Graphic Novels

Are you hungry? Really, really hungry? Then "Chicken with Plums" by Marjane Satrapi is the book to read - now! First published in 2004 in France and its English version in 2006, the true-life story takes place in 1958 Tehran and relates the final eight days in the life of Nasser-Ali Khan, cousin of the author and a renowned musician who resolves to die after his wife breaks his cherished violin, known as a “tar” in Iran. There is no need to read other stories by this author to understand and enjoy this book, as it is not part of a series.

As a young man, Nasser-Ali has two dreams - to fall in love and to become a famous musician. He weds Faranguisse in an arranged marriage and they have two children, but there is no love. He does become a famous musician, which brings joy to his life. Faranguisse eventually becomes annoyed and frustrated by Nasser-Ali’s detached attitude and what she perceives as his avoidance of family responsibilities because he’s too wrapped up in his music, so she breaks his violin. This sends Nasser-Ali into a deep depression in which he retreats into his bedroom, determined to let his life fade away. Each night, he has a dream related to some part of his life. Initially, his wife thinks that he will eventually get over his attitude and come to his senses, but when he has not after a few days, she tries to tempt him with his favorite meal - chicken with plums. He refuses it and tells Faranguisse that he will never forgive her for breaking his beloved instrument. On the sixth day of his seclusion, he dreams that he encounters the Angel of Death and tells this presence that he has decided that he has changed his mind, and wants to live. The Angel of Death gives him a definitive reply.

Chicken with Plums is a creative, surprising, moving account that was easy to read and difficult to put down. It is a dramatic portrayal of eight days in the life of a desperate man which can be read in about an hour and contains a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and actions, from anger to depression to comedy. There are also flashbacks by the various characters and compelling illustrations, however, there are moments that feel as if Nasser-Ali should just get over his self-pity. Because of the length, it’s a quick read, and because it deals with a real-life situation, most readers should be able to relate it to situations in their own lives. The illustrations effectively use symbolism to portray ideas, adding to the story’s development.

This is a must-read graphic novel. I really enjoyed how it was simple, with black and white images throughout the novel. The story only took me one hour to read, but in that short time, it really showed me lots of turn in events and an unexpected ending. I did enjoy reading this graphic novel, as it is not an imaginary story it is a real life human based story. This book was written based on what happened to the author’s cousin which made me really intrigued into getting to know how these events happened to him.

Are you trying to select a book to read? Make your next choice Chicken with Plums because this graphic novel has a 4 star rating on good reads based on 12,000 reviews. This book received lots of positive comments about how good the story was put together and how the turn of events really surprises the reader. If you still haven’t read this novel make sure to at least give it a shot as you surely won't regret it.

By: Mansour Abou Hussein/2022

Have you ever thought about what it would be like if humans saw ghosts or the spirits of the dead all around them at any time throughout the day? Well, Rania Telgemeir has gone above and beyond with her outstanding graphic novel “Ghosts”. This book was released on September two thousand sixteen. There’s a sequel to the graphic novel so you can get straight into the graphic novel and read it!

This graphic novel narrates the story of a simple family that moves to a town that's not quite simple… Maya, a young girl with cystic fibrosis, and her family are moving to a northern California town in the hopes of improving her quality of life. Cat, Maya's older sister, is apprehensive about moving since she does not want to leave her school and friends behind. However, Cat cares too much about her sister Maya and her disease that she decides to sacrifice and move to the new town with no complaining. The town seems normal at first, however, it's quite the opposite. Maya and Cat discover that the town is full of ghosts and they can see them all around and also interact with each other. This opens up a new vision of the world for both Maya and Cat. They were scared at first but embraced it for the better. They started to get along with the town members and discovered that this town wasn't a bad option for the family but rather a great option for them.

This graphic novel is one of a kind and you’d agree with me once you start reading the novel yourself. The author went above and beyond with the imagery describing everything around town making the reader's imagination flare up and enjoy reading a lot. There’s also a lot of characterization going on with the characters in the novel so I'm sure you’ll get to know each and every character’s looks, personality, and what they like and dislike. This makes the reading more interesting as you get to know the characters on a more personal level. In addition, the author places great emphasis on every important detail to make the readers feel like they're in the book experiencing these magical moments. All this makes the novel a must-read on your bucket list of books/novels to read.

In conclusion, I personally loved this graphic novel and believe this book is for everyone to enjoy not just a specific target audience. I would recommend if anyone has the time to read this graphic novel they should one hundred percent.

By: Chris Soloman/2022

Have you ever read a novel that changed your perspective on everything in life? “The Alchemist” is a fantasy fiction written by Brazilian author Paolo Coelho. This inspiring international bestseller was originally published in 1988 in Portuguese, and shortly later became widely translated into over 70 languages. It has also been made into a graphic novel, which is the version that I read. Although the book is not the longest, it will leave you speechless.

Santiago is a young shepherd from Andalusia, who never lets his sheep out of his sight. He cares for them and loves them, and can’t imagine being without them. His life changes when he has the same dream twice, of a treasure lying in the Pyramids of Egypt. He decides not to ignore this, thus beginning a long, beautiful journey. He first meets an old king, who inspires him and tells him that he has realized his personal legend, and has to do everything he can in order to achieve his dreams. Santiago embarks on this great quest, meeting many people on the way, each with a unique contribution to his “personal legend”. He even falls in love with a girl from the desert named Fatima, but is forced to leave her to finish his quest. Near the end of the novel, Santiago meets the Alchemist, who teaches him how to understand the soul of the world and communicate with his heart. Santiago learns to read the omens and overcome his fears. Whether he reaches the Pyramids or not, it is no argument that Santiago has been through a beautiful journey, learning and growing a lot.

I personally believe that The Alchemist is a beautiful novel, with impeccable storytelling and perfect choice of words. The graphic novel also showcased some beautiful illustrations which took the story to a whole new level. The story portrays a beautiful message and idea. Paolo Coelho communicates the theme that we should always go after our dreams and desires no matter what, and that fear of suffering is even worse than the suffering itself. One of my favorite quotes from the novel is: “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” This gives the reader a beautiful feeling of optimism and faith, that when you really want something, you will reach it eventually. The only thing I think could change in this novel is the slow pace. At some points in the novel, I felt like the story was moving too slowly, and began to lose patience. Despite this, the novel was still definitely worth finishing.

In the end, I recommend this fantasy fiction to anyone looking for an inspiring, life-changing story. I also especially recommend it to anyone chasing their dreams and aspirations. I have no doubt that you will be blown away by this unforgettable book. On the other hand, if you are impatient, this book may not be for you as the build-up may seem endless at times. But in the end, it is definitely worth the wait. Based on all of the reasons I stated, I would give this novel a final rating of 9.2/10. Let me end this review with Paolo Coelho’s beautiful quote: “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

By: Youssef Ibrahim/2022

How would you tell the story of your life? Which of the events would be more crucial than the others? Would you prefer to concentrate on yourself or incorporate political and cultural issues that have influenced your life? These are the questions that Marjane Satrapi confronted while writing Persepolis, her autobiographical graphic novel published in 2007. The novel depicts the devastation and destruction of a formerly prosperous and powerful nation, Iran, due to decades of conflict and dictatorship around the 1970s. Despite the fact that the book was originally published in French, it has been translated into English and sold in a large number of copies.

Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi, a young Iranian woman in the 1970s, watched her idealistic family witness the collapse of the hated Shah in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Marji, on the other hand, has witnessed directly how the new Iran has degraded into its own harsh tyranny, now dominated by Islamic fundamentalists. Many important and major themes are discussed in the novel, including oppression, gender inequality, fear, religion, war, nationalism, and many others. This is evident in some of the novel's main events, such as when Satrapi describes how she used to attend a French co-educational, non-religious school, but that this is now forbidden due to the Islamic Republic's distrust and rejection of any Western influences. Furthermore, the dictatorship forced all women and girls to wear veils. Moreover, following a long and bitter battle between the two countries, Iran and Iraq, the Islamic Revolution resulted in a huge number of deaths. Islamic fundamentalists also had a tendency to throw their laws and religious systems on the country, which was extremely oppressive. Later in the novel, Marji's parents send Marji to Vienna to study for a better life because she was dangerously unwilling to remain silent about injustice. This transition, on the other hand, proves to be a difficult fight for the young woman, who finds herself in a strange culture full of hostile people and painful disappointments. When Marji returns home, she discovered that both she and her homeland have changed.

There are a couple of things that I enjoyed while reading Persepolis. To begin with, I really liked the drawing style of this book because, despite its simplicity (it only has two colors: black and white), I truly liked it. Marjane does an excellent job of describing how she sees the world and the people that come and go in her life through the art style. She also makes effective use of the art style and the way that a single powerful image may convey so much more information than a single powerful word, sentence, or paragraph. Second, I admire Marjane, the novel's author herself, as well as the way she has conveyed her story. She's a reliable narrator because she not only discusses the times when she made mistakes and how she learned from them, but she also describes the moments when she stood up for what she believed in and why she did so. Marjane is also a feminist who does not remain silent about her beliefs, and she has a great sense of humor that runs throughout the novel. Third, I enjoy Marjane's subliminal messages throughout the novel. One of her messages was that people should recognize that the image of Middle Eastern countries as terrorists that we see in the media today, and that image being perpetuated by Islamaphobia, is not typical in those countries and is not a realistic picture of those countries.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel and on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, I’d give this graphic novel a solid 4.5 stars! I would recommend this novel to people from the age of 15, and especially someone who wants to get into graphic novels but doesn't know much about them. The novel deals with a lot of serious issues, but it's also a lot of fun to read in terms of storytelling. Hence, I like this novel and it has piqued my interest in reading more graphic novels in the future!

By: Hadeel Aboshahba/2022

What is the most tragic genocide in mankind’s history? To answer that, we need to look back at 1941 when the Holocaust had begun in Nazi Germany. The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during WW2. It lasted until 1945 with an estimated death toll of over 6 million Jews. Art Spiegelman, son of a Holocaust survivor Vladek Spiegelman, revisits his father's close encounter with death in his bewildering graphic novel Maus released in 1980.

Maus begins in present-day Rego Park in Queens, New York as Artie(Art) is visiting his father Vladik. The reason for his visits was to ask his father to reiterate the tragic events he had survived and how things led up to it. His father starts by reminiscing about his life in 1931 Poland and how he met Artie’s mother, Anja, and her lavish family. After marrying Anja, Vladik and her moved to Sosnowiec and encountered the Nazis for the first time. Things remain stable and the couple has their first child Richieu. After a while of continuous war, the Nazis gain a foothold in Poland and start sending Jews on trains to concentration camps or moving them to ghettos. In addition, all Jewish-owned businesses are given to the Nazis causing income and resources to become depleted. Amid the increasing violence, Jewish families are separated in an attempt to survive. Vladik and Anja make their way back to Sosnowiec after being moved to a ghetto, and Richieu has been given to Anja’s sister Tosha in a neighboring city. On their way to Sosnowiec, Vladik and Anja are captured by the Germans and sent to Auschwitz, the most notorious and vile concentration camp known to mankind. Maus discusses the horrible conditions of Auschwitz and how Vladik and Anja attempt to survive them.

Overall, Maus delivers the true barbarity of the Holocaust but does so poorly. It doesn’t deliver it through building upon an idea. Instead, Spiegelman overwhelms the reader with sudden graphic dialogue or illustrations as if he’s dropping bombs. These gruesome details of the Holocaust and the war were sudden, short-lived, and vague. It's to be noted that these images were in some instances too graphic leading multiple states such as Tennessee to recently ban the novel. For instance, Spiegelman briefly explained how 5 Jews were hung in public by the Nazis and shows an illustration of it, but then immediately goes back to his father’s everyday life back in 1931. That sudden shift to something serious and immediately back to something not as graphic throws the reader off because Spiegelman breezes through the gruesome details. Added to that, Spiegelman doesn't offer much description of the war through violent sensory details given he partially participated in the war. By lacking sensory details, the war is described as light which is quite far from its true barbaric nature of it.

In addition, Spiegelman doesn’t shed light on the brief history that led to the war. He immediately goes into action with no explanation of what was going on, but briefly explaining what led to it would capture the readers’ understanding and ameliorate it. Moreover, the main critique against the illustrations was that they lacked color of all kinds. Given the themes of the book and what it discusses, I don’t expect vibrant colors, but black and white remain stale and quite monotonous when repeated. That being said, The illustrations are extremely captivating, unique, and showcase the gruesome atrocities against Jews. As a result, the uncertainty of survival and the fear of the Jews are masterfully portrayed. Furthermore, Spiegelman greatly develops the main characters of the novel with amazing attention to detail. For instance, when writing his father's dialogue, he accounted for his broken English. Also, and most noticeably was Maus’ expert portrayal of the effects of war and the Holocaust on people even far since it had ended which is seen in his father’s current state.

Conclusively, I admire Maus because of its portrayal of personal and true Jewish opinions and perspectives on the war and its events. Even though it may have some issues, it still expertly portrays genuine Jewish opinions that aren’t prominent. I’d offer the graphic a well-thought-out 4 out of 5 because its messages are clear and portrayed with great emotion, but the execution is not ideal. In addition, I’d recommend anyone above the age of 13 and interested in the history of the Holocaust or both world wars to check the book because of its significance. This is due to some vulgar word choices, graphic images, and nudity that are essential in the graphic novel. If interested, make sure to check out Maus by Art Spiegelman in stores near you and discover the perspective of Jewish people during the Holocaust and WWII.

By: Moustafa El Shishtawy/2022

Have you ever had trouble looking for a manga to read following a dark theme? The popular manga and anime series “Tokyo Ghoul” by Harvy Award winner Sui Ishida is a dark fantasy expressing a world in which ghouls and humans live within the same society. This manga will far exceed your expectations. In this fictitious world, ghouls are natural predators of humans situated in the complex streets of Tokyo. Moreover, readers enjoy the depiction of the protagonist’s life, Ken Kaneki, as it is stained with the effects of the ghouls and the intense torment of identity crises.

In the dangerous streets of Tokyo, never trust anyone, your life is constantly on a thread. Although Ghouls have found a way to blend in with society, no one knows their true origins, or how they came to be. In a megacity like Tokyo, those who fall behind or are forgotten will never be traced again, as they now roam on the territory of the Tokyo Ghouls. Ken Kaneki, the plot of the manga is not that of complication. It is easy to understand the events, and the story is both interesting and not overly complicated. Whilst the manga introduces creative interpretations of power systems, it also does this in a cohesive way. From the perspective of a reader, the first volume of the manga was the introduction arc that leads up to the fourteen volumes available. Although in order to reach the level where the overall story is at its rising action will have to be later on in the volumes. However, that does not mean that in between the individual volumes that the plot is not stale and has no progression. In fact, in the first volume, there are nine chapters, and all of these chapters include all aspects of the typical plot chart. Manga can be confusing to those of non-Japanese origin, therefore as a critique, the manga was never at a stale unprogressive moment.

It is important to note that upon reading the manga, there was a great contradiction between the good moments and the objectively lacking moments. Firstly, the resources one uses to be able to access the manga can hinder the overall reading experience. There are free copies for all the volumes allocated from stores to websites that have scanned versions. Unfortunately, scanned versions come off as unclear and hard to read the text. From my perspective, reading the manga required me to zoom in and out at multiple moments in order to perceive the text. Additionally, the manga is originally translated from Japanese to English. As a result, some of the text does not match some intense scenes and comes off as very bland non-significant to the event. On the contrary, the illustrations inside the manga are carefully and professionally crafted. It is very aesthetically pleasing and delivers beautiful imagery that is able to capture advanced emotions within limited panels. Moreover, there is not one moment when the illustrations do not live up to the potential of the scene itself. Intense moments showed close-ups to further emphasize the overpowering feeling the characters want to deliver. Sui Ishida did not fall short on character design, each and every character has a unique exclusive design that does not share common aspects with other mangas and series.

Apart from the technical pros and cons of the manga, one must additionally focus on the development of characters and the pace at which the manga progresses. From a peer review, the protagonist and the characters around him develop in an adequate sense meaning the character cohesively develops in consequence to the surrounding events and setting. Additionally, Ken Kaneki is not protected with plot armor, there are no cliche attributes that protect the main character. This aspect of the manga kept me on the edge, it produced a lot of suspense which I personally enjoyed as nothing was predictable and anything could happen. By doing this Sui Ishida delivered a two-in-one! By avoiding cliche aspects, Ishida curated a suspenseful attribute to his dark fantasy series.

Overall, upon reading and assessing the first volume of “Tokyo Ghoul” the manga had an adequate rate of progression, unique characters, and a distinctive story. I would highly recommend reading this manga as the introduction arc was already action-filled and enjoyable to read; there is no doubt in my mind that you won't enjoy this top-tier manga!

By: Karim Ahmed/2022

Have you ever read a graphic novel that was very cute that it kept you reading it without noticing how much time had passed? Well, if you answered yes or no to the question, then you should definitely read the Pashmina graphic novel. Pashmina is a graphic novel by an Indian American author and illustrator, Nidhi Chanani. Nidhi Chanani was born in India and raised in Southern California. She creates illustrations that capture the love and joy of the world. In 2012, she was honored by the Obama Administration as a Champion of Change. The Pashmina, a beautifully illustrated graphic novel, has been somewhat inspired by Chanani’s own memories and her own search for cultural identity.

Pashmina is a story about an Indian American girl named Priyanka Das who has a strong desire to learn more about her family history. Priyanka is a student in high school in California, and she was born into an immigrant and single-parent household. Priyanka was always interested in her family and its origins, as her father was never in the picture while she was growing up. When Priyanka asked her mother questions about India and her father, her mother refused to talk about it and she kept changing the subject, leaving Priyanka even more curious about India and her father. One day, Priyanka found a magical pashmina scarf in her mother’s belongings. Priyanka wrapped the pashmina scarf around her shoulders and it carried her to an imagined, colorful, and very beautiful version of India, a place that she always wanted to visit. There, an elephant and a peacock introduced Priyanka to India’s amazing traditions, food, festivals, and even fashion, but Priyanka knew that this version of India was not the true and real India. To see the real India and to learn more about her family, Priyanka decides to buy a plane ticket to India with the prize money she won from a comic competition. Her mother stayed in America, while Priyanka traveled to India, where she met her aunt, Nagpur. In India, Priyanka begins to understand herself and her identity as being Indian American, and she learns about women’s choices and about her father.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the Pashmina graphic novel, and there are so many things I loved about this book. For example, I really loved the illustrations in the graphic novel because they were very cute and beautiful, and the juxtaposition of the panels made the novel more interesting. The parts of Priyanka’s everyday life, like her school and her home, were in black and white panels, but when she tried the pashmina scarf on, the black and white panels were switched to beautiful, colorful panels. In addition to that, I also loved that the novel included many details about India and Indian culture, such as how the book used some Indian terms in the text and how it depicted Indian gods and goddesses. I liked that the Pashmina graphic novel had an element of reality to it and that it was not all glamorized, as the novel had honest depictions of India, which included poverty and slums. That being said, I was not able to fully engage in the story for several reasons. First, I found the story jumping from one topic to another without fully explaining and addressing each, which left me with many unanswered questions. For example, I wanted to know more about the comic competition Priyanka won, which played a crucial role in her journey of discovering herself and discovering the history of her family in India. Second, I felt quite disappointed after reading the graphic novel as I expected more details about her father and the women’s choices. In my opinion, Priyanka’s father could have been addressed more, and in the book, Priyanka could have met her father, and by doing so, her father could have answered Priyanka’s questions.

All in all, this was a beautiful graphic novel that covered the importance of family, connection with your culture, and the journey of self-discovery. I recommend this book as it felt sweet and heartwarming. On a scale from zero to ten, I would give this book a seven because I did enjoy reading it, but I didn't love the graphic novel as much as I thought I would due to my high expectations, but I still recommend reading it as the story is worth it!

By: Darika Djusupova/2022