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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Horror, December 25, 2006
This review is from: Deogratias, A Tale of Rwanda (Paperback)
Originally published in Stassen's native Belgium in 2000, this graphic novel takes on the 1994 Rwandan genocide and does a credible job of bringing the horror of that dark stain on recent history to the page. Alternating between the time of the genocide and a time about five years after it, the story follows a young Hutu teenager named Deogratias. Prior to the massacre, we see he is a normal boy trying to get into the pants of two pretty Tutsi sisters. However, in the aftermath of the genocide, he has been reduced to a homeless, ragtag lunatic with only moments of lucidity, who tries to keep horrible memories at bay with the aid of the local banana beer (urwagwa). Those familiar with the kinds of atrocities perpetrated in genocides or civil wars won't be particularly surprised at the final revelation as to what rendered him insane -- nonetheless, it's grim and powerful stuff. There's also a subplot involving a French tourist who served in the French army in Rwanda during the genocide. This exists mainly to highlight the French complicity in allowing the genocide to unfold -- albeit guilt that is only marginally greater than that of other Western powers. What happened in Rwanda serves to point out the emptiness of slogans such as "Never Forget", and while it has been covered by many excellent non-fiction books and films, Stassen is to be commended for bringing the horrific story to another medium. This is rough material, definitely not for kids, although the translator's introduction does a nice job of providing enough background for one to use it in a high school history or ethics class.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An emotionally harrowing tale, May 15, 2006
This review is from: Deogratias, A Tale of Rwanda (Paperback)
Deogratias is an emotionally harrowing tale of the Rwandan genocide in the mid-90s, told from the perspective of the titular Hutu, and is about as far from a children's book as you can get.*
Leading off with a brief but informative essay about the horrific genocide of nearly one million Tutsi, Rwanda's minority ethnic group, by the Hutus, the majority, while the superpowers of the world stood by and effectively did nothing, translator Alexis Siegel puts the events into historical context and provides a sturdy foundation for J.P. Stassen's gut-wrenching tale. Deogratias is a teenage boy with a teenaged boy's interests, amongst them a fondness for Tutsi girls and Urwagwa (a local banana beer), but when we first meet him, he's a disheveled drifter who's been pushed to the edge of madness by what he's seen and experienced. Stassen takes a risk with the unusual structure of his story, eschewing a linear narrative in favor of switching back-and-forth in time, before and after the massacres, with the only visual cue being the condition of Deogratias' white clothing. As a result, it's not immediately clear where the story is going or what's actually happened that changed him from a happy-go-lucky teen to a delusional drifter who thirsts for Urwagwa and sometimes imagines he's a dog. While the non-linear structure is confusing at times (a second reading is almost mandatory to fully appreciate it), when it all starts to come together towards the end, it offers the kind of slow reveal gut-punch that sticks with you for days.
Stassen's visual storytelling is especially strong throughout, and while he avoids focusing on the actual massacres themselves, the couple of key graphic moments he does show will be seared into your brain and effectively punctuate Deogratias' madness. Beyond those two moments, though, it is his expressive faces and coloring that brings each of his characters to life, from the innocence and determination of Apollinaria and Benina, the Tutsi sisters whose lives are central to Deogratias' fate, to the culpability of fellow missionaries, Brothers Stanislas and Philip, whose hands are as covered in blood as those of the leaders of the countries who ignored what was happening in Rwanda.
Deogratias proves that graphic novels do not have to simply be escapist entertainment, joining the likes of Maus, Palestine and Persepolis as representatives of more than just great graphic novels, but also as powerful, thought-provoking literature.
* Presumably because Deogratias' publisher, First Second, is an imprint of Henry Holt's Roaring Brook Press children's division, Amazon has it improperly categorized, IMO, in two different sub-sections of their Children's Books section. This is heavy material for anyone under the age of 13.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A STORY THAT WILL HAUNT THE READER, July 9, 2006
This review is from: Deogratias, A Tale of Rwanda (Paperback)
Over the years when I've had to defend the medium of comics to my less illuminated friends and co-workers I've been able to point to many examples of works that rise above the mire of the usual. Things like "The Watchmen", "Bone", "Love and Rockets" and others. I will now add "Deogratias" to this distinguished group. The book is the product of Belgium writer/artist J.P. Stassen. The book is told against the backdrop of the brutal ethnic cleansing that took place in Rwanda in the early 90's as the majority Hutu savagely butchered some 800,000 of the minority Tutsi ethnic group as the world looked on and did nothing.
Stassen first provides a brief, but very necessary history lesson about the events that led up the genocide and what has happened after. Stassen now resides in Rwanda with his family. The book if required reading if only for Stassen's opening monologue and history lesson. The story itself moves back and forth in time with the lead title character Deogratias. These shifts in time come with no warning or captions and at first are a little dizzying but you'll soon have it figured out. Deogratias in present time is a pathetic creature, wearing ratty clothing, and addicted to Urwagwa or banana beer. He also seems to be quite mad as other villagers ask him if he is "still a dog?" This will become significant later in the story. We first seem him interacting with a French tourist who was in the military back during the genocide. This character is meant as a representative of the French government who if they didn't actually back the horrors that took place, they turned their back as they went on.
As we move back in time we learn about the past of Deogratias, a Hutu, and others of his village. We see him in school as even the teachers spew hate against the Tutsi. Deogratias is in love with A Tutsi girl named Benina but her mother wants Benina to have nothing to do with him. The radio broadcasts are filled with hateful tirades against the Tutsi who they refer to as cockroaches. Deogratias is expected to take up arms with his Hutu brothers but all he can do is think of saving Benina and her family. Ultimately he will pay for this with his very sanity.
Deogratias is a powerful, tragic, horrifying story. Made all that much more terrible because of the real-life events and even worse by the world's complete lack of action to stop the violence. Was it because this was black on black racism? Was it because there were no strategic locations or oil fields as stake? Whatever the case, This is a story that will haunt the reader for a long time.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
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