nick_jenkins's review
4.0
Pekar, who died while this book was in production, is more pretext than narrator here, but Waldman's artwork is fantastic. Not particularly profound as an analysis of the debate, it is nevertheless a thorough testament to the confusion and frustration it causes among Jews.
jcschlotfelt2313's review
3.0
Musical Pairing(s): Raymond Scott - Suite for Violin and Piano; Leo Kottke - My Feet are Smiling; Jean-Michelle Blais - Il
Harvey Pekar's posthumous account of the Jewish trials throughout history and his personal feelings about religion, nationalism, and Zionism is a tricky book to review. The book is largely a Cliff's Notes for Jewish history, but it's also semi-polemical (though I found it pretty tame). Ultimately, it's very personal and, like what little I've read of Pekar before, demands to be taken for what it is, not for what it could be or you hoped it would become.
Regardless of your feelings, the book is gorgeously rendered by JT Waldman who draws inspiration from throughout history (Islamic, Byzantine, as well as Nazi and Soviet propaganda) to match the chronicles and oppressors of the Jewish people. These beautifully detailed pages are dedicated to Pekar's well-studied version of events. For someone who really only had a basic grasp on some of the high points, this was incredibly informative and fairly nuanced for a quick overview (book is only 170-odd pages). Having a more full version of Jewish history aside, the real meat and potatoes of this book is about Harvey, his relationship with his ancestry, his religion, and it's also a quiet little love note to his home town of Cleveland.
These highlights take place in present day Cleveland as the author and artist discuss what the book will be about and argue religion (both are Jews) while getting a tour of Harvey's Cleveland: a used book warehouse, an Italian deli, and the public library branch near his home. The book becomes as much about how Cleveland has shaped him and his relationship to Judaism and Israel as much as it about the plight and history of his people.
In between what most would consider the most dramatic moments (the various occupiers and oppressors of the Jews) is where the real story is. It's tempting to wish that there was more between Waldman and Pekar here, however, Pekar is adamant in the book that you can't have a discussion about Israel today if you don't know how it came to be. He's intractable as portrayed in the book, and since he died before he and Waldman even fully finalized the book, it seems best to honor his spirit, and vision--which never altered events for slightly more entertainment value.
Harvey Pekar's posthumous account of the Jewish trials throughout history and his personal feelings about religion, nationalism, and Zionism is a tricky book to review. The book is largely a Cliff's Notes for Jewish history, but it's also semi-polemical (though I found it pretty tame). Ultimately, it's very personal and, like what little I've read of Pekar before, demands to be taken for what it is, not for what it could be or you hoped it would become.
Regardless of your feelings, the book is gorgeously rendered by JT Waldman who draws inspiration from throughout history (Islamic, Byzantine, as well as Nazi and Soviet propaganda) to match the chronicles and oppressors of the Jewish people. These beautifully detailed pages are dedicated to Pekar's well-studied version of events. For someone who really only had a basic grasp on some of the high points, this was incredibly informative and fairly nuanced for a quick overview (book is only 170-odd pages). Having a more full version of Jewish history aside, the real meat and potatoes of this book is about Harvey, his relationship with his ancestry, his religion, and it's also a quiet little love note to his home town of Cleveland.
These highlights take place in present day Cleveland as the author and artist discuss what the book will be about and argue religion (both are Jews) while getting a tour of Harvey's Cleveland: a used book warehouse, an Italian deli, and the public library branch near his home. The book becomes as much about how Cleveland has shaped him and his relationship to Judaism and Israel as much as it about the plight and history of his people.
In between what most would consider the most dramatic moments (the various occupiers and oppressors of the Jews) is where the real story is. It's tempting to wish that there was more between Waldman and Pekar here, however, Pekar is adamant in the book that you can't have a discussion about Israel today if you don't know how it came to be. He's intractable as portrayed in the book, and since he died before he and Waldman even fully finalized the book, it seems best to honor his spirit, and vision--which never altered events for slightly more entertainment value.
ponders's review against another edition
4.0
Just a note that I am not rating this a 4 because of the content. The ideas provided by Harvey are really interesting, and the history, while not always as robust as I might have hoped, was a decent primer. I would like to have heard more about Harvey's change of mind- that seemed like it was going to be the crux of the book, but more time was spent on the history, rather than with Harvey.
However, the images in this book were so hard to read. There were entire pages where I have to cover up the pages to read the text because there was so much going on in the design of the pages and the details, very little of which actually meaningfully contributed to the ideas or narrative presented. I also feel like it was a very strange choice to frame the story as the day they went to a book store and a library and talked about making this book together. Feels a bit like a cop-out.
tldr: Great ideas. Pretty good history. Weird frame. Awful visuals.
However, the images in this book were so hard to read. There were entire pages where I have to cover up the pages to read the text because there was so much going on in the design of the pages and the details, very little of which actually meaningfully contributed to the ideas or narrative presented. I also feel like it was a very strange choice to frame the story as the day they went to a book store and a library and talked about making this book together. Feels a bit like a cop-out.
tldr: Great ideas. Pretty good history. Weird frame. Awful visuals.
kfreedman's review
A graphic novel, cool! Explores the history of Israel and Jews as they move in and out of the Middle East and this movement’s relationship with current-day policy and attitudes.
nashwa017's review
4.0
So this book stands at a solid four star rating for me.
It was like revisiting my modern history lessons in University; which were some of my favourite courses.
This book follows the renowned artist Harvey Pekar and his views towards the modern day Israel and the god given claim to land. It was an interesting take since Pekar never visited Israel himself. Growing up with staunch Zionist parents, the book discusses the shifts in his own beliefs and give analytical and insightful arguments about the current day state of Israel. It’s packed with information and history so I will be going through it again.
It was like revisiting my modern history lessons in University; which were some of my favourite courses.
This book follows the renowned artist Harvey Pekar and his views towards the modern day Israel and the god given claim to land. It was an interesting take since Pekar never visited Israel himself. Growing up with staunch Zionist parents, the book discusses the shifts in his own beliefs and give analytical and insightful arguments about the current day state of Israel. It’s packed with information and history so I will be going through it again.
in2reading's review
3.0
This book was Harvey Pekar's last. It documents his feelings about Israel. As his wife states in the epilogue, he was proudly Jewish but not nationalistic. I was very taken with the illustrations and contributions of JT Waldman. The book probably gave me more Jewish history that I could absorb, but the scenes with Harvey always shine. I will miss his perspective on the world.
azure_mood's review
3.0
Nice introduction to the nature and history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for novices, with the added bonus of Harvey Pekar's dry/realist humor.
venerablemonster's review
4.0
One part history lesson, one part one man's changing perspective on Israel. An interesting read.
nnebeluk's review
4.0
I'm not a big fan of Pekar but this book is superb. It leads us through the history of the zionist state and also Harvey's relation to it. The artwork is fantastic and the story is approachable. I have a few quibbles with his characterizations of early Eastern European history but overall it's a solid, informative, important read. Great use of comics as a medium full of potential