Review of Factory Summers by Guy Delisle (Translated by Helge Dascher and Rob Aspinall)
Drawn and Quarterly, 2021.
Guy Delisle’s Factory Summers is exactly what the title implies: a memoir covering the summers when Delisle worked in a factory (or “the mill”) in Quebec City that produces large rolls of paper for newspapers in Montreal. His book explores the type of work he did there and the hard work it was, but Delisle also introduces the reader to the variety of people who work in the mill. There is not much more plot than that, as the book is divided into four sections: the three summers he works at the mill and the summer he decides not to, taking a job in animation. That final summer becomes the pivotal one, as he leaves animation school and begins his career as an artist.
Drawn and Quarterly, 2021.
Guy Delisle’s Factory Summers is exactly what the title implies: a memoir covering the summers when Delisle worked in a factory (or “the mill”) in Quebec City that produces large rolls of paper for newspapers in Montreal. His book explores the type of work he did there and the hard work it was, but Delisle also introduces the reader to the variety of people who work in the mill. There is not much more plot than that, as the book is divided into four sections: the three summers he works at the mill and the summer he decides not to, taking a job in animation. That final summer becomes the pivotal one, as he leaves animation school and begins his career as an artist.
The book works both as coming-of-age memoir and one that shows the development of Delisle as an artist. Through the people he meets at the mill, he begins to see the wide variety of people there are just in that microcosm of society, helping him to understand himself. There are men (and they are all men) who have worked at the mill their entire lives, younger men like him who are only there for the summer and who have grander plans, and men in their twenties and thirties who also don’t want to become lifers, some of whom do seem to get out of the mill, at least from what Delisle sees.
These summers also show Delisle’s awkward years as a teenager. Outside of work he is largely alone, but there are a few interactions with friends that are reminiscent of so many teenage relationships. Because he works the night shift at the mill, he often misses out on typical teenage activities and time with friends. The one significant scene we see with him and his friends simply leads to disappointment. He is briefly interested in a young woman only to see her at an art show kissing another woman. Delisle also doesn’t fit in with the men at the mill, given the difference in goals and age. Thus, he spends much of his time focused on his art.
Because his brother has moved out, he has more room in the house, even a small room that serves as a studio where he can draw, which is how he spends much of his time when he’s not working the night shift at the mill. During one of his summers, a library opens not far from where he and his family live, and they have a surprisingly substantial comics collection. Delisle spends the summer reading and studying Tardi, Moebius, Comès, Rochette, Lauzier, Gotlib, Pratt, and Muñoz. Not coincidentally, that’s the summer he gains acceptance to an animation school in Ontario.
Delisle’s relationship with the mill is one of fascination, given his father worked there throughout Delisle’s childhood. He’s impressed with the construction, as the original builders made it aesthetically pleasing, as well as functional. Delisle ends the third section with his climbing onto the roof and watching the sun rise over parts of the factory, a moment that fills him with awe. At least in the memoir, that was the last time he was in the mill. However, Delisle also sees the people who live their entire lives doing the hard work of producing paper, and he doesn’t want to spend his life doing the same. While he appreciates them and their work and the various moments of beauty, he doesn’t want to be there. The mill is simply a means to the end of paying for animation school.
Over the course of his time working there, Delisle also notices a variety of cultural differences that manifest themselves in the mill. There is a clear generation gap between the younger workers—especially those who are only working there for the summers—and those who are older. In one scene, a younger worker pulls out a note his wife has left for him in his lunchbox. An older worker mocks him for it and tells him to enjoy it while it lasts, that romance fades quickly. The other older workers join in the laughter. Delisle strikes up friendships with others like him, even learning where and how to read on the job during the down times by watching what another young worker does.
Delisle also explores gender and class in the memoir. Given that everybody who works at the mill is a man, there is a clear culture of masculinity. He works with Marc who lifts weights when he’s not at work and is planning on quitting to work full time on his muscles. There is a scene where Delisle finds a television show where topless women are doing fitness workouts. Another worker walks into the break area and chastises Delisle for not telling the others. That worker gets the other men’s attention, and they rush into the room and begin hooting at the television, as Delisle just sits there.
In terms of class, there is a clear divide between the people who work in the factory portion and those who are engineers—one of whom is Delisle’s father—or, as Delisle words it: “those who run the machines and those who build them.” In one instance, Delisle overhears a conversation between men who are looking out at an engineer who has come down to the factory floor. One of the men laughs at him for wearing a hardhat, asking, “What’s he scared of? A giant papercut on his head?” The other men join in laughing.
Delisle doesn’t have a strong relationship with his father, only visiting him once a year after his parents’ divorce, but he doesn’t take place in the mockery. He’s more concerned with his personal relationship with his father, and, given that Delisle doesn’t want to spend his life at the mill, he’s objective enough to see the different challenges of both jobs. He only interacts with his father a couple of times at work, once on the factory floor and once in his father’s office. During the latter, he’s less concerned with talking to his father than in taking in the surroundings, writing, “Knowing perfectly well that I’ll never be back in my father’s office again, I try to take in as much as possible.” He does end the book with a scene where he and his brother are sorting through his now-dead father’s possessions. He finds that his father has kept a copy of each of Delisle’s books, and he wonders if his father read them. He ends with an image of himself looking at a book in which he wrote an inscription to his father, ending with the relationship that has undergirded the work.
Delisle’s art work is clear and simple, with the majority of the work in black and white. He uses orange throughout to highlight anything that relates to the factory, including loud noises and the smoke that floats above the city. Delisle will take the factory home with him, at times, sometimes too keyed up to sleep, and the orange will be just outside a closed shade, keeping him awake. He also makes the choice to portray himself in an orange shirt whether he is at the factory or not. Given that this memoir focuses on his relationship to the factory, this serves as a visual reminder of this time in his life and how the mill looms large during these summers.
Delisle’s memoir clearly portrays those summers that many of us worked jobs that wouldn’t become our lives, that were temporary, but also important to helping us find out who we were. Those factory summers were clearly important times in his life, so he uses his artistic work he began developing during those years to convey that importance to the reader.
These summers also show Delisle’s awkward years as a teenager. Outside of work he is largely alone, but there are a few interactions with friends that are reminiscent of so many teenage relationships. Because he works the night shift at the mill, he often misses out on typical teenage activities and time with friends. The one significant scene we see with him and his friends simply leads to disappointment. He is briefly interested in a young woman only to see her at an art show kissing another woman. Delisle also doesn’t fit in with the men at the mill, given the difference in goals and age. Thus, he spends much of his time focused on his art.
Because his brother has moved out, he has more room in the house, even a small room that serves as a studio where he can draw, which is how he spends much of his time when he’s not working the night shift at the mill. During one of his summers, a library opens not far from where he and his family live, and they have a surprisingly substantial comics collection. Delisle spends the summer reading and studying Tardi, Moebius, Comès, Rochette, Lauzier, Gotlib, Pratt, and Muñoz. Not coincidentally, that’s the summer he gains acceptance to an animation school in Ontario.
Delisle’s relationship with the mill is one of fascination, given his father worked there throughout Delisle’s childhood. He’s impressed with the construction, as the original builders made it aesthetically pleasing, as well as functional. Delisle ends the third section with his climbing onto the roof and watching the sun rise over parts of the factory, a moment that fills him with awe. At least in the memoir, that was the last time he was in the mill. However, Delisle also sees the people who live their entire lives doing the hard work of producing paper, and he doesn’t want to spend his life doing the same. While he appreciates them and their work and the various moments of beauty, he doesn’t want to be there. The mill is simply a means to the end of paying for animation school.
Over the course of his time working there, Delisle also notices a variety of cultural differences that manifest themselves in the mill. There is a clear generation gap between the younger workers—especially those who are only working there for the summers—and those who are older. In one scene, a younger worker pulls out a note his wife has left for him in his lunchbox. An older worker mocks him for it and tells him to enjoy it while it lasts, that romance fades quickly. The other older workers join in the laughter. Delisle strikes up friendships with others like him, even learning where and how to read on the job during the down times by watching what another young worker does.
Delisle also explores gender and class in the memoir. Given that everybody who works at the mill is a man, there is a clear culture of masculinity. He works with Marc who lifts weights when he’s not at work and is planning on quitting to work full time on his muscles. There is a scene where Delisle finds a television show where topless women are doing fitness workouts. Another worker walks into the break area and chastises Delisle for not telling the others. That worker gets the other men’s attention, and they rush into the room and begin hooting at the television, as Delisle just sits there.
In terms of class, there is a clear divide between the people who work in the factory portion and those who are engineers—one of whom is Delisle’s father—or, as Delisle words it: “those who run the machines and those who build them.” In one instance, Delisle overhears a conversation between men who are looking out at an engineer who has come down to the factory floor. One of the men laughs at him for wearing a hardhat, asking, “What’s he scared of? A giant papercut on his head?” The other men join in laughing.
Delisle doesn’t have a strong relationship with his father, only visiting him once a year after his parents’ divorce, but he doesn’t take place in the mockery. He’s more concerned with his personal relationship with his father, and, given that Delisle doesn’t want to spend his life at the mill, he’s objective enough to see the different challenges of both jobs. He only interacts with his father a couple of times at work, once on the factory floor and once in his father’s office. During the latter, he’s less concerned with talking to his father than in taking in the surroundings, writing, “Knowing perfectly well that I’ll never be back in my father’s office again, I try to take in as much as possible.” He does end the book with a scene where he and his brother are sorting through his now-dead father’s possessions. He finds that his father has kept a copy of each of Delisle’s books, and he wonders if his father read them. He ends with an image of himself looking at a book in which he wrote an inscription to his father, ending with the relationship that has undergirded the work.
Delisle’s art work is clear and simple, with the majority of the work in black and white. He uses orange throughout to highlight anything that relates to the factory, including loud noises and the smoke that floats above the city. Delisle will take the factory home with him, at times, sometimes too keyed up to sleep, and the orange will be just outside a closed shade, keeping him awake. He also makes the choice to portray himself in an orange shirt whether he is at the factory or not. Given that this memoir focuses on his relationship to the factory, this serves as a visual reminder of this time in his life and how the mill looms large during these summers.
Delisle’s memoir clearly portrays those summers that many of us worked jobs that wouldn’t become our lives, that were temporary, but also important to helping us find out who we were. Those factory summers were clearly important times in his life, so he uses his artistic work he began developing during those years to convey that importance to the reader.