Customer Reviews

American Widow

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The events of September 11, 2001 will go down as the day international terror began to rule the United States and an era of battle readiness gained prominence. For Alissa Torres, and those left behind by the deaths of the thousands in the towers, a painful chapter in life began.
On many levels, Torres bares her soul as she wades through the intense emotions surrounding the loss of Eddie Torres, her husband. Pregnant on September 11, 2001, the birth of her child by a dead husband put her into a situation even more intense. Betrayal, loss, anger, loneliness, and desperation ooze through in the sparse diary/dialogue laden narrative. The art by Sungyoon Choi is simple, and does not overwhelm the angst filled text.

Content wise, most Americans will never get a more honest education in the politics of humanitarian aid, whether Red Cross, or government based. The frustration the survivors must have dealt with are intimidating in lowpoint emphasis. The transformation from wife, to widow, to victim, to charity dependent, and finally to independence is compelling.

This will be a controversial book given the subject matter. Agree with Ms Torres or not, you will find yourself wanting to find out `the rest of the story'.

Tim Lasiuta
www.randomhouse.com

American Widow is a graphic novel revealing the story of Alissa Torres who was left widowed at seven months pregnant by the tragedy of 9/11.

The story includes that fateful day up to the one-year anniversary with alternating flash backs including scenes of Eddie at 10-years old, his life before meeting Alissa and their courtship, marriage and pregnancy. In chapter one alone, my arms were covered with goose bumps. 9/11 was just Eddie's second day at his new job with Cantor Fitzgerald. Included is Alissa's deeply frustrating struggle with several assistance agencies and the government plus you see how different friends and family react to her circumstances.

The story exposed shows us just a glimmer of what surviving family members endured that I would have never imagined. When Alissa's private thoughts are shared you get a sense of how difficult and confusing this time in her life was and you can't help but be affected by this deeply personal story.

With time inexorably passing by, and amongst the far too many pointless narratives exploiting 9/11 to nobody's gain, here comes Alissa Torres' extraordinary book. The blessing of truth, unmitigated and at times scathing, as it emerges page after page in American Widow, does more for our collective and individual insight than any increasingly pale, and vain, anniversary celebration. And the splendid drawings make this book highly recommendable for any curious and intelligent child and for all New Yorkers, really.

I was disappointed with this novel. I agreed with a previous reviewer that there are important gaps in the information. Why was Torres mad at her husband before he died? Why did she lose her job? How much money did she receive? The illustrations are wonderful, but I felt like it was poorly edited.

Beyond this, I was disppointed with Torres' entirely negative perspective on the events. I understand (though I'm sure not fully) how upsetting her husband's death must have been, but were there no positive effects? She has a new baby and not once makes mention of the joy he may be giving her. She is angry at every one who is trying to help her-- the psychologists, the Red Cross, FEMA, her family. She is angry at her husband. While all this would be understandable for a period of time, I had hoped she would gain some perspective and find gratitude for something. After the end of the book, she thanks a long list of people. Why is none of their help portrayed in the book?

Many people found strength and love in the aftermath of 9/11. I had hoped when I picked this up that it would be hopeful in spite of the sadness. I, too, lost my compassion for her after a certain point in the book.

Alissa and Eddie shared not just an American love story, but a New York one, a story that didn't receive the happy ending it deserved. They met in a downtown club, and as they left to take a walk and get to know each other better, they emerged into the shadow of the World Trade Center. At least this is how Alissa remembers it in the pages of American Widow, an emotionally wrenching but never sentimental work that manages to whittle this epic tragedy down to the intensely personal.

Alissa and her new beau, Luis Eduardo "Eddie" Torres, enjoyed a whirlwind romance. They met in August 1998, just a week before Eddie was scheduled to face a possible deportation back to Colombia if his work visa expired. He stayed, and Alissa stayed with him. Seven months later they were married.

In September 2001, Alissa was seven months pregnant and Eddie was unemployed. His desperate search for work brought him to Cantor Fitzgerald, who hired him to start on September 10th in their offices in the World Trade Center. The next day, he died along with all the other employees in the office that day.

American Widow doesn't wallow in self-pity, but it does clearly evoke the emotions --- still so raw --- that we all felt seven years ago. Alissa Torres reportedly decided to tell her own 9/11 story in graphic novel form after she remarked to a friend that all the pitfalls she faced in dealing with its aftermath made her think that her life was like a comic book. Perhaps, although it can definitely be said that the medium lends itself awfully well to the story she is telling. In a way, this blending of unadulterated passionate feelings, coupled with cold hard facts, is perfect for the graphic medium. Torres and her artist, Sungyoon Choi, use it to their advantage, mixing real events with imagination and jumbling the timeline in a way that drives the story home even more.

With sheer frustration, we follow Alissa as she attempts not only to navigate the final days of her pregnancy but also to sort through the incredible volume of paperwork, bureaucracy and pigheadedness that followed 9/11. With a media chomping at the bit to show the personal tragedy of pregnant widows, Alissa and others similar to her draw attention, but the outpouring of support lasts only so long. Months later, with no money coming in and extensive bills racking up, frustrations mount and sympathy has seemingly dissipated, to be replaced by accusations of greed and celebrity-seeking.

It's a sad turn of events, and watching it all unfold from the relative safety of being seven years removed from that day makes it somewhat surreal to witness. We sense Alissa's ongoing frustration and feel it firsthand. We ache for what she lost (she never loses focus of the love story at the heart of this book). We mourn, and we feel bad for the child that will never know his father. We feel lost and strive desperately for answers in the text. Some answers come. Some don't. That's the legacy of 9/11. Alissa Torres probably realizes that as well as anyone.

-- John Hogan

This is a biographical graphic novel in the tradition of "Maus" or "Fun Home", with flashbacks intercut into the narrative. It's an interesting book because the author tells us both too much and not enough. There are things that you want to know, because to know them would allow you to sort your emotions about her experience into more easily labeled boxes. It's too much, in a sense, because aspects of the story (which I won't spoil) may make it too easy to sort it into boxes. It's a bit contradictory, I know, but what about 9/11 is ever easy?

One of the most powerful aspects of American Widow is how the story of 9/11 changes around her, while her circumstance has not changed at all. She wakes up a widow, and she goes to sleep a widow. In the hours between the public has their own needs, their own opinions, their own exploitative desires. She just has a husband to bury. The common perception that aid flowed freely to help the victims of 9/11 due to the generosity of the American people is a bit too good to be true. Where large sums of money go, so go people invested in that money. 9/11 was no different. American Widow details the maze set up for those who lost loved ones, a maze ironically easier to navigate if you weren't lost in grief.

The premise of AMERICAN WIDOW is gripping; a woman loses her husband on 9/11, which is also the second day of his new job. To make matters worse she's about to give birth to their first child.

This is a social issue that became a hot topic in the USA after 9/11. There were now thousands of families whose chief breadwinner was suddenly gone. We all saw the outpouring of sympathy, and more importantly, emergency cash from government and caring citizens. But in this book, Torres has to navigate beaurocracies, mean self-righteous therapists, and mean, uncarring administrators. I get the feeling that much of the cash allocated for the victims and their families didn't wind up in their hands, but in the hands of administrators.

Although the book is generally good, it falls short of depth. There isn't enough info on her husband's life or on their relationship. There's isn't much information on the narrator either. What kind of work did she do before? What about her family? How did her Jewish-American relatives feel about the Colombian she married? What happened in the years after?

I can understand this woman's reluctance to divulge personal information, but the information is lacking and it's an unexciting read.

I happened to come across this book at a bookstore not too long ago. I opened it out of curiousity, and ended up reading it entirely in one sitting.
The subject of the book was very emotionally powerful for me, the story of a 8 month pregnant women whose husband is killed in the WTC on 9/11 and the ensuing struggle to cope with the tremendous loss despite the ongoing, stubborn everyday life that the world brings. Mixed in with the life story of her husband, it is a saddening yet powerfully revealing read.
The drawing and art of the novel are beautiful and extremely well done.
I am slightly amazed this book hasn't gotten more attention, which it is well deserving of.
I clearly remember the emotions of the actual day seven years ago. The ensuing turmoil of political situations over the years to now have been only too clear. But reading this marked the very first time tears have been brought to my eyes.

Wow. What an amazing book this is. It really opened my eyes. I loved that this book was from the perspective of someone who actually lived this. It was so real. I felt every emotion in this book as I was reading it. My class just skyped with Alissa Torres and I was able to relate my feelings about certain situations with her views. It really was great to see her (almost) face-to-face. Just one question...Alissa, when will you publish another book?! I can't wait until that day comes.

I find it hard to believe that no other reader noticed that the book is missing some words/lines here and there. There were at least 2 instances where I think the word balloon was too small and words were cut off. I found it disconcerting, along with the illogical and confused time line of the story. And I'm still wondering why Alissa was angry with her husband on the day he died. What did he do?? Of course, I am sad for her and her troubles with the Red Cross, etc. but I thought the book was poorly edited and that some of the illustrations made no sense at all.