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Palestine is a non-fiction graphic novel written and drawn by Joe Sacco about his experiences in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in December 1991 and January 1992. Sacco's portrayal of the situation emphasizes the history and plight of the Palestinian people, as a group and as individuals.
 Palestine 2001 Cover | |
| Author | Joe Sacco |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Joe Sacco |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Israeli–Palestinian conflict |
| Genre | New Journalism |
| Publisher | Fantagraphics |
Publication date | 2001 (originally collected in two volumes in 1996) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print, paperback |
| Pages | 285 |
| ISBN | 0-224-06982-9 |
| OCLC | 50841111 |
| Followed by | War Junkie |
Publication history
editThe complete graphic novel, published in 2001 by Fantagraphics Books,[1] collects nine issues of Sacco's Palestine comic book, published by Fantagraphics from 1993 to 1995; the single volume edition includes an introduction by Edward Said. In 1996, Fantagraphics had released a two-part collection of the series — Palestine, a Nation Occupied (collecting Palestine #1–5) and Palestine: In the Gaza Strip (collecting issues #6–9).[2] An expanded edition was released in 2007.
In 2023, in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict resuming, the book sold out and was rushed back into publication by Fantagraphics after selling out their inventory.[3][4]
Plot summary
editThe book takes place over a two-month period in late 1991 / early 1992, with occasional flashbacks to the expulsion of the Arabs, the beginning of the Intifada, the Gulf War and other events in the more immediate past. Sacco spent this time meeting with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the narrative focuses on the minute details of everyday life in these areas.
In Palestine Sacco positions himself knowingly as the westerner going to the Middle East to confront a reality unfamiliar to his American audience. Sacco does not delude himself that as a "neutral" observer he can remain invisible and have no effect on the events around him, instead accepting his role and concentrating on his personal experience of the situation. Though his goal is to document events and interview Palestinians he is affected by the reality of the occupied territories and cannot help but participate in, and comment on, demonstrations, funerals, roadblocks and encounters with soldiers. Towards the end he becomes even more active as he shares food and lodgings with the Palestinians he interviews and even breaks curfew with them while in the Gaza Strip.
In the book Sacco references Joseph Conrad's Under Western Eyes, Heart of Darkness, and Edward Said's Orientalism to draw links between the situation he is witnessing and colonialism. Towards the end of the book, when challenged by an Israeli that he has not experienced their point of view, he responds that the Israeli point of view is what he has internalized his whole life, and although another trip would be necessary to fully experience Israel, that was not why he was there.[5]
Awards
editThe 1996 two-volume collection of Palestine was awarded the 1996 American Book Award by the Before Columbus Foundation.[6] In 1999, The Comics Journal — like Palestine, also published by Fantagraphics — named Palestine as #27 in the Top 100 English-Language Comics of the Century.[7] The book was given the 2002 Firecracker Alternative Book Award for Best Graphic Novel.[8]
References
edit- ^ George, Milo. "Eight Comics that were Actually Good: 2001 Contemporary Collections in Review," The Comics Journal #240 (Jan. 2002), pp. 53-55.
- ^ Sult, Evan. "Palestine," The Comics Journal #200 (Dec. 1997), p. 61.
- ^ Barnett, David (December 10, 2023). "Groundbreaking graphic novel on Gaza rushed back into print 20 years on". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Mohtasham, Diba (January 18, 2024). "An acclaimed graphic novel is seeing a resurgence, brought on by the war in Gaza". National Public Radio. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ Sacco, Joe. Palestine (Fantagraphics, 2001), p. 256.
- ^ "Joe Sacco Wins an American Book Award for Palestine". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 188. July 1996. p. 8.
- ^ Brayshaw, Chris (Feb 1999). "Palestine, 1993-1995: Joe Sacco". The Comics Journal. No. 210. p. 72.
- ^ "List of Firecracker Award winners". librarything.com. LibraryThing. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
Further reading
edit- Baker, Bill (Dec 27, 2000). "[Undeclared] Wartime: 5 Minutes with Joe Sacco on Palestine". WizardWorld.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2002.
- Chute, Hillary (2016). Disaster Drawn. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Doughty, Dick (1996). "Palestine with attitude". Journal of Palestine Studies. 27 (2): 99–100. doi:10.2307/2538288. JSTOR 2538288.
- Gadassik, Alla; Henstra, Sarah (2012). "Comics (as) Journalism: Teaching Joe Sacco's Palestine to Media Students". Teaching Comics and Graphic Narratives. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. pp. 243–259.
- Kozol, Wendy (2011). "Complicities of Witnessing in Joe Sacco's Palestine". In Goldberg, Elizabeth; Moore, Alexandra S. (eds.). Theoretical Perspectives on Human Rights and Literature. New York: Routledge. pp. 165–179.
- Murray, Charles Shaar (4 Feb 2003). "Palestine by Joe Sacco: The graphic truth about Palestinian existence". The Independent.
- Said, Edward (Dec 21, 2002). "Heroes and villains: As a child, Edward Said would marvel at the adventures in comic books. Joe Sacco's Palestine took him back to that time - and to the heart of the Middle East conflict". The Guardian.[dead link]
- Stack, Frank (Feb 1994). "Pilgrimage: Palestine #1-5". The Comics Journal. No. 166. pp. 51–53.
- Thompson, David (January 5, 2003). "Eyewitness in Gaza: Joe Sacco's comic-book format provides an unlikely but compelling insight into the Palestinian experience in Palestine". The Guardian.
- Woo, Benjamin (2010). "Reconsidering Comics Journalism: Information and Experience in Joe Sacco's Palestine" (PDF). In Goggin, Joyce; Hassler-Forest, Dan (eds.). The Rise and Reason of Comics and Graphic Literature: Critical Essays on the Form. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. pp. 166–177.
External links
edit- Fantagraphics page
- Joe Sacco on Footnotes in Gaza and Palestine - Interview on the 7th Avenue Project radio show