Jean-Jacques Sempé is equally adept at capturing the little indignities (and triumphs) of everyday life as he is at high farce. Everything is Complicated , the second collection of Sempés cartoons, features some of his favourite subjects, such as hapless tourists, pipe-smoking novelists and unruly schoolchildren, as well as people who choose to express their innermost feelings through the medium of the protest sign. These inimitable drawings and watercolours, accompanied by perfectly judged deadpan captions, are fresh, engaging and funny, and will be appreciated by cartoon connoisseurs and Francophiles as well as the general public.

Jean-Jacques Sempé (b.1932) is one of the world's most successful illustrators and cartoonists. He is the illustrator of the classic children's-book character, Nicholas, and author of a collection of some thirty albums of his cartoons and graphic novels, all published or to be published by Phaidon. His world-renowned illustrations and cartoons are featured on the cover of the New Yorker and in Paris Match.