Reviews

In his debut graphic memoir, Eddie Ahn tells the story of his life as a Korean American lawyer and activist who fights for environmental justice in San Francisco. Advocate is a book that works on several levels: it is a touching immigrant story that shows the clash of culture and values between his parents' generation, Eddie, and America; it is a portrait of an earnest doer who struggles between doing good, supporting himself, and honoring his family's sacrifice; and it is a chronicle of some of the most important environmental battles in the Bay Area, such as the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and the Chevron Richmond Refinery.

Ahn's writing is honest and candid, but sometimes lacks the flair and depth that would make his memoir more engaging. He covers a lot of ground in a relatively short book, but this also means that some of the events and characters are not fully developed or explored. However, Ahn's graphics are perfect for the medium, intimate and colorful, capturing the emotions and personalities of the people he meets and the places he visits. The illustrations also convey the beauty and diversity of San Francisco, as well as the threats and challenges it faces from pollution and gentrification.

Despite some shortfalls, Advocate has good balance of the intimate and inspirational.

perseids's review against another edition

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informative reflective fast-paced

3.75

abigail_gee's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

3.5

readingunderadesk's review against another edition

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2.0

On its face, this graphic novel has a couple things I really like: autobiographies, great art, use of colorwork to set a scene (timeline mostly in this case), detailed and loving illustrations of places I'm very familiar with (I live in Sacramento and have spent a lot of time in the Bay Area including a year of higher education!). But the content...? It didn't grab me, and while it was educational it was maybe too dry and too 'here are events that happened." Even events I personally lived though (C19 closures, the California wildfires and how orange our skies were... those should have hit harder to me).

I really wanted to like this and the art was really good but it was a strange way to tell a life's story and not a lot of meaningful retrospection or self-discovery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press | Ten Speed Graphic for the eARC in exchange for review.

mrsdragon's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective slow-paced

4.0

I've followed Ahn on Instagram for awhile now and I was eagerly anticipating his book! His drawings are carefully executed and even when tackling difficult subjects, his gentle care infuses the art and story.

I do wish there had been more substance to the story though. As an Instagram follower, most of the beats were familiar, and there really wasn't anything new in the book (the blessing and the curse of social media I suppose). His partner rates something like 2 panels in the middle of the book and a thank you in the back, which I think might be an attempt to both acknowledge her and protect her privacy (the blessing and the curse of writing autobiographical material in your youth) but it felt oddly disconnected from the rest.

Folks familiar with non-profit work will find a lot that resonates, though no pat conclusions.

The book is a great starting point and I hope to see more from Ahn, hopefully with more depth.

crothe77's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

5.0

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Advocate by Eddie Ahn is a graphic novel memoir from a nonprofit environmental and community activist. Eddie's family ran a liquor store in Texas after moving from South, instilling values of small kindnesses while also pressuring him to pursue the idea of children doing much better than their parents.

We start off learning about Eddie Ahn’s family history before and during the Korean War, including his grandfather studying in Seoul, far from his hometown of Kaesong. When the war broke out, this created a barrier to Ahn’s grandfather not only returning home but of ever seeing his family again.

We follow Eddie as he works at local schools to help empower his community in California to going to law school to working for and heading a nonprofit to working on a commission. He spends page time introducing us to individuals in his office, young and old, to help give faces to those who are also working towards the same goals of everyone having better lives as well as explaining how different programs work and highlighting positive experiences of community.

The use of color helps set the scene, with different eras represented by different colors: fwarmer hues often used for moments in childhood while the panels regarding Dr. Espanola Jackson, an activist Eddie worked with, are in purple, her favorite color. Eddie's time working in local schools are in green, the color of growth and nature, sharpening the duality of the work towards community and environmentalism being two sides of the same coin.

The graphic novel doesn't shy away from the realities of working at a nonprofit, from pinching pennies to difficulties in explaining your career to family to cost vs time for every decision. It shows not only Eddie’s devotion to his cause but also to show anyone who is considering nonprofit work what they might expect, even if they are a lawyer and in charge. It's really important to peel back those curtains while also uplifting the people in our community who do the work to make it better. Eddie does a wonderful job of doing so, never once feeling sorry for himself and instead conveying that he is happy in his choices even if they don't mean a bank account flush with cash or a shiny new car.

Content warning for brief depictions of racism

I would recommend this to readers looking for memoirs in graphic novel form, aspiring environmental and community activists, and fans of showcasing what graphic novels can do.

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