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Reviews
Lissa: A Story about Medical Promise, Friendship, and Revolution by Coleman Nye, Sherine Hamdy
booknerd1997's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
3.5
I read this for my intro to anthropology class final assignment and while it wasn't necessarily my cup of tea, I thought it was a beautiful story of friendship and hope against all odds
dipali17's review
4.0
Lissa is a beautiful attempt at using the graphic novel form to detail ethnographic research. I look forward to reading more from the University of Toronto’s EthnoGraphic series.
allexcastellano's review
4.0
If you're ever wondering about the complexities of religion and medicine/healing, and want in an easy, digestible format, read this graphic novel.
jtisreading's review
2.0
I was very hopeful about this book as I picked it up at a local Half Price Books. I enjoy looking for graphic novels that embark on a journey of humanity. This one, however, tried too hard.
Honestly, I wanted to like it. I wanted it to be powerful and changing, and I think the authors intended it to as well, but it is simply so poorly executed that readers stomp through without feeling moved. There is no a speck of natural empathy the book creates for readers that the Egyptian revolution wouldn't already spark.
It also is disguised as a coming of age story in the realm of cancer, and the protagonist must deal with mortality and death in by cancer in a metaphorical sense as the revolution. Unfortunately, the metaphor is overdone, weak, and feels very fake. Where so many graphic artists speak from their experiences this is just a poorly drawn story. It doesn't work.
The art is also exceptionally poorly done. There are few panels that I even enjoyed studying and thinking about. Everything just seems out of place.
I can appreciate the awareness the graphic novel is trying to illustrate, but it does such a poor job that ultimately it almost becomes unreadable.
Honestly, I wanted to like it. I wanted it to be powerful and changing, and I think the authors intended it to as well, but it is simply so poorly executed that readers stomp through without feeling moved. There is no a speck of natural empathy the book creates for readers that the Egyptian revolution wouldn't already spark.
It also is disguised as a coming of age story in the realm of cancer, and the protagonist must deal with mortality and death in by cancer in a metaphorical sense as the revolution. Unfortunately, the metaphor is overdone, weak, and feels very fake. Where so many graphic artists speak from their experiences this is just a poorly drawn story. It doesn't work.
The art is also exceptionally poorly done. There are few panels that I even enjoyed studying and thinking about. Everything just seems out of place.
I can appreciate the awareness the graphic novel is trying to illustrate, but it does such a poor job that ultimately it almost becomes unreadable.