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A review by paperbacksandpines
Green Almonds: Letters from Palestine by Anaële Hermans
3.0
I enjoy reading graphic novels, especially non-fiction ones such as memoirs. I downloaded this travelogue in the hopes of learning more about present-day Palestine, its past, its people and culture. Having lived overseas in a Muslim country for a couple of years I was expecting to hear about how Anaële’s expectations differed from her reality or how she experienced cultural shock but none of those things were described.
Anaële was unsettled and depressed by how normalized ruthless killings had become in Palestine society. It was noteworthy to see how different citizens dealt with frequent jailing, civil unrest, forced evacuations, placement camps, withholding of water, their inability to leave the city, and having guns pointed at them by soldiers.
I enjoyed Delphine’s illustrations, especially of Palestine landscapes and cityscapes. My only gripe is how she drew women’s chests. They looked like saggy socks and made me want to gag. Am I the only one who thought this?
However, as I was reading this memoir, I was left with several unanswered questions. I know Anaële went to Palestine for work but she never quite tells the reader what she did for a living (not until the afterward, at least).
I could never quite understand what Anaële did all day. It seemed like she only visited with friends and strangers who became friends for a day only to pass out of her life again.
My biggest gripe about this graphic novel is that this story was told entirely from the point of view of anti-Israeli Palestinians. Anaële had both Muslim and Jewish friends but I only read about how antagonistic the Israelis were. I was hoping to find a more balanced testimony to the history of these peoples and I didn’t find it in this book. I understand that this book wasn’t meant to be a treatise on the history of Palestine but I found myself scarcely more enlightened about the country than before I read this book.
I received a free copy of this book from Netalley (it's not an ARC). You can go there to download a free copy as well.
Anaële was unsettled and depressed by how normalized ruthless killings had become in Palestine society. It was noteworthy to see how different citizens dealt with frequent jailing, civil unrest, forced evacuations, placement camps, withholding of water, their inability to leave the city, and having guns pointed at them by soldiers.
I enjoyed Delphine’s illustrations, especially of Palestine landscapes and cityscapes. My only gripe is how she drew women’s chests. They looked like saggy socks and made me want to gag. Am I the only one who thought this?
However, as I was reading this memoir, I was left with several unanswered questions. I know Anaële went to Palestine for work but she never quite tells the reader what she did for a living (not until the afterward, at least).
Spoiler
I found it weird that she told customs officials that she was planning on volunteering but didn’t have any story prepared to tell officials when she got to customs. If I was going to a place where many Muslim countries will deny you re-entry after visiting, I think I’d have asked co-workers what they said to get through customs first.I could never quite understand what Anaële did all day. It seemed like she only visited with friends and strangers who became friends for a day only to pass out of her life again.
My biggest gripe about this graphic novel is that this story was told entirely from the point of view of anti-Israeli Palestinians. Anaële had both Muslim and Jewish friends but I only read about how antagonistic the Israelis were. I was hoping to find a more balanced testimony to the history of these peoples and I didn’t find it in this book. I understand that this book wasn’t meant to be a treatise on the history of Palestine but I found myself scarcely more enlightened about the country than before I read this book.
I received a free copy of this book from Netalley (it's not an ARC). You can go there to download a free copy as well.