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on August 3, 2015
great writer, i enjoyed the illustrations. joe sacco presents both sides of the conflict really well. i read this for a political science class and it is one of my favorite books i've read for college so far.
on October 6, 2008
Joe Sacco is as good an artist as anyone drawing graphic novels today. What sets him apart is that his novels are not novels: they're journalism, accounts of his travels into grim and unhappy places. Elsewhere he has visited war zones. Here he visits Palestinian refugee camps. He records a series of Palestinians' points of view, doing what he can to portray what they tell him, and portraying what he sees himself.
The book has to work against a perpetual weight of monotony, which Sacco describes as one of the most depressing qualities of life in the camps. As a spectator who can go in and out, he is aware of his special status, but in both text and drawing he comes forth as a modest guy who just happens to draw exceedingly well, and who, lucky for us, has the courage to put himself in places most of us would dread to enter.
Sacco is especially good at drawing scenes. He is master of his medium, using panels of varying sizes to keep the eye moving, or to arrest it with a telling detail or complex panorama. But even better than that, he is marvelous at making human connections, and presenting them with a matter-of-factness that persuades as deeply as any drama can. The book pulsates with all kinds of feeling: fear, hope, anger, suspicion, sorrow, friendship, and more than a little love.
A welcome feature of this edition is its description of Sacco's working methods, particularly his use of photographs.
The book has to work against a perpetual weight of monotony, which Sacco describes as one of the most depressing qualities of life in the camps. As a spectator who can go in and out, he is aware of his special status, but in both text and drawing he comes forth as a modest guy who just happens to draw exceedingly well, and who, lucky for us, has the courage to put himself in places most of us would dread to enter.
Sacco is especially good at drawing scenes. He is master of his medium, using panels of varying sizes to keep the eye moving, or to arrest it with a telling detail or complex panorama. But even better than that, he is marvelous at making human connections, and presenting them with a matter-of-factness that persuades as deeply as any drama can. The book pulsates with all kinds of feeling: fear, hope, anger, suspicion, sorrow, friendship, and more than a little love.
A welcome feature of this edition is its description of Sacco's working methods, particularly his use of photographs.
on June 1, 2017
Great graphic novel. Emotional, honest, beautiful artwork.
on March 21, 2010
I'm not a big fan of comic books, but I am extremely interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, so I bought this book based on that. I was not at all disappointed. The Palestinian experience is shown first hand through Sacco's interactions with them. The way they live their lives is heartbreaking, especially if you live in a free country like the U.S. The Palestinian people's resilience shines through at times, but unfortunately injustice and humiliation command most of the pages. Anyone with a respect for human rights should read this amazing book, whether you are Pro-Palestinian or Pro-Israeli.
on October 15, 2015
Extraordinarily well written! This book delves into many sides of the multi-faceted issues at play in the middle east from a first person orientation. Joe Sacco succeeds at bringing the very important issues to the forefront in a manner that makes them easy to comprehend.
on March 10, 2010
I got to know Joe Sacco's work only lately, though I know the subject personally from birth. I was born in Israel and grew up there, in a family that has always fought for a bi-national state. even as a child I was participating in demos for equal rights, and After 1967, aged only 12, i was already active in anti-occupation movements. About 6 years ago i left Israel feeling betrayed by my country, as well as by my Palestinian friends who have turned away from a peaceful/political solution in favor of armed struggle which we all know they will loose. Reading Joe Sacco's books I found nothing new to me as to facts, but something was missing. I needed to find a trace of an effort to give a more balanced description and at least an attempt to go beyond the stories related to him. No trace of doubt (and we know that stories become more colorful with time, and we also know of a possibility of lying- As in the A-Durra affair where the Israeli army was accused of killing a little boy in the Gaza strip, and later it was proved that the boy is still alive and the whole affair was a propaganda story organized by Palestinians).... I feel that Sacco was innocently doing a a bad job that makes it hard for people like me to accept his message. For me, even if you filter the stories and accept only 10%, it is terrible. I Think I have enough of lies, from both sides. I left Israel because I couldn't go on living with the lies the system has fed me with, but I don't prefer the lies of the occupied Palestinians either. Would Joe Sacco understand that There are victims on both sides, victims of their own politicians mainly( but not only), and victimizers are too on both sides, people greedy for power and money who send others to die for their own personal causes disguised as national ones.
on October 11, 2016
It was a great deal as well as the book. The seller was great and did everything as described
on April 30, 2013
For so long, I have read accounts and narrations about the conflict in Palestine, about how the refugees are treated, about how not all Israeli's want to fight, about how the Palestinian leadership is toothless and does not necessarily speak to the will of its people. Reading well written stories and non fiction, however, does not allow me to visualize the expressions, the demeanor, the angst, the humanity behind the stories. Joe Sacco's Palestine makes sure that I never ever complain about my lack of a third eye. His drawings have captured all the human emotions that the ordinary Palestinian goes through. The despair, the anger, the arrogance that they will one day prevail .... its all depicted clearly and in a way that makes you feel as if you are in the pages of the book, living and breathing Joe's life.
A well crafted, beautifully drawn and hauntingly real book. A must read for all graphic novel lovers.
*Please note that by way of this review, I am not debating the right or wrong of the conflict. I am only talking about the sense of 'being there' that Joe has managed to capture*
A well crafted, beautifully drawn and hauntingly real book. A must read for all graphic novel lovers.
*Please note that by way of this review, I am not debating the right or wrong of the conflict. I am only talking about the sense of 'being there' that Joe has managed to capture*
on August 19, 2015
Joe Sacco at his best digging where others fear to go or investigate. Brings out the real characters behind the headlines.
