Although she is best known for her comics and children’s books, British-born Maltese writer and illustrator Simone Lia addresses more adult concerns in this graphic novel about love, despair, the meaning of life and talking rabbits.
‘Fluffy’ is the charming story of a baby bunny who is looked after by his (or possibly her) anxious pseudo-daddy, Michael Pulcino. Try though Michael does to convince his long-eared companion that he’s not his biological parent and Fluffy is, in fact, a rabbit, it seems Fluffy is in denial. But Fluffy’s identity issues are the least of Michael’s worries as he continues to be stalked by the rabbit’s over-clingy nursery teacher.
The book takes some acclimatising to, but its satirical humour keeps you engaged once you’ve grown used to the wonderfully random and self-deprecating style, even if it does leave you bewildered from time to time. The deadpan absurdity is inspired by everyday moments. Its dryness can’t be faulted when it works, but it’s painfully pointless when it doesn’t.
Luckily, Lia doesn’t take herself too seriously and devotes the final pages to a dust particle and a flake of dandruff who pick apart her work and pre-empt the reader’s criticisms.
