Exit Wounds (Hardcover)

~ Rutu Modan (Author) "So?..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Tel Aviv-–based Modan gives American comics readers a sharp sense of Israeli life in this brilliant and moving graphic novel. The story follows Koby Franco, a young taxi driver and lost soul, as he searches for his missing father, a man who long ago left the family and may or may not have been killed in a suicide bomb attack. Assisting and prodding him is Nuni, a young soldier who was romantically involved with the missing father. Modan takes her characters across Israel and through a variety of different Israeli social strata as the search progresses. Along the way it becomes clear that Koby's father's identity is in flux—he leaves all those that he loves, but touches on everything it means to be an Israeli: family man, soldier, religious practitioner and, perhaps, victim. Modan is a deft and subtle storyteller, and her meditation on Israeli identity and the possibilities of love and trust (between father and son, woman and man) are finely wrought. Her loose, expressive drawing is both tremendously evocative and precise—always enhancing the plot. The stellar combination makes this one of the major graphic novels of 2007. (May)
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From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up–This first graphic novel from an award-winning Israeli illustrator tells the story of Koby Franco, a 20-something cab driver working in Tel Aviv. Franco's everyday life screeches to a halt when he receives a phone call from a soldier claiming his estranged father was killed by a suicide bomber at a train station. He and the young woman enter into a journey that takes them through cemeteries, train stations, and Franco's father's disheveled apartment to determine whether the man is dead or alive. The black-and-white artwork, with its thin lines accented by simple watercolor brushstrokes, combines with precise dialogue to convey subtle and powerful emotions throughout the story. Limited depictions of sex, nudity, and violence both in the story and the pictures make this a work that confronts mature themes in an emotionally complex manner. Franco's journey draws a portrait of modern Israel, showing how people cope with the violence around them as they go about their day-to-day lives. Modan doesn't shy away from criticizing some of the attitudes the state of Israel holds, hinting that these exacerbate some of the problems with the Palestinians. But the core of the story rests on Franco dealing with not only all the anger he feels toward his father, but also with the realization that he still loves him and has much to learn from him. An accomplished and moving book.–Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly (June 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1897299060
• ISBN-13: 978-1897299067
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #440,603 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best GNs of 2007, September 3, 2008

By	Steven E. Higgins "vacuumboy9" (Florissant, MO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Critics from Time to Entertainment Weekly to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have lauded Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds as one of the best (if not THE best) graphic novels of 2007, and had I read it a few weeks earlier, it would surely have ended up on my list of best comics of the year as well. As it is, I can only add my voice to the chorus of those who sing the praises of this book.

Set in present-day Israel, the book's central character is Koby, a young man who lives with his aunt and uncle while trying to scrape by on the meager wages he earns as a cab driver. One day his life takes a strange turn when he meets Numi, a girl who has been dating Koby's estranged father Gabriel. Gabriel has recently disappeared, and Numi believes he might have been a victim of a recent bombing in a bus station. Her request for Koby's help in identifying the body turns into a quest of sorts, as the two work to piece together the clues of what happened to Gabriel.

That description might lead you to believe Modan emphasizes mystery and intrigue, when that couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, Exit Wounds is less about finding out what happened to Gabriel than it is a character piece about two complete strangers linked by their relationships to the same man. From their first meeting, Koby and Numi are at odds, clashing over their different ideas of how to handle the situation, and this conflict between them is a direct result of how they connected, or failed to connect, with Gabriel himself.

Comics such as Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis or the works of Joe Sacco have been designed to give readers an insight into another culture, and from that summary you might be fooled into thinking that this book's purpose is similarly informative. But Exit Wounds is about people in general, not just Israelis. The book is more universal because it doesn't emphasize the details of the plot or setting and instead focuses on the strained relationship between Gabriel and Koby, between a father and son, which anyone can relate to no matter their nationality.

Yet in a way, the book does subtly show the Israeli experience; it treats the setting as a background element that not only drives the plot but also impacts the behavior of the characters. Koby meets Numi while she's serving her mandatory service in the army, and her indecision about what to do next with her life is a driving force for her character. Gabriel's behavior at Koby's bar mitzvah is mentioned as an example of the trouble in their relationship. From the location of the unidentified victim's burial plot to the nonchalance with which several characters treat the news of the bombing itself, every aspect of this story is affected by Israeli life in some way, like Israel is the elephant in the room. No one discusses Israel directly but everyone feels the influence of this country in every aspect of their lives.

Like many other aspects of Exit Wounds, the art too is deceptive. Modan's drawing style is very European, at times reminiscent of Herge's Tintin, and at first glance she tricks the reader into thinking there is very little to the art. People's faces are the simplest arrangements of dots and lines you can imagine, but the beauty of Modan's artwork is how expressive she makes those lines become. The emotions they show are palpable, especially the varied shades of anger that Koby expresses. In one panel he might merely be feeling mild annoyance and in the next outrage, yet the nuances of Modan's art illustrate the differences in his moods perfectly.

Exit Wounds has all the technical elements an excellent comic should contain: art that is minimalist yet incredibly expressive, colors which seem to adjust from muted to vibrant with the tone of the scenes, and panel layouts that guide the reader through the story at a perfect pace without ever feeling the need to overly spell things out. Beyond all that is a great story, a gripping read that holds your interest through a twisting plot, an intriguing setting, and subtle character development. All of those details add up to a truly brilliant graphic novel that deserves all the praise it has received.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it slowly, September 30, 2007

By	M. Salter "cryptomnesiest" (London, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book was a real surprise for me. I had passed it a number of times on the shelf and didn't really know what to do with it. I thought the artwork was 'eh' and the story seemed a little dull. BUT, I started seeing some interesting press on the book, and picked it up after all.
I had to force myself to quit at the end of each chapter because I didn't want the book to be over too quickly! The work and writing are really amazing... the kind of thing where you can tell the artist was truly intent on recognizing a vision. And I think she does so perfectly. Look out for the ocean scene, that's definitely my favorite.
The story is kind of quiet, but still packs a huge punch.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A subtle satire of family life, complicated and satisfying., December 5, 2007

By	otternymph (Sunnyside, Queens, NY) - See all my reviews

I have to disagree with the other reviewers on the artwork. The art in Exit Wounds is subtle, quiet, but it's gorgeous. I was first captured by the colors--mostly muted but with very carefully situated splashes of brightness for a beautiful punch. The color combinations are absolutely evocative of the Mediterranean landscape. The story is gritty and realistic; it unfolds slowly at first, but then snowballs into one revelation after another that are pretty shocking, ironic and hilarious at the same time.

Yet it's no rollercoaster. Exit Wounds is something you kind of sink into, or it steeps in you, like tea. After my first reading, I thought it was a slight story, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I reread it and kept thinking about it. This is a comic that defies comic stereotypes of plot, mindless action and noise. Don't expect that! Expect to be very quietly seduced into the life of a boy who discovers the true identity of his father, the underhanded manipulations of family and unexpectedly finds love and integrity, all revealed in a gritty, urban and rural landscape. It is complicated but satisfying in that Modan does not take shortcuts. Life is complex, and she doesn't wrap it up with a bow.