Veerle Hildebrandt

After being offered a well-paid job in Nigeria, Hans Wagner decides to move to Africa with his family. The life there is very different from the one they had in Germany : they now have a house-keeper, the daughter goes to an international school and joins a horse riding club. For the family, it is like paradise. Unfortunately, shortly after their arrival in Lagos, they realize things aren’t as they imagined it would be.

To be sincere, I don’t really know if I liked or didn’t like Black Paradise. The author, Veerle Hildebrandt, spent most of her childhood in Germany and Nigeria, an experience that inspired her to write Black Paradise. This graphic novel is sometimes very difficult to read, but sadly reflects a difficult reality. Veerle Hildebrandt tries to convey the daily racism, paternalism and feeling of superiority that white people living in Africa may feel. In the graphic novel, the Wagner family witnesses other white families treating Nigerian people as lesser beings, only existing to serve them.

The art is interesting, but isn’t the stronger part of this graphic novel. Black Paradise is difficult, extremely difficult even. It is a fascinating story, but at the same time extremely irritating and revolting. In the story, white people still try to act as masters in control in a Post-colonialism Africa trying to reconstruct itself.… (altro)