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A review by jbmorgan86
A Chinese Life by Philippe Ôtié, Li Kunwu
2.0
This was a chore. I wanted to really like this book. It’s a graphic novel memoir, a “worm’s eye view” of China from the Cultural Revolution to 2010. It is illustrated with striking, intense black and white illustrations. In ways, it reminds me of Maus.
However, it is nowhere near the quality of Maus. It’s 690 pages of choppy dialogue and surface-level narrative. I learned a few facts about the Cultural Revolution, but I don’t feel like I got to know any of the characters or had any kind of emotional attachment. This alienated feeling increased the further I got into the book. I admit I did some heavy skimming in the last 100 pages.
However, it is nowhere near the quality of Maus. It’s 690 pages of choppy dialogue and surface-level narrative. I learned a few facts about the Cultural Revolution, but I don’t feel like I got to know any of the characters or had any kind of emotional attachment. This alienated feeling increased the further I got into the book. I admit I did some heavy skimming in the last 100 pages.