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aprilbooksandwine's review against another edition
5.0
Mike's Place: A True Story Of Love, Blues, And Terror In Tel Aviv by Jack Baxter and Joshua Faudem, illustrated by Koren Shadmi appealed to me based on several factors. Read my full review here Link goes live 6/26/2017
etienne02's review against another edition
4.0
Always hard to review a true story telling, even if it's a novel or a graphic novel, and I want to say that I don't review this tragedy or whatever happen to those people, I review the book in itself and only that.
That being said, this book was alright, not perfect, but good enough. First I like the drawing style. I also really like the ambiance that this book set. The characters, the city, everything felt so real and true and this always important and not always well done, and it's even more important when you're telling a true story of course. Where it loose some points is in the rhythm. Some part where good but some just felt a bit too long. The book could have loose a couple of page and it would still have been good, probably even better. I get that at the beginning the author put the emphasis on meeting every person so we get attach and all, but some interview or casual day live part where a bit too much for me. But that is my only minus element. A good book that deserve to be read.
Another editorial point. Keep in mind that this book present one even/tragedy on a very complex conflict, the Israeli-Palestinian one, so please don't get your knowledge on what happen there just based on this book. However which side you think is right, you have the right to your opinion, but get it and assume it from serious read or knowledge on the subject and not just on reading a graphic novel that take place there. This is a very very complex situation that can just be overlook in a book like that.
That being said, this book was alright, not perfect, but good enough. First I like the drawing style. I also really like the ambiance that this book set. The characters, the city, everything felt so real and true and this always important and not always well done, and it's even more important when you're telling a true story of course. Where it loose some points is in the rhythm. Some part where good but some just felt a bit too long. The book could have loose a couple of page and it would still have been good, probably even better. I get that at the beginning the author put the emphasis on meeting every person so we get attach and all, but some interview or casual day live part where a bit too much for me. But that is my only minus element. A good book that deserve to be read.
Another editorial point. Keep in mind that this book present one even/tragedy on a very complex conflict, the Israeli-Palestinian one, so please don't get your knowledge on what happen there just based on this book. However which side you think is right, you have the right to your opinion, but get it and assume it from serious read or knowledge on the subject and not just on reading a graphic novel that take place there. This is a very very complex situation that can just be overlook in a book like that.
crackedspines's review
2.0
meh... i expected better. the illustrations failed to convey the emotions supposedly felt by the characters. the writing was bad. i felt no connection whatsoever towards any character.
blkmymorris's review
2.0
it was just okay. It was trying to replicate a documentary in print rather than do anything interesting with the format. I had a bit of trouble telling the male characters apart.
michaelkerr's review
4.0
3.5 stars. A graphic novel created by documentary film-makers who were shooting a feature on Mike's Place, a bar in Tel Aviv. Their film was intended to show an alternate view of the middle east - one where people can hang out and be themselves without focusing on politics and religion. During the filming a suicide bomber wreaks his mayhem on the bar (which may have been selected due to the attention the place was receiving as a film subject). A recommended non-fiction graphic novel about life in Israel.
cat1122's review
4.0
Based on the true story of the 2003 bombing of Mike's Place in Tel Aviv, this is a story you will want to read. Although some of the details and character names have been changed, the reader, unless an expert scholar of the event will never know until the Epilogue is read. The images are well done and translate feelings that might otherwise go unnoticed with mere words. What I appreciate most about this book is the candid look into people who wish to live normal lives yet are faced with the potential for the unimaginable.
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