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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Great drawings. I liked the author's honesty, about her own prejudices, mixed feelings etc. in re the Birthright trip.
2.5 stars It's important to learn about other cultures to better understand them. This was somewhat interesting but kind of a very dry read.
A graphic memoir of the author's Birthright Israel trip detailing how the author tried to make sense of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The stylized watercolor drawings are beautiful and I the author did a great job outlining her inner turmoil throughout the trip.
So, where to start? Reading through the other reviews I couldn't help but have a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to a lot of the negatives that kept coming up. As a woman with opinions I still spend waaaay too much time worrying that other people think I'm coming on too strong. I mean, please forgive me for actually caring about all the people who are dying and stuff etc. So yeah, I never for an instant thought that Glidden was being preachy or bitchy or anything, but I'm sort of biased like that.
That said, I don't think that we would have much of a book without Glidden and her opinions. The entire book centers around her thoughts as she goes to visit Israel for the first time. If we aren't following her "angsting" what are we going to be doing? Not following her opinion enough is actually one of the biggest failings of the book to my mind, because at the end of the story we wrap up when the trip wraps up but we aren't any closer to understanding even Glidden's opinion let alone feeling like we understand Israel that much more then when we started.
Of course, that is the point of the story right. That "it's complicated" gets repeated over and over and over again because it's pretty true I guess. On the other hand, that's a shit excuse to just not do anything - which seems to be what most of the other characters in the story are using it for. I get that Glidden is ultimately left with less to go on then when she started, but even including some more specifics about the kinds of actions that are going on to bring peace to the area would have been nice. Even I, without very much knowledge of the area, know of a handful of organizations actively working towards reconciliation and I think hopefulness can never be overrated.
Not to say that I didn't learn anything from this comic. I generally found Glidden's thoughts and conversations to be really interesting and educational. I appreciated the fairly level headed and civil way in which she approached the topic. I would have just liked a bit more hope and action is all.
Once again, like in many of the other graphic memoirs I've read, I was really impressed by Glidden's honesty. She doesn't shy away from the big questions, or make herself out to be 100% perfect. Putting yourself out there as a flawed human being is pretty brave and I think it's what keeps bringing me back to these things despite the fact I keep saying no more memoirs!
The art for the book was nice, but the page layouts were pretty basic. Certainly not the worst thing in the world, it really fits with the tone of the book so there's really no room to complain. While there is also a lot of text, it's generally broken up enough in conversation that I never felt like it was super text-heavy.
That said, I don't think that we would have much of a book without Glidden and her opinions. The entire book centers around her thoughts as she goes to visit Israel for the first time. If we aren't following her "angsting" what are we going to be doing? Not following her opinion enough is actually one of the biggest failings of the book to my mind, because at the end of the story we wrap up when the trip wraps up but we aren't any closer to understanding even Glidden's opinion let alone feeling like we understand Israel that much more then when we started.
Of course, that is the point of the story right. That "it's complicated" gets repeated over and over and over again because it's pretty true I guess. On the other hand, that's a shit excuse to just not do anything - which seems to be what most of the other characters in the story are using it for. I get that Glidden is ultimately left with less to go on then when she started, but even including some more specifics about the kinds of actions that are going on to bring peace to the area would have been nice. Even I, without very much knowledge of the area, know of a handful of organizations actively working towards reconciliation and I think hopefulness can never be overrated.
Not to say that I didn't learn anything from this comic. I generally found Glidden's thoughts and conversations to be really interesting and educational. I appreciated the fairly level headed and civil way in which she approached the topic. I would have just liked a bit more hope and action is all.
Once again, like in many of the other graphic memoirs I've read, I was really impressed by Glidden's honesty. She doesn't shy away from the big questions, or make herself out to be 100% perfect. Putting yourself out there as a flawed human being is pretty brave and I think it's what keeps bringing me back to these things despite the fact I keep saying no more memoirs!
The art for the book was nice, but the page layouts were pretty basic. Certainly not the worst thing in the world, it really fits with the tone of the book so there's really no room to complain. While there is also a lot of text, it's generally broken up enough in conversation that I never felt like it was super text-heavy.
challenging
informative
fast-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This was remarkably suspenseful--I spent the whole time thinking, YES PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO FEEL ABOUT THIS CONFLICT. Needless to say, Glidden provides no easy answers.
Really good documentary graphic novel about the author's conflicted feelings about traveling to Israel. Compassionate and well-done, with lots of great details.
My attitude toward Israel issues is normally best summed up by that GIF of Homer Simpson backing silently into the bushes. It's just so complicated. But that's not an epistemological responsible attitude, so I am resolved to begin actually learning a bit about the subject. This beautifully drawn graphic novel seemed like a good place to start. As Sarah travels through Israel on her Birthright trip, she relates stories from Israel's long history and wrestles with the feelings those stories create in her. It's a good introduction because it introduces numerous points of entry for further learning: various eras and issues to explore, instead of just ISRAEL as one huge daunting topic. For instance, I knew a little about the conflict with the Palestinians, but I was totally unfamiliar with the Bedouin situation.
Sarah went into Israel with, she discovered, an overly simplified view of the country and its people. That's kind of the opposite of my problem. But her experiences there are an excellent peek into a place I will probably never visit.
It's also worth noting that this book came out in 2010, which seems like a lifetime ago. I don't know how much has changed, but presumably quite a bit has.
Sarah went into Israel with, she discovered, an overly simplified view of the country and its people. That's kind of the opposite of my problem. But her experiences there are an excellent peek into a place I will probably never visit.
It's also worth noting that this book came out in 2010, which seems like a lifetime ago. I don't know how much has changed, but presumably quite a bit has.