Sempe: Mixed Messages

Jean-Jacques Sempe’s witty drawings and keen eye for the finer points of the human condition have delighted readers in France and beyond for over forty years. Now, his sharply observed and beautifully drawn cartoons are available in English for the first time.
In ’Mixed Messages’, his most recent collection of drawings, Sempe turns his attention to the trappings of modern life, from mobile phones to designer water. He also takes a fresh look at some of his favourite topics and archetypes, such as struggling artists, aloof psychiatrists and unhappy couples. Whether he’s poking fun at the urbane patrons of fashionable restaurants or the inhabitants of sleepy hamlets, Sempe treats all his subjects with equal amounts of insight and affection. The captions were translated by Anthea Bell, who also helped to bring Asterix the Gaul to the English-speaking world.