Een tweede jeugd #[nn]

Pascal Rabaté's Een tweede jeugd ("A Second Youth"), published by Oog & Blik in 2008, arrives with a cover that perfectly captures its wry, warm spirit: an elderly man — flat cap, sandals, messenger bag slung over one shoulder and what appears to be a stringed instrument over the other — strides away from us with surprising purpose against a cool purple-blue background. The tagline "seks, drugs, and rock 'n roll" punctuates the image with cheerful irreverence, hinting at a story that refuses to let age have the last word. Rabaté's loose, expressive linework gives the figure an effortless vitality that makes you want to follow wherever he's heading.