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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
The artistic quality of this book is absolutely spot on: it's detailed and the characters are recognisable from one frame to the next, with their emotions clearly discernible from the expression.
The content is important too. He's diving into a situation that isn't often explored at a human level. The effects of the occupation in the inhabitants of the territory often get submerged beneath layers of politics and historical revisionism.
It's outdated if course. The occupation ended a long time ago, and many of the factions don't really exist any more in Gaza, which has become dominated by it's most extreme variant, the Iranian proxy, Hamas, who have been incentivised to basically throw the entire civilian population into the grinder, for reasons having everythung to do with geopolitics, and they never seem to get criticised for that, or for the orgy of rape and murder with which they reopened hostilities.
But that's all in the future for Sacco, and he can't be blamed for not leveling more criticism at the Palestinians' own political leadership. At the time, things seemed to be moving towards peace and the two state solution at least seemed like a possibility some people could believe in. With that in mind, he seems to be putting the question to Israel: how are you ever going to have peace if you are constantly putting the civilian population through this suffering and indignity?
It's an important question, and he's framed it in a really powerful way here.
The content is important too. He's diving into a situation that isn't often explored at a human level. The effects of the occupation in the inhabitants of the territory often get submerged beneath layers of politics and historical revisionism.
It's outdated if course. The occupation ended a long time ago, and many of the factions don't really exist any more in Gaza, which has become dominated by it's most extreme variant, the Iranian proxy, Hamas, who have been incentivised to basically throw the entire civilian population into the grinder, for reasons having everythung to do with geopolitics, and they never seem to get criticised for that, or for the orgy of rape and murder with which they reopened hostilities.
But that's all in the future for Sacco, and he can't be blamed for not leveling more criticism at the Palestinians' own political leadership. At the time, things seemed to be moving towards peace and the two state solution at least seemed like a possibility some people could believe in. With that in mind, he seems to be putting the question to Israel: how are you ever going to have peace if you are constantly putting the civilian population through this suffering and indignity?
It's an important question, and he's framed it in a really powerful way here.
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
reading this volume almost thirty years after its publication is sobering. the idea that the palestinians could be even worse off than they were when sacco visited in the ‘90s is thoroughly depressing. it is perfectly clear, from this powerful graphic journalism, and from all the evidence gathered over the last decades, that palestinians are living in an apartheid state. stop the genocide now. free palestine.
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
There's so much to say that I don't think on-the-spot review can suffice. There's multiple locations, multiple experiences, that get covered. You understand why Palestinians, especially the elders who remember the Nakba firsthand, use harsh words. Israeli soldiers are harsh.
Then we have the perspective of the Israelis who are within their walls and had long forgotten their services to the IDF and refuses to speak about the political situation when conversations center Palestinians and they get framed as human beings. Even foreigners romanticising Israel dodges and ignores the realities of the Palestinians and only considers the Israelis in deep thought.
The ending was poetic and well done. Even though as of right now no one is completely sure of the right answer to the problem, we can see that Israelis at the end of their day do not know "their land". To loop back to the Israeli perspective after the gruelling and emotional short stay throughout Palestine, everything was jarring. How can people act like everything is peaceful? Smoking cigarettes and saying that they're neutral in politics?
This was a great insight into the 80s and 90s of Palestine. I hope Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.
Then we have the perspective of the Israelis who are within their walls and had long forgotten their services to the IDF and refuses to speak about the political situation when conversations center Palestinians and they get framed as human beings. Even foreigners romanticising Israel dodges and ignores the realities of the Palestinians and only considers the Israelis in deep thought.
This was a great insight into the 80s and 90s of Palestine. I hope Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.
De forma muy entretenida, Sacco nos presenta una visión muy personal, pero a la vez imparcial de la realidad del pueblo árabe que no busca otra cosa mas que informar, pero que inevitablemente llevará al lector a la reflexión.
Independiente de la postura que puedas tener sobre el conflicto actual, "Palestina" es una obra invaluable por si sola, ya que es una de las precursoras del subgénero de comic periodístico y es un imperdible para aquellos que ya se encuentran inmersos en el mundo del noveno arte.
Independiente de la postura que puedas tener sobre el conflicto actual, "Palestina" es una obra invaluable por si sola, ya que es una de las precursoras del subgénero de comic periodístico y es un imperdible para aquellos que ya se encuentran inmersos en el mundo del noveno arte.
"Sameh's nephew is 15 years old and has been shot twice in clashes. But we're tired of talking about clashes."
You begin the novel Palestine by Joe Sacco and by the first ten or fifteen pages, you feel a little irritated. This goddamn American seems to be taking none of this seriously and all he wants is the story. Can he not see the desperate and frequently tragic plight of the Palestinian people around him? It would be understandable had he been an Israeli sympathizer, after all, belief whether aligned with yours or against yours is still belief. Better than a lack of it, at least. But this arrogant, flippant American journalist seems to be bothered by nothing and while all that he sees does register with him, it doesn't seem to affect him any more than the occasional scathing remark. And that's when it hits you.
All of it - the sarcasm, the flippancy, the arrogance - it is not to obfuscate or lighten, it is to illuminate. Because in doing so, Sacco, turns a mirror to you, the reader, and asks you why you feel so offended by his behaviour. You seem to be doing the same thing. Reading about in the newspapers or Facebook, this is what you're doing isn't it? The sorrow and the deplorable violation of human rights gets to you but you, sitting in your cosy, air conditioned room, do you feel any of it? It registers with you and shocks you but does it affect you? Do you stop posting and start doing? Do you use all that money you have and do something with it? Or do you go out for lunch at an expensive restaurant and talk about how horrible it is for the Palestinians, only to forget all of it by the time dessert arrives?
The book isn't an attack on us, but this question is left dangling in the air, quite easy for any ardent reader to catch. Instead of spouting political diatribe, Palestine does nothing but show. There are acts of violence by Israeli soldiers, but there are also Israeli civilians who are against the occupation. There are acts of terrorism by Palestinian extremists but there are also those who ally themselves with nothing and just want to go home. How you perceive each of these images is up to you and does depend a lot on your political beliefs. But it also pokes a stick, albeit harmless, at your sense of morality. Maybe you believe the Israeli are in the right and deserve this land, but look at this refugee camp or soldiers torturing children and ask yourself if you're willing to do this for what you believe is right. Maybe you think the opposite but then here's an image of Palestinian extremists burning a bus full of innocent people. What do you think now?
The primary reason behind any of these situations provoking a reaction or a question is the images themselves. Joe Sacco's art is unquestionably captivating and immensely detailed. You could spend twenty minutes looking at a splash page and still feel like you haven't seen everything it has. He brings his experiences to stark and documentary-like life. You feel the mud underneath their shoes, the terror when soldiers attack, the innocence in the faces of children, the resignation on the faces of countless Palestinians and the raw emotion behind every word they speak. This is journalism at its best and is an eye opening read.
Palestine is bleak on purpose, unflinching in its commentary and pulls no punches as far as reporting the reality of events is concerned. It's beauty and ultimate greatness lies in the various questions it throws at us along with honest and true-to-the-last-brick images it thrusts in our face. I do not claim to a huge amount of knowledge about the Israel-Palestine conflict, but whatever little I knew has definitely been accentuated by everything that this book contains. A must read, for the truth, if nothing else.
You begin the novel Palestine by Joe Sacco and by the first ten or fifteen pages, you feel a little irritated. This goddamn American seems to be taking none of this seriously and all he wants is the story. Can he not see the desperate and frequently tragic plight of the Palestinian people around him? It would be understandable had he been an Israeli sympathizer, after all, belief whether aligned with yours or against yours is still belief. Better than a lack of it, at least. But this arrogant, flippant American journalist seems to be bothered by nothing and while all that he sees does register with him, it doesn't seem to affect him any more than the occasional scathing remark. And that's when it hits you.
All of it - the sarcasm, the flippancy, the arrogance - it is not to obfuscate or lighten, it is to illuminate. Because in doing so, Sacco, turns a mirror to you, the reader, and asks you why you feel so offended by his behaviour. You seem to be doing the same thing. Reading about in the newspapers or Facebook, this is what you're doing isn't it? The sorrow and the deplorable violation of human rights gets to you but you, sitting in your cosy, air conditioned room, do you feel any of it? It registers with you and shocks you but does it affect you? Do you stop posting and start doing? Do you use all that money you have and do something with it? Or do you go out for lunch at an expensive restaurant and talk about how horrible it is for the Palestinians, only to forget all of it by the time dessert arrives?
The book isn't an attack on us, but this question is left dangling in the air, quite easy for any ardent reader to catch. Instead of spouting political diatribe, Palestine does nothing but show. There are acts of violence by Israeli soldiers, but there are also Israeli civilians who are against the occupation. There are acts of terrorism by Palestinian extremists but there are also those who ally themselves with nothing and just want to go home. How you perceive each of these images is up to you and does depend a lot on your political beliefs. But it also pokes a stick, albeit harmless, at your sense of morality. Maybe you believe the Israeli are in the right and deserve this land, but look at this refugee camp or soldiers torturing children and ask yourself if you're willing to do this for what you believe is right. Maybe you think the opposite but then here's an image of Palestinian extremists burning a bus full of innocent people. What do you think now?
The primary reason behind any of these situations provoking a reaction or a question is the images themselves. Joe Sacco's art is unquestionably captivating and immensely detailed. You could spend twenty minutes looking at a splash page and still feel like you haven't seen everything it has. He brings his experiences to stark and documentary-like life. You feel the mud underneath their shoes, the terror when soldiers attack, the innocence in the faces of children, the resignation on the faces of countless Palestinians and the raw emotion behind every word they speak. This is journalism at its best and is an eye opening read.
Palestine is bleak on purpose, unflinching in its commentary and pulls no punches as far as reporting the reality of events is concerned. It's beauty and ultimate greatness lies in the various questions it throws at us along with honest and true-to-the-last-brick images it thrusts in our face. I do not claim to a huge amount of knowledge about the Israel-Palestine conflict, but whatever little I knew has definitely been accentuated by everything that this book contains. A must read, for the truth, if nothing else.
I don't necessarily agree with Mr. Sacco's politics. However, I'm totally an outsider looking in. Joe Sacco has actually lived in the conditions he speaks of. Joe Sacco is a Palestinian and I am a white woman of European descent. Our backgrounds couldn't be more different.
I won't get into the politics involved with the subject matter of this graphic novel. I am not qualified to speak of Middle Eastern politics nor do I have a full understanding of such. I will say that this graphic novel has gone a long way in educating me. I do feel I have a better understanding of the issue and am grateful for having read this.
It is beautifully written and beautifully illustrated. Is one of the more informative graphic novels that I've read in a long time. For that reason I rated it four out of five.
I will definitely be looking into other graphic novels by Joe Sacco.
I won't get into the politics involved with the subject matter of this graphic novel. I am not qualified to speak of Middle Eastern politics nor do I have a full understanding of such. I will say that this graphic novel has gone a long way in educating me. I do feel I have a better understanding of the issue and am grateful for having read this.
It is beautifully written and beautifully illustrated. Is one of the more informative graphic novels that I've read in a long time. For that reason I rated it four out of five.
I will definitely be looking into other graphic novels by Joe Sacco.
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
Probably one of the most relevant comics of our time and a foundational piece of comics journalism. Free Palistine.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
An extremely informative novel highlighting the oppression and also the nature of the Palestinian people. Sacco's journey shows the spirit and resilience of people abused and broken by another nation. He initially attempts to place himself as purely an observer, unattached and blending in the background, but quickly finds he cannot.
Sacco's faced with a lot of tough questions and shocking realisations from his time in Gaza and the West Bank. He also gets a fair bit of scrutiny from people on the Israeli side. He seems unable to fully engage with the plights of the people around him or his criticisms, and doesn't really attempt to hide this. He does, however, recognise his biases and the fact that these stem from the rhetoric he's been fed his whole life, and being there clearly has an impact on him.
It's tough to read and some truly horrific events are described and drawn, but imagine how tough it would be to live it?
Sacco's faced with a lot of tough questions and shocking realisations from his time in Gaza and the West Bank. He also gets a fair bit of scrutiny from people on the Israeli side. He seems unable to fully engage with the plights of the people around him or his criticisms, and doesn't really attempt to hide this. He does, however, recognise his biases and the fact that these stem from the rhetoric he's been fed his whole life, and being there clearly has an impact on him.
It's tough to read and some truly horrific events are described and drawn, but imagine how tough it would be to live it?
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced