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How To Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less

by Sarah Glidden
Vertigo: DC. 2010. c.208p.ISBN 9781401222338. $24.99. MEMOIR
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In the Israel-Palestinian conflict, who is right? Glidden thought she knew her mind. Of Jewish heritage but not religious, she held Palestinian sympathies. But after six weeks of reading and ten days on a "Birthright Israel" tour for young Jews, she wasn't so sure. And after 200 pages sweating out emotional and intellectual dissonances with her, perhaps neither are we. Taking a diary approach, Glidden pulls together maps, facts, figures, and ghosts of dead relatives and dignitaries who figure into Middle Eastern politics and the stories she heard during the tour. This part memoir, part political travelog spins out the history of Jewish attraction toward the area that is now Israel and the resulting hostilities involving Arab locals, interwoven with Glidden's personal intellectual journey.
VERDICT This graphic novel has a Persepolis feel because of the way it depicts a hot spot through memoir, but it provides more about multiple sides of the issues. The pleasant watercolor conjures semirealism, contrasting ironically with the centuries of bloodshed staining that expanse of land. Strongly recommended for high school and adult collections in company with Joe Sacco's Palestine and Footnotes in Gaza and Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds.—M.C.
Reviewed by Barbara M. Moon , Mar 15, 2011

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