017 he was appointed CBE.

Met deze strip sloot ik de cyclus van de vier graphic novels/strips, die autobiografisch of sterk autobiografische elementen bevatten, af: The Snowman, Gentleman Jim, When the Wind Blows en deze. For author and illustrator Posy Simmonds, there is an immense power to Briggs' storytelling approach. Briggs says: "[The couple are] somewhat like my parents but I like to think my parents weren't quite as dim as they are. But they have to be dim to follow Protect and Survive." Ingrams says: "Ethel & Ernest is supposed to be a book about his parents. But it's really more of an autobiography of himself. He is the central character in it. You get the importance that he attaches to the world he was brought up in, the world of his parents, is a completely different world to the one people live in now." It is clear that this work was aimed at adults, unlike Briggs’s earlier books, which, although they tended to have a cynical edge, were aimed mainly at children. Father Christmas features a grumpy titular hero, Fungus the Bogeyman has a most disgusting central character, and even his popular The Snowman has a downbeat ending. Yet none of these stories approached the bleakness of When the Wind Blows.

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Bij het einde pinkte ik (opnieuw) een traan. Zo'n leven lang samen en alles wat daarbij aan liefde, leed en geschiedenis passeert maakt het verhaal ook wat melancholisch, maar op een fijne manier. Met subtiele humor en oh zo liefdevol getekend. Gravett, Paul “‘Where Is the Use of a Book Without Pictures or Conversations?’ Coming to Terms with the Graphic Novel in Europe.” Third Text 21, no. 5 (September, 2007): 617-625. He was born in Wimbledon, south-west London, to Ethel (nee Bowyer) and Ernest Briggs. Their first meeting is beautifully described in the wordless opening sequence of the book devoted to their story. Ethel, a young parlour maid in a Belgravia house, had been innocently shaking out her duster from an upper window as Ernest passed by on his bicycle and confidently returned what he took to be a friendly wave. Copies of When the Wind Blows were sent by its British publishers to all members of the British parliament, where it received predictable praise or condemnation from those on either side of the political divide. The book was discussed in Parliament, and some of the more favorable comments it received from members of Parliament were included in later editions. Films Ya está Raymond Briggs haciéndome llorar. Este hombre es, para mi corazoncito, el equivalente del niño cabroncete que siempre venía a tirarme de las coletas en el colegio. Solo que con Briggs luego me quedo con la sensación de que me han hecho un favor enorme, un regalo de una delicadeza inmensa. Ethel y Ernest es sutilmente vertiginoso, como la vida, que pasa con tanta rapidez y sin que te des cuenta. Es como esos álbumes de fotos antiguas en que ves a tu padre y a tu madre tan jóvenes y guapos, y se te pone un nudo en la garganta.

Ethel and Ernest were solid members of the English working class, part of the generation that lived through the most tumultuous years of the twentieth century. They met during the Depression — she working as a maid, he as a milkman — and we follow them as they court and marry, make a home, raise their son, and cope with the dark days of World War II. Briggs’s portrayal of how his parents succeeded, or failed, in coming to terms with the events of their rapidly shifting world — the advent of radio, television, and telephones; the development of the atomic bomb; the moon landing; the social and political turmoil of the sixties — is irresistibly engaging, full of sympathy and affection, yet clear-eyed and unsentimental. In Ethel & Ernest vertelt Raymond Briggs het verhaal van het huwelijk van zijn ouders. Vanaf hun eerste toevallige ontmoeting in 1928, toen Ethel nog een dienstmeisje en Ernest melkboer was. Ze trouwden, kregen hun zoon Raymond in 1934, tot hun dood, binnen enkele maanden na elkaar, in 1971.There is so much humor and tenderness in this book. The love Ethel and Ernest have for each other is epic and perhaps even more so given that Briggs is focusing on the mundane, every-day stuff of life (even during wartime). Raymond Briggs’s graphic-novel tribute to his parents Ethel and Ernest, and their long, happy marriage has been lovingly turned into a feature animation that exactly reproduces the detail and the simplicity of his hand-drawn style. It is gentle and charming, with an unbearably moving ending, though I confess I’m not sure what to think about its essentially placid quality. Brenda Blethyn and Jim Broadbent are the voices: a little old for the characters in their 1920s youth, but perhaps people looked and behaved a bit older in those days.

Cooke, Rachel. “Raymond Briggs: Big Kid, ‘Old Git’ and Still in the Rudest of Health.” The Observer (August 9, 2008): 20-21. The essence of being able to draw from memory (is) to be a mini actor. If the figure is to walk jauntily with its nose in the air, you have to imagine what that feels like.' Most of my ideas seem to be based on a simple premise: let's assume that something imaginary - a snowman, a Bogeyman, a Father Christmas - is wholly real and then proceed logically from there.' I cannot give a proper review for this book and I will leave the plot empty because if I write anymore I will spoiled this short book for you. I find it interesting how different each decade appears in this book and how easily our opinions changes during our life. For Example, when Hitler first came into power, Raymond parents didn't find him horrible and liked him. But immediately when he started invading Europe and sending Jews to death camps, they realize that he needs to be stopped or he can conquer and destroy England. We also get to see Ethel and Ernest's reaction to the invention of the television and how it feels like being inside a movie theater in your own home.A marvellous, life-enhancing book for all ages, now a major animated film starring Jim Broadbent, Brenda Blethyn and Luke Treadaway Ogni capitolo è scandito da decenni (‘30-‘40; ‘40-‘50; ‘50-‘60; ‘60-‘70) per poi giungere al capitolo finale, che comprende solo il 1970-1971. I am proud to be a member of the team that translated Raymond Briggs’ profound book into an elegant and matchless film,” says Carl Davis. “It is a superb achievement.” Briggs admits it was a difficult book to write, particularly the parts that depicted the deaths of his parents in hospital.