Maybe I’m just not very good at reading graphic novels, but I had a very difficult time understanding what was going on throughout a lot of this book. The illustrations were absolutely beautiful, and I felt there was so much potential with the different storylines (Jerome being a deserter, the cabin possibly being haunted etc.) but I felt that the story just didn’t really go anywhere. Maybe that’s a sign that it was an amazing tale, and the reason that the story made no sense is because the reader was seeing the spiral of Jerome’s mind into madness, and if that is the case, then I applaud it. But I just didn’t get it.

This started off promising but I feel like it lost its way half way through. The art style was raw and fit with the themes but the story wasn't all together there.

The art style is interesting and the story engaging, but at times it was difficult to understand what was going on plotwise.

Beautiful illustrations but hard story to follow. I also am not fully sure what the plot was outside of the young man hiding from service during the war and discovering the history of the house and his family - this doesn't feel like it has a strong conclusion if that's the primary storyline.

Jerome has deserted from the Canadian military, taking refuge (with the help of some friends and family) in a remote cabin that his grandfather is working to repair and restore. Jerome begins looking into the history of the cabin and the suicide of the last woman to own it. He finds the isolation difficult, but forges a relationship with his grandfather and begins to discover some things about himself. Beautifully illustrated.

The most striking thing about Idle Days is the art. Every light is a flame, and the characters burn on the page. The entire work feels unreal and feverish, as if the nightmare sequences and flashbacks are the truest part of it.

Unfortunately, that style also makes it difficult to make out what’s going on at times, and that isn’t helped by the loose boundaries between its depictions of life, thoughts, and nightmares. I think I’d like the style much better if it wasn’t used for sequential art.

Though my the pages in my review copy were numbered in order, I can’t help feeling like some were transposed. Conversations end, then jump back, and then the comic’s off again without acknowledging the skips. It’s hard to be sure though, especially given how dreamlike the book is anyway.

A beautiful graphic novel. The stark art style does a lot to help fill out the characters.