Our Beautiful Darkness

Starred review from July 8, 2024
Two teenage paramours navigate a metropolitan blackout’s full duration in this arresting graphic novel by Angola author Ondjaki (Transparent City), illustrated by Portuguese creator Gonçalves as a series of white, chalk-like images on a black background. Via the first-person POV of one of two unnamed characters, the teen reflects on the vastness of the universe and the people within it while pining for their crush’s affection. Rarely interrupted void-like blank space neatly juxtaposes the author’s spare storytelling, which focuses intensely on feelings and specific sensory experiences such as touch and limited sight. The reader is provided only enough visual information to ground them in the moment: a canopy of stars above a darkened skyline, the starlit silhouette of an owl in a tree, a vague interpretation of the eyes of the person the protagonist longs to kiss. Ondjaki’s prose is imbued with a touching sense of existential whimsy: “My eyes closed. I think hers did too. In that riddle of darkness, a kiss had room to happen.” This artful romanticism carries the characters through the darkness—which is sometimes lit by candles or the headlights of passing vehicles—in which they experience laughter, a light show, and at last, an end to their yearning. A translator’s note by Miller-Lachmann (Eyes Open) concludes. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from May 15, 2024
When the power goes out, all that's left is darkness, stories, and the electricity sparking between two bodies in this illustrated work by Angolan author Ondjaki that's translated from Portuguese. The story begins, "Suddenly the lights went out"--and readers are plunged into the dark of night. The first-person narrator gathers the courage to ask their girl companion questions: "Don't you think there's something really beautiful about people?" "What do you think can fit in a person's heart?" The conversation between the two ebbs and flows, punctuated by the blinking light of a distant airplane, the intermittent appearances of the narrator's grandmother, and the barely there touches of young lovers. "Kiss me. Just once." They tell stories, share truths, and spin webs of wishes. A translator's note provides context: This dreamlike evening takes place in Luanda, the capital of Angola, near the end of a decadeslong civil war that's referenced in passing by the two main characters. Miller-Lachmann does a remarkable job of making this rich piece accessible to an English-language readership. Ondjaki's poetic prose draws an achingly potent picture of two young people reaching for each other during a sudden moment of possibility, while the white text on the black pages and Gon�alves' rough, white-on-black illustrations help create an immersive experience. As the best art does, this collaboration makes a very specific story--two young people, one night--feel universal. A brilliantly elemental exploration of the light that darkness can bring. (translator's note) (Illustrated novella. 12-18)

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