Palestine, by Joe Sacco   [Paperback 2002]

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Rave Reviews (19)*

• 1) Buy two, give one away

  by Nigel Parry on November 28 2001
    160+ helpful votes

  This new one volume edition of Joe Sacco's Palestine comics evokes my first trip to the occupied Palestinian territories in 1989 a couple of years before Sacco's first visit from 1991-1992. His book faithfully represents the contradictions and striking images of the conflict, and being a graphic novel/comic book renders them visually and powerfully.

  I couldn't think of a better medium to explain the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to someone than this book, which stands out as an honest account of one man's attempt to make sense of it all, as well as a work of art in its own right.

  Powerfully-told stories are laced with well-researched facts, all couched in Sacco's humanity and disbelief at the people he meets and the events he sees. Particularly chilling is the account of a Palestinian father's torture experience. The book covers a wide variety of other topics, including refugees, Israeli attitudes, life inside prison, and more, introducing these issues (along with the atmosphere of a visit to Palestine) through Sacco's walk through the West Bank and Gaza, talking to people there.

  The second half of Sacco's book opens up more of the conflict, this time in the setting of Gaza, but should be considered as indivisible from the first half, as the two halves represent the complete collection of "Palestine" comics originally published as individual magazines, then as a two volume edition.

  The visual imagery is almost photographically faithful to the actual landscapes and cityscapes of Palestine, and accounts such as Sacco's taxi ride to Nablus will elicit delighted cries of recognition and wry laughter from those who have visited the country.

  This book is a 'must have' that you will definitely not be disappointed with if you're buying them for yourself, and should be considered a necessary part of your standard tools to explain the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict to others. In the absense of a Palestinian "Cry Freedom", this is the next best thing.

  Nigel Parry

• 2) Much more objective than on first impression

  by Chutes on April 04 2003
    60+ helpful votes

  You have to read Palestine carefully, especially if you are either strongly sympathetic or hostile to Israel. It would be easy to see the book as condemning Israel. It is not, but since Sacco's intention was to get to know the community that we in the US don't know well, the Palestinians, the book shows mainly their experiences and interpretations of them. (It would have been a good idea to include a timeline of the historical events related to the Israel/Palestine tragedy, so that people who do not know the facts could put into perspective the versions of history that Sacco's Palestinian interviewees have.)

  I emphasize that this is not the book to turn to in order to figure out whether to side with the Israelis or the Palestinians. It does not give that kind of information, and there are other books for that (Thomas Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem is a good one). For the most part there are no terrorists or major political figures interviewed and there is no survey of the historical background, the mistakes and crimes that have left both peoples in this mess. What I saw in this brilliant piece of comic journalism is an on the ground look at what is going on with people caught in the storm.

  Palestine is about the human spirit, often humorous and courageous. It is also about the tragedy that is what happens when people suffer at each other's hands, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, as well as physically, and lose the ability to see the human face.

  Victims turn into villains. The scenes of the settlers attacking the Arab villages at night reminded me chillingly of Kristalnacht. A 16 year old Palestinian terrorist-in-training is chilling as he describes his recruitment at 13, his loss of interest in anything but the violence, and the version of history that he believes in. Sixteen year old settlers strutting through town with their Uzis are just as chilling. You are appalled by them all, and by the societies that have turned children into murderers. And you are touched by the crowd scenes, where you see tiny figures of men and women in the background, hurrying their children away, keeping them away from the stone throwing crowds.

  You see the mythologies that both sides, though mainly (because of the nature of the book) the Palestinians, have created in order to give themselves pride and explain all the pain. You see that these mythologies are not going to save anyone.

  Sacco does not idolize his Palestinian subjects, though he is very sympathetic to most of them. He shows the irrational hatred, the elevation of victimhood to almost divine status, and the self-destructiveness of some of the people he interviewed. He really likes the children, especially inquisitive little girls, but he shows that there are some nasty kids too. I emphasize that he likes these people, despite their human failings. Their errors do not mean they are to be dismissed, just as their suffering does not mean that the lines on which Arab politicians have chosen to explain the situation are right. It was Sacco's irony, actually, that allowed me to trust his observations of life in an occupied region, with all that "occupied" implies.

  The most troubling part to the book, therefore, was the portrayal of the Israeli soldiers. I wish that he had interviewed Israeli soldiers, since they (and settlers) are the only Israelis present in the Palestian refugee camps, and the soldiers come off looking brutal much of the time. But in looking through the book a second time, I noticed that many of the soldiers looked terrified. This terror coupled with the brutality throws another light on the tragedy afflicting both Israelis and Palestinians.

  I've been left haunted by one particular image, the depressed face of his last guide, an educated, unemployed volunteer with a school for the handicapped. It is not a dramatic, self dramatizing depression. Sacco's skill is impressive here, as he shows the man's face change, subtly, according to what is going on (sad tales, checkpoints, the charming chatter of a 10 year old girl)--he has other feelings, but his hopelessness has smothered the intensity.

• 3) A poignant account of what the Palestians have had to endure

  by Anonymous on March 23 2002
    60+ helpful votes

  Joe Sacco's "Palestine" provides the western world with a powerful account of the Palestinian perspective of their conflict with Israel. Sacco's path takes him through much of the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem and parts of Israel. He tells the stories of the people he meets and through them paints a picture of the brutality and injustice they endure under the apartheid policies of Israel. With the media coverage of the conflict being what it is, the accessibility of the graphic novel format makes "Palestine" a singularly important work. By communicating the truth, perhaps a lasting solution to this conflict can be found.

  Although the journalistic content of "Palestine" is its primary value, it also stands on its own aesthetically. Sacco also writes well and the narrative flows smoothly from one part of his journey to another.

• 4) Sacco masterfully blends journalism with comic storytelling

  by Dave Thomer on January 11 2002
    50+ helpful votes

  I am not nearly knowledgeable enough to judge Sacco's grasp of the overall political situation in the Middle East; however, PALESTINE is not a book about overall situations. It's a series of vignettes and snapshots of individual lives in the occupied territories, and Sacco tells those stories very well. He is clearly sympathetic to the Palestinians, but even though he portrays them as victims, he also depicts their anger, their violence, their conflicts with each other . . . all the things that make them real people, and all the things that, frankly, can lead one into despair over the prospects for anything but war and conflict in the region for a long time to come.

  Sacco is a skilled journalist, getting his interview subjects to talk about their lives and experiences in detail. As a comic artist, he brings those stories to life. His people often seem to have larger-than-life, exaggerated features -- all the better to convey emotion -- while he draws the world they live in in great detail. The contrast of the combination works very well.

  Throughout the story, Sacco provides a running narration of his own thoughts as he moves from place to place chasing the story, while also filling in historical details where he feels it necessary. The narration gives an added dimension to the book, since it also becomes a story of Sacco's adjustments to conditions in the territories and his own mixed feelings about his ability to do anything about them -- feelings that readers will likely share when they finish reading this book.

• 5) Another Great Sacco Documentary Comic

  by Bill Corporandy on June 21 2002
    30+ helpful votes

  I do not have much to contribute that has not already been stated by other customer reviewers but I would like to add to the overwhelming consensus that this is an excellent book and, since it is done in comic book style, I would recommend it as an effective tool for adolescent readers in our high schools. Saccco's book was written before the most recent wave of Palestinian suicide bombings which has wreaked havoc both to Israel and to outside sympathy for the Palestinian cause. However, this book should give all open-minded readers insight into the despair that has led so many Palestinians to support terrorism. Sacco's disarmingly informal writing style and his powerful artwork convey both the constant systematic and randomly unsystematic injustice that Israel, its soldiers, settlers and other citizens have directed at the Palestinians. Sacco exposes the economic discrimination that gives incentives to West Bank Jewish settlers and imposes taxes and other bureacratic and physical barriers on Palestinian attempts to earn a living: Palestinian agricultural produce left on the docks to spoil before it is shipped to European customers, the denial of adequate water and permits to drill deeper wells, cutting down groves of olive trees, etc. Sacco also takes us inside hospitals where Israeli soldiers intimidate and beat patients, nurses, and doctors, disrupting surgeries, treatments, etc. Individual Palestinians recount their prison experiences: the psychological and physical torture and the inhuman living conditions, abuses of the legal system, etc. There is much more in this new edition--printed in 2001 and again in 2002--at roughly 300 pages, this is nearly double the size of an earlier edition. Everyone with an interest in the Middle East Crisis or terrorism should read this book. This book is pro-Palestinian but it is not anti-Semitic or against the existence of an Israeli state. It is also recommended by Art Spiegelman, the great cartoonist and author of the Jewish Holocaust comic classics, Maus I and II. For more great info on the plight of the Palestinians, I recommend regular reading of Tikkun, an excellent, liberal Jewish-American bi-monthly periodical.

• 6) What a great book.

  by M. B. VanElzakker on July 17 2002
    20+ helpful votes

  Sacco never preaches, he just reports. And the reporting gave me all sorts of insight into what our media never seems to touch: the lives of ordinary Palestinians, day-to-day. It is astounding. And Sacco is not an apologist for terrorism; in fact he doesn't even discuss Palestinian terrorists. He just talks about what he saw: regular people. Sometimes intelligent and noble, sometimes small-minded and misguided. Just like people everywhere else. But when you think that SO many Palestinians have lived under these contitions their whole lives- have never travelled, and every Jew they have ever met has been a settler or a soldier- you start to understand why this is a no-win situation for anyone.

• 7) This book is educational

  by Anonymous on February 03 2002
    20+ helpful votes

  My intent in reading this book was to try and learn what motivates the Palestinian people to hate Israel and also, people like myself who are Jewish. This is a one sided book and that was exactly what I was looking for. To truly research a subject as complex as Israel and the Palestinians, one must perform a synoptical reading of many books to get closer to the "truth". This book provided for me a deeper understanding as to why I am hated by so many Palestinians.

  I recommend this book for all Jews and Palestinians who are interested in learning about themselves and others. There are many disturbing facts mentioned in this book which I intend to research the validity of. Whether these are accurate facts or not, this book will blantantly allow anyone to understand why Israel and Jews are hated by many Palestinians.

• 8) Exceptional, should be read in schools

  by Anonymous on June 28 2002
    20+ helpful votes

  If it were possible to give a book 10 stars, then this book would get them from me, I was awed by it. I've not read a graphic book since Maus, and would not have picked this up if a dozen friends hadn't recommended it to me. Joe Sacco's Palestine (and his later book on Bosnia called Safe Area Gorazde), is a miracle of observation, compassion and humanity. It does what most books, most newspapers fail to do, illustrate the plight of Palestinian people, show us why they are angry, and why some are driven to terrifying acts of suicide. It should be read in schools.

• 9) Captivating

  by Anonymous on July 05 2002
    20+ helpful votes

  One of the most captivating books I have recently read. I feel bad that I only discovered it by chance. I wonder if the book was ever advertized appropriately. What a loss! This is a gem of a book and I am buying 5 copies to give away.
  Don't let the comic style of the book or the design of its cover desuade you from buying it. It is a very serious book. I was shocked by the facts as shown. One can read volumes in the eyes of the people as sketched, particularly those of the elderly. One sees despair, indignation, genuinity and all the while the generosity of those who have so little to spare. The author is very adapt at showing the inhumane conditions in the Palestinian camps he visited, sentiments that are echoed by other authors who visited the camps, though not as eloquently (Kate Halsell "Journey to Jerusalem" and Wendy Orange "Coming Home to Jerusalem"). No doubt about it, the book is very timely and a good source for readers who know little about the plight of the Palestinians, and a good reference for those who feel they know it all.

• 10) 1st rate journalism disguised as a graphic novel

  by Anonymous on July 16 2002
    20+ helpful votes

  Joe Sacco's collection of stories that he witnessed first-hand while living in Palestine will move you and break your heart. You're not human if you don't feel moved by the constant fear and humiliation the Palestinians live under. Joe Sacco presents all the players from Israeli peaceniks who never seem to make an impact to the IDF with its varied ranks from despicably draconian sadists to hesitant Israeli soldiers just following orders and the aggressively antagonist settlers. The focus is on the Palestinians though. How they have to check with big brother just to move from city to city and sometimes from block to block in their own country. How the settlers can do no wrong and can act with impunity against the Palestinians. How Palestinians can be jailed, abused, and tortured on the slightest pretext. How children can be detained and tortured for throwing rocks. Joe Sacco will also make you laugh at times such as how he has to drink tea drowned in sugar for the umpteenth time so as to not offend his hosts. The Israeli occupiers and settlers aren't the only antagonists involved though. We also get a look at Hamas and we see how they attempt to enforce Islamic fundamentalism, but find that they cannot. We also see the struggle within a struggle as the varied landscape of Palestinian women is analyzed. The stories and accounts are so similar that one can't help but see the truth in them. Most of the Palestinians are innocent civilians who merely seek to make a living and just exist, but find their every move under scrutiny. It's nothing short of outrageous to witness a man being jailed without evidence and then kept in prison for months without trial or evidence just because the prosecution is working with the jailors to get a coerced confession through the use of torture, sleep deprivation, and lies. Joe Sacco's work gives us insights into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in ways that you won't see on tv. Sacco's work is about the everyday people who live and die under this brutal occupation. Sacco makes it clear that sure there are worse places, but those places don't claim to be noble democracies like Israel. What we get in this graphic report is a multi-layered series of events involving ordinary Palestinians who are not involved in any insidious activity. We learn a great deal from Sacco's reports about what is going on and how most Americans either don't know or don't care about the facts on the ground. There are sprinkles of hope though. We watch as some Palestinians express a desire to share the land with Israelis in some measure of peace and equality and we hear an Israeli wish for a state that is not based upon religion or ethnicity, but is a multi-cultural state like the US. What moved me most was why the Palestinians don't all just leave because it's obvious that the occupation is designed to coerce into leaving the territories so that the Israelis can implant an artificial majority of Jewish settlers. It's a testament to their spirit and strength that they don't give in to tyranny and injustice and simply keep holding on in the hopes that the occupation will end some day. It's not surprising that this book comes from Fantagraphics by the way. They've been putting out great work since Love and Rockets and this is no exception. Palestine is a huge book and you won't be able to read it in sitting unless you read all day. Considering the power of this piece you might end up doing just that though.

• 11) Phenomenal

  by Anonymous on December 25 2001
    20+ helpful votes

  This comic book made the plight of the Palestinian people real to me in a way no other book, or even documentary film, ever has. What makes the comic format so well suited for this story is that unlike other formats such as documentary film or prose, Sacco is able to graphically illustrate the stories that his interview subjects tell him, so we get to see, for example, what its like inside Ansar III prison, or at an Israeli "interrogation" of a Palestinian stone-thrower. He is a gifted illustrator-- his mastery of displaying subtle human emotions through facial expression is breathtaking.

  This book series will probably be criticized for being "one sided," and it definitely is (not one bad thing happens to an Israeli in the book.) Yet, as the narrator replies when an Israeli woman in the comic says, "You should hear our side of the story,".... "I've heard nothing but the Israeli side most of my life." Here is a gripping view from the other side of the line.

• 12) Unique and a first of its' kind.

  by Rifat Audeh on January 05 2002
    20+ helpful votes

  This book on Palestine from Joe Sacco, is an incredibly powerful medium to relay the events in the occupied territories, in a style that everyone can understand. Unlike most other books written on the topic -in dry and boring terms that seem to only elicit the interest of historians or those involved in the conflict in one way or another- this book captivates the reader in its spell, from cover to end.
  Sacco does an amazing job at covering a wide range of issues that represent life under occupation, in addition to delving slightly into the history behind it to give one a comprehensive view. In his coverage, he keenly pays attention to the smallest of details, from capturing the emotions on one's face, to the markings on a wall in a refugee camp.
  Throughout it all, he masterfully provokes a wide range of emotions in the reader.

  What comes through above all however, is the brutal honesty that Sacco strikes his readers with, in conveying his own fears and sarcasm simultaneously.
  
  It is no wonder therefore, that the nine-issue comic series this book collected under one cover, won a 1996 American Book Award.
  For anyone who was ever curious about the situation in Palestine today, or wanted to know more about the Israeli occupation and why the Middle East is such a boiling point, this book is a must read.

• 13) A remarkable blend of journalism and comics

  by Anonymous on January 10 2003
    20+ helpful votes

  A riveting and eye-opening work about the miserable realities of life for Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Joe Sacco's incisive observations and artistry provides a necessary balance to the pro-Israeli bias in American media and politics. Unflinching but also containing healthy doses of irony and humor, the book eloquently reaffirms that peace will finally come only when we are able to recognize the humanity of the other side.

• 14) BUY THREE, GIVE AWAY TWO!

  by AQ on December 21 2001
    10+ helpful votes

  Joe Sacco brilliantly gives voices and faces to the masses of `invisible' Palestinians and in sharing their stories Sacco has created an incredibly personal and emotionally powerful historical document of an endangered people. Sacco gives humanity and dignity to the overlooked victims, as well as providing historical and political context to their struggle. Joe Sacco also brilliantly interweaves himself into the comic frames, as he is not just looking in from the outside but revealing from the inside, adding further strength to his work.

  By far, this is the best treatment of the Middle East conflict that I have read and I guarantee you will not be able to put it down until you get to the last page and then you'll want to start all over again! A keeper to be shared with as many as possible.

  I commend the publishers for their courageous efforts.

• 15) You will not be disappointed, buy it

  by Mark Twain on March 01 2002
    10+ helpful votes

  I am not a big fan of comic books, so this book was a stretch for me. However after seeing some of the art online, I was impressed, and you will be too. Despite the fact that it's in a comic book style, the faces and landscape are actually drawn with both insight and accuracy. It's like looking through someone's brain. Sacco's writing style is also like this, leading you through his thought processes while at the same time rendering very realistic 'recordings' of the people he spoke with.

  Journalism and art mix perfectly in this amazing book. Buy it and pass it on, just about anyone will be both mentally engaged and artistically satisfied.

• 16) Wow!

  by Barry D. Smith on June 11 2002
    10+ helpful votes

  I'm not quite sure where to begin with this one... Sacco's work is amazing, bordering on briliant. He exposes the harsh realities of life within the Palestinian refugee camps like nothing else I've seen. Sacco needs to be commended for his ability to catch so many different shades of Arab opinion in such a small number of pages. Sacco does not, however, make a significant attempt write about the Israeli perspective (he does devote a few pages to this). But that is not a problem. As Sacco says, he (as well as the whole world) have been receiving the Israeli perspective for over 50 years. His goal was not to give their point of view, thats been done a thousand times.

  Additionally, the artwork is absolutely stunning! In the pictures alone he captures the life of a typical Palestinian Arab. The despair he paints on their face matches the horrible experience they've been through. Amazing...

  Please pick this sentimental roller coaster up to supplement your historical and academic reading on the subject. You won't be dissapointed.

• 17) Great book!!!

  by Anonymous on June 16 2003
    10+ helpful votes

  We have been able to access information on the Israel-Palestine conflict from the media. However, the readily-available information seemed one-sided, with the other side always being branded as the 'evil' side or 'terrorists'. This book shows the conflict from the Palestinian point of view, which is very rare.

• 18) Palestine, by Joe Sacco

  by Anonymous on April 21 2004
    10+ helpful votes

  I had to read this book for a course I was taking in a Human Rights/Media course. I wasn't sure at first, never having enjoyed comic books and certainly nervous of the issue at hand. I thought that there was too much to be said, that the conflict was too old and too big to be confined in the pages and drawings of a book.

  Then I read it.

  It took all the incorporeal arguements and gave them form. It put the conflict in my face. I saw it. I heard it. I understood it. It made all these foreign places and people REAL, and not so incredibly different than the people I see day to day (despite the huge difference in lifestyles).

  Furthermore, Sacco's character's attitude is very Western, and he subtly critiques that attitude, but also shows how it is mostly the product of ignorance. (which may not sound so nice, but which truly helped me identify with that character and in so doing, be just as transformed by the end of the book as that character was.)

  For those who are interested in Ireland and its struggles - you will be shocked to hear that a very similar struggle is going on now, and in the Middle East.

  Sacco spoke to all facets of Palestinian society, and created a chilling and unforgetable image of what life could be like - what it is like, for Palestinians. He didn't sympathize excessively with the Palestinians - he allows room for the reader to look at the news and fit what is there into the picture, and see many sides of the Palestinians. And though the view of the Israelis is harsh, it modifies toward the end of the book when he realizes how much he has changed (how he views things the way Palestinians do), and spends time talking with 2 Israeli women, bringing their voices into the book.

  Read it - you will never forget it. It will change you and make you better. It will help you understand what is happening over there.

• 19) Flawed, but necessary

  by J. Holst on February 04 2006
    10+ helpful votes

  Three-and-a-half stars, actually.
  
  I enjoyed Joe Sacco's books on the war in Bosnia, and picked up Palestine with interest. This book is the collected edition of his nine Palestine comics
  
  First off, Sacco is a great storyteller who is quite expert at expressing the humanity of the people in his stories. He also presents an excellent picture of the daily life of Palestinians, giving them a human face that is not often portrayed in the West. Sacco allows the people to tell the story themselves, rather than interjecting his thoughts and opinions more than is necessary.
  
  However, on the other hand, I found Palestine to be more tedious than Sacco's Bosnian work. The stories often became repetitive, and I found the same points being made again and again. In the book's defense, what else would one expect from people who live such a limited life? As well, why should someone's suffering be entertaining? On the other hand, I feel that the message being conveyed is lost if the reader's interest lags.
  
  As for the issue that always seems to come up in negative reviews, I have to admit that I did find the book a little one-sided. I do feel that the Palestinians are more wronged in the conflict, but the way Sacco presented the situation did more to solely present the Palestinian side rather than achieve greater understanding. However, while some may feel this is wrong or even anti-Semitic (A ridiculous charge) I feel that it is completely necessary. How can you understand and begin to resolve anything if you don't hear all points of view? I think that anyone interested in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict should read Sacco's book because it is one of the best ways to understand the emotions and perspectives of the Palestinians. You can disagree with it, but you can't dismiss or ignore it.