Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black

by Marcus Sedgwick and Julian Sedgwick

Alexis Deacon (Illustrator)

Harry Black is lost between the world of war and the land of myth in this illustrated novel that transports the tale of Orpheus to World War II–era London.

Brothers Marcus and Julian Sedgwick team up to pen this haunting tale of another pair of brothers, caught between life and death in World War II. Harry Black, a conscientious objector, artist, and firefighter battling the blazes of German bombing in London in 1944, wakes in the hospital to news that his soldier brother, Ellis, has been killed. In the delirium of his wounded state, Harry’s mind begins to blur the distinctions between the reality of war-torn London, the fiction of his unpublished sci-fi novel, and the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Driven by visions of Ellis still alive and a sense of poetic inevitability, Harry sets off on a search for his brother that will lead him deep into the city’s Underworld. With otherworldly paintings by Alexis Deacon depicting Harry’s surreal descent further into the depths of hell, this eerily beautiful blend of prose, verse, and illustration delves into love, loyalty, and the unbreakable bonds of brotherhood as it builds to a fierce indictment of mechanized warfare.

• ISBN10: 1536204374
• ISBN13: 9781536204377
• Publish Date: 13 August 2019 (first published 2 May 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Candlewick Press
• Imprint: Walker Books US
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781536204377

Reviews

[wcs53]

I received a free copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.

In the end, I really enjoyed this book, but only because I persevered with it. It took me a while to get into it, probably because at first I fund it to be quite confusing. I wasn't sure what it was at first, whether it was a novel, a book of poetry, or a graphic novel. Once I worked out that it was a combination of all of these, I started to get into it.

The story is set in WWII and follows the story of Harry, a conscientious objector, working as a fireman in London during the blitz. His older brother, Ellis, is in the army, and it seems that Harry's refuse to enlist has put a wedge between the formerly inseparable brothers. The story is written in the for of a diary by Harry, with some poetry filling in the gaps. The poetry is narrated by Orpheus and alludes to Greek myths intertwined with Harry's story. There are also some wonderful illustrations interspersed throughout the book.

It's a well-written, different kind of book and worth reading, once you get beyond the initial confusion of what is going on.