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Summary: Buy This Book For Everyone You Know
Review: Joe Sacco has done mankind a service by illuminating one of the great continuing tragedies of our time, the brutal Israeli occupation of over 3 million Palestinians. We are spoon fed a nauseating stream of documentaries, movies, books, etc. about the Holocaust. I agree that Holocaust education is important, but the monumental place it has assumed eclipses many other chapters of human oppression and suffering around the world. The brutal Israeli occupation of the Palestninian people is one such place. Joe Sacco has done in the form of a graphic novel what the mainstream American media won't (or can't) do: he has put a human face on what lies beyond the Israeli side of the infamous 'greenline'. Palestnians wonder the frames of each picture like ghosts deformed by the unimaginable cruelty of the occupying Israeli forces. Yet in the end, Sacco posits these tortured souls in a very living and human face. A face that the reader can and is encouraged to empathize with. The central theme of the book is that Israeli occupation is no longer about self-defense, it has transformed into a manifestation of man's inhumanity to his fellow man and the Palestnian ability to maintain their humanity and love for life as the victim of so much inhumanity.
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Summary: Unusual and convincing with only minor flaws
Review: Joe Sacco's "Palestine" addresses, in my opinion, one of the most important issues within the conflict with Israel. Palestinian terrorists are brutal, inhumane and ineffective. But, and this is a MAJOR but, what do you do about the plight of the Palestinian people? How can you defend what they experience day in and day out? Joe Sacco's drawings and writing offer us a glimpse of what these people have had to put up with. I do have one major issue with this book. Joe Sacco lets Palestinian/Muslim sexism off the hook. Yes, he tries to address the issue, but never seems to nail any central issue. In one series of panels he challenges a man about the veiling of women and how men should alter their behavior instead of the women. There's no response from the man he speaks to and Sacco drops the issue almost entirely. He does have several pages illustrating his discussions with women, but again, he throws softball questions and remarks. There are a lot of books on the Middle East in print right now. Joe Sacco's book is, however, a rarity. I strongly recommend it simply because it's so unusual. Plus, it shows, in human terms, why there's so much rage on the Palestinian side. For those who might be interested in this theme, I also strongly recommend "My Enemy, My Self" by Yoram Binur, a book written by an Israeli who goes undercover disguised as a Palestinian to see first hand what they experience.
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Summary: A Unique Trip through Palestinian Eyes
Review: What makes this work valuable is the focus on the views of the Palestinian without even attempting to explain the history and events that lead to their plight. Sacco just suspends the why's. What we see is a dark, depressed and oppressed people who unfortunately harbour a growing hatred and resentment towards the Israelis. It does not leave you hopeful for a peaceful solution anytime soon. It is biased, but does not pretend to be anything else. It is also enlightening. The comic style makes it an easy way to get a picture of the Palestinian Viewpoint; it turns a narrative into a picture. For those of us in the west looking for another viewpoint it is worthwhile.
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Summary: The Palestinian side of the story is told
Review: Bravo Joe Sacco. This book is one of the very very rare instances in which the Palestinian side of the story is told. Unfortunately a drop in the ocean as compared to the 50+ years of Israeli propaganda and revisionist history (not to mention its on going brutal & illegal occupation). If this changes the opinion of a hand full of people, Joe can raise his head high. It is fairly unique piece of work.
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Summary: You will not be disappointed, buy it
Review: I am not a big fan of comic books, so this book was a stretch for me. However after seeing some of the art online, I was impressed, and you will be too. Despite the fact that it's in a comic book style, the faces and landscape are actually drawn with both insight and accuracy. It's like looking through someone's brain. Sacco's writing style is also like this, leading you through his thought processes while at the same time rendering very realistic 'recordings' of the people he spoke with. Journalism and art mix perfectly in this amazing book. Buy it and pass it on, just about anyone will be both mentally engaged and artistically satisfied.
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Summary: This book is educational
Review: My intent in reading this book was to try and learn what motivates the Palestinian people to hate Israel and also, people like myself who are Jewish. This is a one sided book and that was exactly what I was looking for. To truly research a subject as complex as Israel and the Palestinians, one must perform a synoptical reading of many books to get closer to the "truth". This book provided for me a deeper understanding as to why I am hated by so many Palestinians. I recommend this book for all Jews and Palestinians who are interested in learning about themselves and others. There are many disturbing facts mentioned in this book which I intend to research the validity of. Whether these are accurate facts or not, this book will blantantly allow anyone to understand why Israel and Jews are hated by many Palestinians.
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Summary: A milestone in comicbookdom..
Review: Totally eye-opening. Read it, it will change your opinion on whats going on over there almost immediately. It is very similar to Maus, if you've ever read that. You probably have. I think everyone and their mother has read Maus at some point. Sacco is truely one of the greats. May he continue to travel the world and bring us these stories.
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Summary: Sacco masterfully blends journalism with comic storytelling
Review: I am not nearly knowledgeable enough to judge Sacco's grasp of the overall political situation in the Middle East; however, PALESTINE is not a book about overall situations. It's a series of vignettes and snapshots of individual lives in the occupied territories, and Sacco tells those stories very well. He is clearly sympathetic to the Palestinians, but even though he portrays them as victims, he also depicts their anger, their violence, their conflicts with each other . . . all the things that make them real people, and all the things that, frankly, can lead one into despair over the prospects for anything but war and conflict in the region for a long time to come. Sacco is a skilled journalist, getting his interview subjects to talk about their lives and experiences in detail. As a comic artist, he brings those stories to life. His people often seem to have larger-than-life, exaggerated features -- all the better to convey emotion -- while he draws the world they live in in great detail. The contrast of the combination works very well. Throughout the story, Sacco provides a running narration of his own thoughts as he moves from place to place chasing the story, while also filling in historical details where he feels it necessary. The narration gives an added dimension to the book, since it also becomes a story of Sacco's adjustments to conditions in the territories and his own mixed feelings about his ability to do anything about them -- feelings that readers will likely share when they finish reading this book.
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Summary: Unique and a first of its' kind.
Review: This book on Palestine from Joe Sacco, is an incredibly powerful medium to relay the events in the occupied territories, in a style that everyone can understand. Unlike most other books written on the topic -in dry and boring terms that seem to only elicit the interest of historians or those involved in the conflict in one way or another- this book captivates the reader in its spell, from cover to end.
Sacco does an amazing job at covering a wide range of issues that represent life under occupation, in addition to delving slightly into the history behind it to give one a comprehensive view. In his coverage, he keenly pays attention to the smallest of details, from capturing the emotions on one's face, to the markings on a wall in a refugee camp.
Throughout it all, he masterfully provokes a wide range of emotions in the reader. What comes through above all however, is the brutal honesty that Sacco strikes his readers with, in conveying his own fears and sarcasm simultaneously.
It is no wonder therefore, that the nine-issue comic series this book collected under one cover, won a 1996 American Book Award.
For anyone who was ever curious about the situation in Palestine today, or wanted to know more about the Israeli occupation and why the Middle East is such a boiling point, this book is a must read.
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Summary: Every American should be required to read this book
Review: This book gives the reader a vivid and unflinching look at life under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza during the early 90's. Sacco has a great sense of humor and is not only a great graphic artist but also a great journalist. That the "Israeli viewpoint" is not presented here is not a valid criticism--anyone in the US with a TV or who reads a newspaper has already been inundated with that viewpoint. I urge anyone who is interested in the conflict to read this book.
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