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A review by emeelee
September 11, 2001: The Day the World Changed Forever by Héloïse Chochois, Baptiste Bouthier
3.0
I tried to read this comic on September 11th this year, the 20th anniversary of the attack. I couldn't get past the first page. Of course I was affected by 9/11-- the entire world was, ultimately. But on that day I was nine years old, living on the West coast, and I didn't know anyone who died. So I'm surprised at what a deeply affecting read this was for me.
September 11, 2001: The Day the World Changed Forever is a French comic depicting 9/11 and the past 20 years of its aftermath through the eyes of a fictional French girl named Juliette. Constructed like a memoir, it begins as Juliette boards a flight to New York for the first time and begins to think back to her memories of the 9/11 attacks which occurred when she was thirteen years old. The narrative follows her experiences in France over the next twenty years with intermittent breaks to focus on a particular related topic or incident. For example, the story of a survivor employee of the World Trade Center, a journalist whose photos became famous depictions of the event, George W. Bush's movements on 9/11, etc. But also historical information about what happened in the wake of that day: the war in Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq, France's Vigipirate, subsequent terrorist attacks around Europe, the killing of Osama Bin Laden in 2011, the Patriot Act and Edward Snowden's whistleblowing of the NSA, etc. It ends with Juliette landing in New York, experiencing a U.S. Customs search, and visiting Ground Zero.
I really appreciate that this comic gives a non-American perspective of this devastating day and its aftermath, though it also very clearly a French take rather than an objective one (if such a thing were possible). It is a Western, European, and non-Muslim perspective, which is worth remembering while reading. While the doomed nature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are covered, there is otherwise not much focus on the impact of 9/11 on citizens of those countries, nor Muslim or Middle Eastern people living in the West. Guantanamo receives a quick mention, but widespread Islamophobia (particularly in France considering this book's origin) does not. While no single book, especially a short comic, can possibly cover 20 years worth of everything 9/11-related, these seem like glaring omissions.
Overall, it seems like the authors couldn't quite decide what they wanted their focus to be. A memoir-style look at one particular French citizen? Vignettes of the experiences of specific people who experienced the event? A historical account of the attacks and their global fallout? While certainly not a bad read, and rather interesting throughout, I think this book could have been a lot stronger with a narrower focus and a commitment to either an intimate, subjective perspective or a better attempt at a wider, universal perspective. My favorite aspect was the short, individual stories of survivors of the attacks, like World Trade Center employees, journalists, and first responders.
TW: 9/11, Islamophobic comments, death, fire, plane crash
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
September 11, 2001: The Day the World Changed Forever is a French comic depicting 9/11 and the past 20 years of its aftermath through the eyes of a fictional French girl named Juliette. Constructed like a memoir, it begins as Juliette boards a flight to New York for the first time and begins to think back to her memories of the 9/11 attacks which occurred when she was thirteen years old. The narrative follows her experiences in France over the next twenty years with intermittent breaks to focus on a particular related topic or incident. For example, the story of a survivor employee of the World Trade Center, a journalist whose photos became famous depictions of the event, George W. Bush's movements on 9/11, etc. But also historical information about what happened in the wake of that day: the war in Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq, France's Vigipirate, subsequent terrorist attacks around Europe, the killing of Osama Bin Laden in 2011, the Patriot Act and Edward Snowden's whistleblowing of the NSA, etc. It ends with Juliette landing in New York, experiencing a U.S. Customs search, and visiting Ground Zero.
I really appreciate that this comic gives a non-American perspective of this devastating day and its aftermath, though it also very clearly a French take rather than an objective one (if such a thing were possible). It is a Western, European, and non-Muslim perspective, which is worth remembering while reading. While the doomed nature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are covered, there is otherwise not much focus on the impact of 9/11 on citizens of those countries, nor Muslim or Middle Eastern people living in the West. Guantanamo receives a quick mention, but widespread Islamophobia (particularly in France considering this book's origin) does not. While no single book, especially a short comic, can possibly cover 20 years worth of everything 9/11-related, these seem like glaring omissions.
Overall, it seems like the authors couldn't quite decide what they wanted their focus to be. A memoir-style look at one particular French citizen? Vignettes of the experiences of specific people who experienced the event? A historical account of the attacks and their global fallout? While certainly not a bad read, and rather interesting throughout, I think this book could have been a lot stronger with a narrower focus and a commitment to either an intimate, subjective perspective or a better attempt at a wider, universal perspective. My favorite aspect was the short, individual stories of survivors of the attacks, like World Trade Center employees, journalists, and first responders.
TW: 9/11, Islamophobic comments, death, fire, plane crash
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!