Reviews

Red Rosa: A Graphic Biography of Rosa Luxemburg by Kate Evans

geekwayne's review

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4.0

I don't read a lot of books about feminist socialists, but when I was given a chance to read and review 'Red Rosa' by Kate Evans, I was intrigued and approached the work with an open mind.

Rosa Luxemburg was a radical socialist at the beginning of the last century. At the age of 15 she was exiled from her homeland of Poland for her part in a general strike. She eventually made her way to Germany where she tried desperately to intervene, as best she could with no vote, in a society bent on war. She was a teacher and writer and eventual martyr to her cause.

The art is at times a bit garish and uneven, but that only makes this feel like a more personal work. It takes a while for the story to get moving, and there are kind of unexplained gaps in the narrative. An odd thing happens when the author/illustrator jumps into the middle of a scene. It's jarring and I felt a bit unnecessary. Still, the story of Rosa turns out to be a moving one, and the book shows her passion for her ideals. The end of the book has an extensive collection of notes to go along with the story. I appreciated the chance to learn more about this outspoken passionate woman.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Verso Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

zeyer_ayngenem's review

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5.0

Absolutely tremendous. Well-researched and well-written. Evans manages to deftly weave Luxemburg’s personal, romantic, emotional life seamlessly with her political life as a revolutionary theorist and major figure of the socialist left. She also includes enough necessary context (as well as some great lil primers on relevant concepts of Marxist theory) to make this feel like a very full biography — you get a hell of a lot in less than 200 pages of graphic novel. The illustration work is excellent, and maintains a flexibility of style that always feels appropriate, shifting smoothy from cartoonish to grotesque to realistic, capturing the shifting tone of Rosa’s story in all its complexities. Touching, inspiring, informative, would highly recommend for anyone interested in socialist history, revolutionary women, jewish leftists, or how to tell the story of a person who represents a movement.

thelonia's review

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4.0

I come from a family of French socialists, and have had a lifelong interest in strong female figures throughout history, so it seems strange that I'd never heard of Rosa Luxemburg before today, but I can think of no better introduction to learning about her life than Kate Evan's graphic novel Red Rosa.
Told mostly through Rosa's own words combined with Ms. Evan's really very lovely art, Red Rosa recounts the life of Rosa Luxemburg, a Polish-Jewish socialist theorist, and goes through both the personal and political sides of her life and how the two relate to each other. Though some minor events in Rosa's life have been changed for the purpose of simplification (as well as good old dramatic effect), they are small enough to not detract from the overarching narrative as well as the examination of revolutionary socialism and Marxist theory.
These more theoretical aspects of her life, particularly those relating to economic systems that remain in place today, are not only presented in their original historical context (though when they are, they are told very clearly and succinctly so I've actually understood more so than I ever did in class), but also as how it relates to today's socialist and capitalist economic systems.
The art is charming, with a simplicity that allows for a lot of character expression, as well as some really beautiful full page spreads as World War I, doubled with Rosa's eventual imprisonment, is retold in a mostly visual montage of war and pain that is just compositionally exquisite and emotionally charged.
All in all, I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone engaged in social activism, especially as it relates to economic struggles, as well as to anyone who is interested in history and the interesting women we seldom hear about otherwise. I'll definitely be sure to check the artist out in the future.

amayagrace's review

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emotional hopeful informative fast-paced

4.0

an well crafted portrait of an individual who had an outsized influence on the world of political theory. the art is so intrinsic to the story and does an incredible job of distilling Luxemburg’s history 

madam1990's review

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

kristinvdt's review

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4.0

Exquisite art, intriguing story. A litlle heavy on the ideological nuances for me, at times I couldn't follow. Well worth reading!

guarinous's review

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challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

bluestarfish's review

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5.0

"I want to affect people like a clap of thunder, to inflame their minds not by speechifying but with the breadth of my vision, the strength of my conviction, and the power of my expression." Dr Rosa Luxemburg in one of her letters. This fictionalised graphic biography by Kate Evans lets her shine through. I knew very little about Dr Luxemburg so I learnt a lot, also about the end of the first world war in Germany...

Graphic novels offer such interesting opportunities and the art work here really works with the story (it's also great to read another graphic biography about an interesting woman with copious notes!). My favourite bit art/text wise is her letter when she's in prison about the blue skies and swallows. Beautiful! And I'm reliably informed that the conversation Rosa has with her brothers is a good summary of a fair amount of Das Kapital, so I can carry on meaning to read it some day for a bit longer:)

pestfest's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

tonipi's review

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informative slow-paced

4.0