Writer and Artist: Zeina Abirached
via Goodreads |
Both the art and the narrative themes are highly reminiscent of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. Unfortunately, Abirached does not have quite the same knack for storytelling. The book is short: 95 pages. That's not such a sin in itself but I didn't feel I had much time to fall in love with either the characters or the setting. Also, too many of her sentences begin with "I remember..." While there is poetic potential in such repetition, the rest of the text does not deliver on such lyrical promise. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn more about Lebanon, particularly during such a volatile time period. But I would have preferred something more substantive.
In short, it's a good book. But Satrapi's work is better.
My son gifted me with Persepolis, and it was stunning. What a way to present horror.
ReplyDeletePersepolis is a must-read. Period.
DeleteI won't go out looking for it, then.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'll check out Persepolis. In the late 80s, when I was in grad school, I had a classmate from Lebanon and he had stories to tell
ReplyDeleteI should have clarified in the post: Persepolis is about Iran rather than Lebanon. Very different countries, I realize, but the presentation style of the books is undeniably similar. But indeed, you should check out Persepolis before you take a look at this one.
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