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A review by simbass
Tunnels by Rutu Modan
2.0
A fun and very interestingly illustrated story with serious flaws, mostly gross political biases. The author suffers pretty egregiously from some "both-sidesism" regarding Israeli-Palestinian relations, claiming that "Gee, They Both Are Acting Crazy and Reckless and Violent, Huh?". This common argument by Zionist intellectuals would hold a lot more water if it had any basis in reality. The reality is that the Israeli government is enacting a full scale apartheid on the Palestinian people, and any valid claim they have to the land is, frankly, invalidated by the horrific acts carried out on a daily basis to enforce this apartheid and systematic removal. It isn't an even playing field, and it isn't an equally culpable cycle of violence like these arguments claim.
Not to say every work of art has to have their characters spouting out the "politically correct" (what does that even mean anymore?) takes at every opportunity. Just that Modan wrote a political allegory, works meant on some level to persuade, and I will be interpreting it as such. The art is great! The jokes are funny! The plot is compelling! Read it and you can accuse me of being biased the other way! I don't care!
Not to say every work of art has to have their characters spouting out the "politically correct" (what does that even mean anymore?) takes at every opportunity. Just that Modan wrote a political allegory, works meant on some level to persuade, and I will be interpreting it as such. The art is great! The jokes are funny! The plot is compelling! Read it and you can accuse me of being biased the other way! I don't care!