It can be as simple as that: two people find each other, find each other, love each other and be happy. It’s unfortunately not that easy with Braun and Rey in Lee Lai’s “Stone Fruit.” Ray has a very strained relationship with his sister Amanda. The two have completely different concepts of life, cannot understand the other, and Amanda rejects Ray’s bizarre love affair with Bron.

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Braun, on the other hand, mainly fights with himself and his identity. Her depressive attacks prompt her to withdraw into herself; the trio is engaged to Amanda’s six-year-old daughter, Nessie, whom Braun and Ray regularly pick up to play.

The little girl’s desire to move and wild imagination also gives Braun and Ray the opportunity to put aside all worries and forget for a few hours. When Amanda’s pressure on Ray mounts and Bron’s depression becomes more severe, the relationship is about to end. Braun seeks support and help in his past and goes back to his parents.

lee lis Shows at the beginning of its long form “stone fruit” (from English by Henrike Markert, Avant, 232 p., 28 €)How exhausting, difficult and complicated life (together) can be. The “typical millennial”, some would say, “concern only with themselves and otherwise have no problems”. First, it is not true (climate crisis, housing crisis, international crisis); Secondly, this outrageous accusation fails to recognize the fundamental importance of dealing with oneself. How should we deal with the world if we can’t deal with ourselves?

How can we connect with others and their needs? Who supports us? Lai, who hails from Australia and lives in the Canadian province of Quebec, shows from her data that there can be no general answer to these questions. Ray and Braun both try to find clarity by seeking closer contact with their respective families. Their “biological family” as Li Lai himself calls it.

monster-like creatures with claws and fangs

Because “Steinfreucht” is about family as well as relationships and self-discovery. While Ray and Amanda actually manage to speak openly and honestly about their fears and reservations and thus become close again, Bron manages to do the same to his parents and his younger sister. . The parents block or remain silent, and the sister submits to a case of suspicion rather than stand by Bron.

Lai works visually with the duality of structure and drawings, which are in a particular relation to tension. On one side, a panel division consisting of four equal rectangles runs through the book as a fixed frame. Paired with the consistent monochrome color in blue, it gives a certain consistency and gives the reader a sense of stillness.

Lie, on the other hand, plays with the drawn shapes and the borders of the panel in line with the material. When Roy and Braun play with Nessie in nature, their sense of independence is also evident in the representations. These three become monster-like creatures with wild hair, claws and fangs. In their enthusiasm, they remain sympathetic.

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In wild hunting in the countryside, the figures literally move beyond the boundaries of the panel. However, in the latter, the main characters often appear constricted by their location and posture. The stroke follows fine lines, is economical and unstoppable.

Lai portrays relationships with great tenderness. Conversations are awkward and painful, just like in real life. In an instant a figure opens up, with humor only as a protective mechanism to keep everything away from itself. Lai’s ability to articulate these nuances is as precise as it is engaging – in the dialogue, in the character, and in the emotional intensity of the art.

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