A Sea of Love is an amusing wordless graphic novel with utterly gorgeous illustrations. Each morning a doting wife sends her frail-seeming old fisherman of a husband off to work. One day things go a bit astray for the husband when his boat gets tangled up in the lines of an enormous ship. One thing leads to another and he finds himself a adrift and alone at sea. Concerned when he doesn't return home, his wife refuses to give up hope that she'll find him, and eventually she hops on board a cruise liner to go find him.

Alternating between the husband and wife, we see the story slowly unfold as each spouse tries to find their way home to each other. The lovely illustrations made this a joy to read and the wordless story means that just about anyone of any age might enjoy this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for a free DRC of this book.

A simple fishermen gets up one morning, eats breakfast with his wife, and sets out to sea hoping for a good catch. But his day does not go as planned. A massive fishing trawler almost runs him down, a storm hits his little craft, he encounters bloodthirsty pirates, and gets his propeller tangled in a fishing net. Meanwhile, his wife is distraught with worry, and decides to go looking for him, falling into adventures of her own with belligerent chefs, sleek fashionistas, and military dictators.

This story takes so many twists and turns! I loved every page. It is absolutely hilarious and fun from start to finish, and I felt such a connection with the dear fisherman and his sweet wife. It was delightful to see good and simple people, who only want a quiet life in their little village, thrown out into the world in the most ridiculous circumstances.

The artwork is so eloquent that no words are needed. There is not one bit of dialogue in the entire story, and it is perfect! The facial expressions of the characters, and the energy of their movements tells the whole story. I was completely entranced with the art, and read the whole story in one sitting.

I would love to see more from this artist/ author!

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy if this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.

Illustrated by Panaccione in a playful cartoonish style, and "written" by Lupano, this is an absolutely authentic graphic novel since it's completely text-free! In some two hundred pages, it tells the amusing and event-filled story of a European fisherman who sets out in his boat one day with a friend to bring in the morning's catch, and ends up instead being 'caught' by a giant factory ship and through one misfortune after another, winds up somehow transported across the Atlantic, to Cuba.

His intriguing wife has to determine what happened to him. His friend survived the collision and reported what little he knew: that her husband bravely (or foolishly!) refused to abandon ship! His wife becomes ever more heroic, while he becomes ever more plagued by problems, including an environmentally-minded seagull which he rescues from a six-pack plastic yoke.

The lack of text made this difficult to understand at times, but overall I enjoyed the story, and I recommend this as an entertaining non-read, so to speak!

I love this wordless story about how far we will go for love.
There were a few parts when I got confused about what was happening - why characters had certain reactions and how the plot moved - but I realized that it wasn't as important as the overall absurdity and wild ride each spouse was experiencing. In fact, not understanding specific parts made me want to reread, and that's what I hope for my students wh are reluctant readers. This story is perfectly sweet and adventurous and downright farcical.
Thank you for sharing these advanced copies with educators.

Such a beautiful love store! I adore the story and the illustrations were excellent. I think this is one of the best graphic novels I've seen lately.

A comedy of errors at sea: an old fisherman sets off on what he thinks is just another day at work, and then one thing after another goes wrong. In the meantime, his wife doesn’t give up looking for him, and her adventures are a lot more fun.
Right away it makes me laugh with how huge the fisherman’s eyes are with the glasses on. It starts with the typical morning routine, with recognizable moments between the married couple, going from mad to laughing in a second. Totally sympathize with him on the sardine situation. The part where he meets up with the bigger boat seemed to take forever to get through, could have been done quicker. And never fire a flare near an oil tanker. . . just sayin’.
She doesn’t take off her ridiculous hat in the swimming pool; funny. Her housekeeping/cooking skills make her a star. She was smart all the way to interrupting Castro’s speech, a misstep not only for her but for the book; too ridiculous, though not as much as her becoming an internet sensation. Still, it was nice to see her having as much of a role as he did.
Some funny moments, some poignant. Neither the fisherman nor his wife ever give up; it’s inspiring. Even the bird carries out its agenda without fail. The ecological lessons are rousing in a different way, more of a call to action.
The artwork isn’t meant to be realistic, almost caricature but not over the top.
I think this could have been 25% shorter, and I would have liked it more.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

Gorgeous, just gorgeous illustrations Nearly totally wordless.

This is the story of a fisherman who gets tangled in a commercial net, and gets sent off course. His wife has not given up on him, and has gone in search of him, though she has been told he is lost at sea.

The women of the village dress in the traditional costumes, I suppose, as a hint that they might be subservient, but the fisherman's wife goes through so much to find him, so she is quite strong.

<img src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Screen-Shot-2018-06-12-at-12.11.05-AM.png" alt="Sea of love, lightening" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-594" />

<img src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Screen-Shot-2018-06-12-at-12.10.50-AM.png" alt="Sea of love, trollwer" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-595" />

<img src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Screen-Shot-2018-06-12-at-12.12.00-AM.png" alt="Sea of love, wife on cruise ship" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-596" />

Enjoyable story. Little guy vs cooperation. Wife vs. politicians.

#ASeaOfLove #NetGalley
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Even Better Than Promised

I enjoyed and admired this book, and feel obligated to note that this is the rare book that meets or exceeds all of its hype and blurbs. Described as a "heartwarming and hilarious adventure" that is a testament to the "power of sequential storytelling" and to "enduring love", the book is in fact all of that and more.

The premise is deceptively simple - an old fisherman is carelessly dragged across the Atlantic when his little boat is tangled up in the nets of a behemoth of an industrial trawler. Everyone at home assumes he's lost at sea, except for his wife who resolves to track him down and save him. But consider all of the moving parts here, and how they have to line up just so. Our husband and wife are happy at home, the fisherman heads out, his day is routine, then the entanglement, will he escape or drown, the wife is distraught and then resolved, the husband has many adventures, the wife is resourceful in trying to find him, the wife has many adventures along the way, somewhere at the other side of the world they must be reunited.

That is a lot to get right when you realize that the book is entirely wordless and that the story is told only through the drawings. Everything has to be there on the page - and both characters run the gamut of emotions, encounter all sorts challenges and adventures, and emerge as distinct and appealing personalities. Plus, there are some very witty throwaway bits, some slyly clever panels, a fair amount of low humor, (involving seagull poop and the like), a number of amusing running jokes, and a good deal of topical, or at least universally pertinent, humor. And remember, all of this is in the drawings; no words.

So, I was initially interested in this just to see what the artist Panaccione's work looked like; I didn't really think I'd respond so favorably to the story and its telling. But this was a real treat, and a very admirable and entertaining find.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I haven't read many wordless graphic novels, so I was very glad to have gotten my hands on an eBook copy of "A Sea of Love".

Since there isn't any dialogue, it was a super fast read (and there isn't very much to say about it), but was easy to understand and the graphics were beautiful. I love Panaccione's art style, and I had a full understanding of what was going on even without any words.

A Sea of Love is a fun, heartwarming read about fate, adventure, and the fight for love.

This book was well written and very fun to read. The characters were great and I enjoyed the world building. The author does a great job at introducing the characters and moving the plot along. There were a few things that I didn't like, but it wasn't enough to really sway me one way or the other. It's definitely a story that I can get lost in and both feel for the characters. It is definitely a go-to novel that I highly recommend to anyone who loves a great read. Definitely a highly recommended read that I think everyone will enjoy.

Relying purely on charmingly gorgeous visuals, "A Sea of Love" is able to tell a heartbreaking, then heartwarming tale about a husband and wife who undergo separate, different, but equally grand journeys to finally be reunited with one another, This is definitely a recommendation for any library or bookstore's graphic novels section.

This is a beautifully colored graphic novel without words. I'll definitely be recommending this on to our patrons.

An Italian fisherman sets out for a normal work day, but his net gets caught on the propeller of a bigger fishing ship and he gets pulled way off course. He faces just about all the trials a man lost at sea can face. Meanwhile, his wife is distraught and through various means figures out where she thinks her husband might be headed and sets out to find him. And her journey throws her just as many unforeseen perks as her husband’s trials. Can they find each other in the midst of a huge sea?

This is almost entirely wordless. (Occasionally there are words on a map or sign or ship, but there’s no narration or dialogue in words.) That doesn’t hamper the story. The poor man keeps going out of the frying pan and into the fire, but not to say that there aren’t moments of humor in his sufferings. The only food he has to eat happens to be the sardines his wife insists on packing for his lunch every day and which he’s just dumped in his hold. And he makes quite the comical fuss about those. He gets a seagull friend with the help of the sardines which also provides humorous moments. For the most part, though, the husband’s journey also seems to be the artist’s way of not so subtly pointing out all the ways the ocean is getting messed up by humans from pollution to pirates. On the other hand, the wife’s journey is a concoction of one absurd chain of events, showing that the artist also wants you to have an enjoyable time reading this. The wife’s journey is absolutely hilarious once she sets out. There are so many ridiculous things that happen to her or that she does. I think my favorite part was her storming into the kitchen on the cruise ship and showing the staff how to properly cook a lobster, though the way she gets famous through her doily making is also pretty humorous. It’s a look at a deep love, two wild adventures, and a challenge to take better care of the ocean, all wrapped up in one wordless graphic novel.

Notes on content: No language issues. There’s a butt shot of the man at the beginning getting into the shower (but due to the cartoon-like illustration style doesn't seem very provocative), and later the wife takes a nude picture off of her cruise boat room wall (but it is a very vague drawing). An explosion claims one boat, lots of perilous circumstances, but other than that one explosion no other casualties.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.