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A review by shonaningyo
I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached
2.0
I will not lie when I say I was actually disappointed with this book. As this is being typed, I am taking a few courses regarding the history and culture of the Middle East and when I saw this book I thought "Hey, a graphic novel about one of the many skirmishes that took place there! This will enhance my world view!"
But it didn't.
Not at all.
This story may be biographical and supposedly about Beirut, but it tells the reader [b]nothing[/b] about the motives behind the war and attacks, the "players" (governments, factions, armies, resistances? What?), the death toll or casualties, or even a timeline of the whole thing. It was basically a short story of the author's life and the war in Beirut just happened to occur, but it was only hinted at. It was actually written very optimistically and light-heartedly to the point that I thought "Was this war actually that bad, because I'm seeing nothing of the horrors that a conflict labeled a 'war' would typically bring".
Apparently there was a conflict between Christians and Muslims that sparked this war. Nothing regarding religion was ever mentioned or hinted at. Honestly, it read like a slice of life story with a silly narrator. I closed the book learning nothing more than when I had first began reading it.
Maybe for those who are well-versed in this conflict or perhaps have experienced it, this is a nice light in what may have been a trying and horrific time in their lives. For someone like me, a person who was curious enough about the subject matter to read it in hopes of educating herself on the ordeal, it didn't do anything but slightly annoy me at its lack of information.
If you want to read a graphic/illustrated biography of someone who lived in a trying time in the Middle East, by all means read [b:Persepolis|9522|Persepolis, Volume 1 (Persepolis, #1)|Marjane Satrapi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375777630s/9522.jpg|25686510] by Marjane Satrapi. She does it right.
But it didn't.
Not at all.
This story may be biographical and supposedly about Beirut, but it tells the reader [b]nothing[/b] about the motives behind the war and attacks, the "players" (governments, factions, armies, resistances? What?), the death toll or casualties, or even a timeline of the whole thing. It was basically a short story of the author's life and the war in Beirut just happened to occur, but it was only hinted at. It was actually written very optimistically and light-heartedly to the point that I thought "Was this war actually that bad, because I'm seeing nothing of the horrors that a conflict labeled a 'war' would typically bring".
Apparently there was a conflict between Christians and Muslims that sparked this war. Nothing regarding religion was ever mentioned or hinted at. Honestly, it read like a slice of life story with a silly narrator. I closed the book learning nothing more than when I had first began reading it.
Maybe for those who are well-versed in this conflict or perhaps have experienced it, this is a nice light in what may have been a trying and horrific time in their lives. For someone like me, a person who was curious enough about the subject matter to read it in hopes of educating herself on the ordeal, it didn't do anything but slightly annoy me at its lack of information.
If you want to read a graphic/illustrated biography of someone who lived in a trying time in the Middle East, by all means read [b:Persepolis|9522|Persepolis, Volume 1 (Persepolis, #1)|Marjane Satrapi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375777630s/9522.jpg|25686510] by Marjane Satrapi. She does it right.