Aïvali #[nn]

A quietly evocative cover from Soloup sets the tone for this Franco-Belgian graphic novel published by Steinkis in 2015 — three steamships rest in a harbour before a densely built coastal town, rendered in cool blues that feel both nostalgic and a little melancholy. The subtitle Une histoire entre Grèce et Turquie signals a story rooted in the real, complicated history shared by those two nations, with Aïvali (the Greek name for what is today Ayvalık, Turkey) as its heart. A single gull drifting above the fleet adds just the right note of longing to a book that promises to be as atmospheric as its setting.