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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War
Moderate: Rape, Alcohol
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Very difficult at times, but ultimately a truly on-the-ground story with people that lived through horror every day due to the actions of politicians worlds away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault
A tremendous thing, but one that took a toll on me just reading. Particularly the middle section, which left me feeling so destroyed and anxious that it was impossible to sleep. For good reason: this is a huge and important book that everyone must read, however difficult.
This is a brilliant journalistic graphic novel about the Bosnian War, with a particular focus on the vulnerable Muslim enclaves in the east. Sacco blends oral histories of a half dozen interviewees with his own observations on conditions and what had happened in the previous three years.
The text is structured via a collection of vignettes focusing on his interview into something of a narrative. This really is a fantastic example of how the form can serve as reportage. Graphic in every sense of the term, the book pulls no punches in terms of the effects of war and the moral turpitude of many soldiers and politicians, and the effects of an ineffective UN mission that utterly failed the inhabitants of towns like Goražde.
The geopolitical context is particularly poignant when you consider the rise in a more virulent form of Islam, and the sense of many that the 'West' is hypocritical when it comes to the rights of those considered 'the other'.
The text is structured via a collection of vignettes focusing on his interview into something of a narrative. This really is a fantastic example of how the form can serve as reportage. Graphic in every sense of the term, the book pulls no punches in terms of the effects of war and the moral turpitude of many soldiers and politicians, and the effects of an ineffective UN mission that utterly failed the inhabitants of towns like Goražde.
The geopolitical context is particularly poignant when you consider the rise in a more virulent form of Islam, and the sense of many that the 'West' is hypocritical when it comes to the rights of those considered 'the other'.
“The truth will set you free but first it will piss you off.” That sums this book up so well for me. So much was botched and mishandled by people who should have helped. This was hard to read. It was gruesome and real. And scary, very scary that people could go from being neighbors to butchering each other. God, why can’t we learn from our mistakes?
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
informative
medium-paced
This is one of the most heavy in text graphic novels I ever read.
Usually, I would find that a comic book that rely too much on text to not be a good one, but that is not the case here.
Even though I think the story could benefit by having less detail at times, everything that is said is to complement the illustrations and give a better insight about the context.
All that said, this is a great retell of a real story about civilians living in a war zone. All the struggles and horrors they have to went through.
Even though the situations presented here are nothing really new to me, it still manages to shock me what some people are able to do to other human beings.
I'm really curious to learn about the history of this region and what happened after.
A great graphic novel if you are into history and war in particularly.
Usually, I would find that a comic book that rely too much on text to not be a good one, but that is not the case here.
Even though I think the story could benefit by having less detail at times, everything that is said is to complement the illustrations and give a better insight about the context.
All that said, this is a great retell of a real story about civilians living in a war zone. All the struggles and horrors they have to went through.
Even though the situations presented here are nothing really new to me, it still manages to shock me what some people are able to do to other human beings.
I'm really curious to learn about the history of this region and what happened after.
A great graphic novel if you are into history and war in particularly.
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Journalism presented in comic book form can be really powerful (think MAUS) and this testimony from the Balkan wars, specifically the situation in the UN free zone Gorazde, is a good example of how to do it.
A bit stiff at the beginning perhaps, a bit slow you might say, but as the interviewed people tell more about their experiences the more you really don’t want to hear. It’s gut wrenching at times, and the feeling sticks.
A bit stiff at the beginning perhaps, a bit slow you might say, but as the interviewed people tell more about their experiences the more you really don’t want to hear. It’s gut wrenching at times, and the feeling sticks.