DNF. Usually comic books suck me in! But this was a drudge.

This book is a really powerful look at the lives of Palestinians during the First Intifada. In some ways the constant stories of economic hardship, military brutality, land takeovers by settlers, and the other indignities of occupation wear down the reader. Joe Sacco also seems to get fatigued by these stories, and in certain ways, it adds great power to the story. As a reader over several hours this dreary repetition weighed on me, as it did on Sacco over his weeks in the West Bank and Gaza. Imagine then the soul-crushing atmosphere that actually produces this for the Palestinians.

There are moments of levity as well though, which shows Sacco's comedic touch given the dour setting.

One episode which landed powerfully was Sacco conversing with two Israeli women on page 263 towards the end of the book. One states, "Sure we have extremists. But you didn't see anyone here shooting Menachem Begin for signing a peace treaty with Egypt." This obviously came out prior to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

The whole situation between Israelis and Palestinians seems so intractable, with both sides constantly exacerbating the grievances through violence and brinkmanship. This book at least provides a bit of empathy and presents a story that is not widely told in the news. 25 years from when things first reported and so little change.

Flippin’ ‘eck, this was good!

liked the content but the format/art not rly my style :/

Great read, especially for someone who knows very little of the Holy Land and early 80-90s history. Sacco conveys great empathy, more than I though could be capable in a graphic novel. This was enlightening as well for people who only know of Palestine through an American-Israeli lens.