Reviews

קרוב רחוק by רותו מודן, Rutu Modan

jameshousworth's review against another edition

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3.0

A nice break from the gigantic books I’m currently reading, but it wasn’t anything terribly amazing. It kept my attention and was interesting, but the story was a bit too simple. There’s so much more that could have worked its way into the story, like the conflict with the Palestinians or the reality of living through terrorist threats. But it ended up being just a predictable love story. Eh.

ericfheiman's review against another edition

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3.0

A decent graphic novel that, while not possessing the force of related (and more political) work by Joe Sacco, does finally click by its perplexing and oddly moving conclusion.

aoosterwyk's review against another edition

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4.0

Great graphics and it is always interesting to read a story from another country/culture.

amanda_y8s's review against another edition

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3.0

Interesting story but could not get past the drawings, which felt traced and unintentionally stilted

jenlouisegallant's review against another edition

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2.0

I enjoyed the original storyline, and while the drawing style wasn't my favourite I felt it was definitely portraying people in a realistic manner. However, I'm not very familiar with Tel-Aviv, so I found it hard to connect with the setting that the characters lived in.

maryehavens's review against another edition

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3.0

There's a lot going on in here: suicide bombings are just the backdrop as a son and his father's fling go on a journey to find a father/boyfriend.
I "enjoyed" it in the sense that it was a very interesting, understated story of self-discovery for the two main characters. There's even a nice little romance on the way. The violence as backdrop is interesting and casts a cloud over all the events. I see a bit of a similarity in current pandemic living with these characters who have accepted a life with random violence.
I've already forgotten the main character's name but this is one of those stories where I wish that character well. Numi, too :) They deserve better.

saidtheraina's review against another edition

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3.0

A taxi driver in Tel Aviv is confronted with a mystery involving the potential death of his estranged father. In the process he gets to know a young woman who is the daughter of wealth.

Modan's illustrations are crisp, and clean, with bright, stark color work. The characters are well fleshed out and absolutely imperfect. In some ways the story feels inevitable. In other ways it takes some unexpected turns. The character of the father comes to life in a somewhat surprising way.

It didn't seize my soul, but I enjoyed reading it, and I recognize the merits of this story.

natniss's review against another edition

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3.0

A little too slight without the resolution you might hope for. I wish a certain unpleasant character hadn't been able to turn the head of one of the others so quickly.

bleedinxheartx's review against another edition

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2.5

story was kinda interesting, some developments are quite strange in the story. The ending is pretty weird. The art is cool though 

albert_reads96's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5