REVIEW: How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, by Sarah Glidden

How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, by Sarah Glidden. Published 2010 by Vertigo/DC Comics. Graphica. Nonfiction.

How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less is a graphic memoir by writer and artist Sarah Glidden, about her Birthright trip to Israel as a younger woman. Birthright is an organization dedicated to encouraging a connection between Diaspora Jews and Israel by sponsoring trips to the Holy Land for young people. The idea is to give young people a first-hand experience of Israeli life to help them develop a personal relationship with the country and a sense of belonging there. It's also the story of how one of these young people let down her guard, learned to see past her own cynicism and came back convinced only of how much she didn't know.

Sarah gets on the plane for Israel convinced that she will be fed nonstop pro-Israeli propaganda for the duration of her trip, and she takes every opportunity to poke holes in the things her guides tell her. Rather than feel close to Israel, she seems to be alienated and confused by the contradictory information coming in. At the same time, she meets Jews from lots of different backgrounds who do feel grounded by the trip and delight in being in a Jewish environment for maybe the first time in their lives. She meets enthusiastic Zionist supporters, gets a taste of some Eurocentric discrimination and more. In short, she learns a lot.

How to Understand Israel is a story about someone coming to understand herself better and I think it would be a great book for readers who have either asked themselves a lot of questions about this mercurial country or no questions at all. The visual style is attractive but I didn't find it extraordinary or anything; there's not a lot of variation in the panels or design and the story is mainly told through the dialogue and action. Nonetheless it's a worthwhile book and a story guaranteed to stay with you and make you think.

Rating: BACKLIST

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.

Graphic Novel Monday: A Contract with God, by Will Eisner

A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories, by Will Eisner. Published 2000 by DC Comics. Literary Fiction.

As one of the founders of the comic book form, Will Eisner is deserving of attention from anyone even marginally interested in comics, graphic novels or any form of popular sequential art. A Contract with God, originally published in 1978, is a very important work in the form.

The book is made up of four short stories, all set in the same New York tenement building in the early 20th century. Characters include housewives and working stiffs, kids and parents, ambitious upstarts and lonely basement dwellers. Their stories are raw, raunchy and presented unvarnished. Eisner writes about his philosophy of realism:

...I tried to adhere to a rule of realism which requires that caricature or exaggeration accept the limitations of actuality...I set aside two basic constrictions that so often inhibit the medium- space and format. Accordingly, each story was written without regard to space and each was allowed t develoop its format from itself; that is, to evolve from the narration...in many cases, an entire page is set out as a panel. The text and the balloons are interlocked with the art. I see all as threads of a single fabric and exploit them as a language. If I have been successful at this, there will be no interruption in the flow of narrative because the picture and the text are so totally dependent on each other as to be inseparable for even a moment.

Eisner's words do a lot to illuminate the apparent chaos on the pages, brimming and bubbling over with energy and vivacity. The characters are unglamorous and real, and his writing is colloquial and rich in vernacular, including the Yiddish slang of his mainly Jewish characters. He creates a vivid tableau of time, place and culture. A Contract with God is comic book for adults covering a range of subjects including religion, sex, adultery and more. A seminal work in the history of comics, it's also essential reading for anyone wanting to get to know the form.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

Graphic Novel Monday: The Quitter, by Harvey Pekar

The Quitter, written by Harvey Pekar and illustrated by Dean Haspiel. Published 2005 by DC Comics. Nonfiction. Memoir.

You may know Harvey Pekar from the hit movie "American Splendor", which came out in 2003 and starred Paul Giamatti as the cantankerous file clerk from Cleveland who writes autobiographical graphic novels illustrated by such luminaries as R. Crumb and Joe Sacco. The Quitter is the story of his childhood and early adulthood, from school and the Navy to adulthood and writing comics.

Pekar grew up in a blue-collar section of Cleveland in the 1940s and 1950s, son of Jewish immigrants from Poland who ran a store and tried to stay true shtetl life while young Harvey just wanted to fit in. Despite being blessed with a near-photographic memory, Harvey struggled in school, got into fights as a way to prove himself. He was bounced out of the navy and worked a series of jobs, all the while nurturing his love of jazz music (and getting paid to write about it) and hanging out with beatniks.
to Polish

The Quitter is illustrated in black and white with chiaroscuro, angular characters and scenery. Haspiel does a nice job creating mood and capturing the look of the 1950s. Pekar's language throughout is raw and honest; he beats himself up and tries to lay bare his flaws, but still comes across as a pretty likable, ordinary guy. If you've seen "American Splendor" you will recognize his voice immediately. Even in print he speaks in his own distinctive cadence- rough around the edges but smart and world-weary yet optimistic. I could almost hear Pekar speaking the lines as I read; his gravelly voice seemed to come right through the pages.

The Quitter is a great book- a very important graphic novel by a very important underground comics writer- but like many, not one for the kids. It's a distinctively grown-up story about growing up, making your mark and coming of age in America. Pekar's life story is fascinating and unique yet ordinary at the same time and his story touches on themes like immigration and finding one's place in the world- things we all can relate to. "Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff," Pekar says. Definitely recommended reading!

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.