Based on Joe Sacco's personal journey into the Unoccupied Territories, Palestine can seem like a rambling collection of Palestinian stories - some pro-Palestinian, some bordering admonishing, some questioning high birth rates, some of it simply self-centered on the comic he's all to aware that he's drawing at times...

And then you realize that this hyper-awareness is really the best that anyone can do when writing this story. You can tell Joe thought he'd find a few stories about the prisons and occupations, but when the stories turned into a flood, what does one do? Worse yet, what does one do when it becomes abundantly clear that there are no clear cut right and wrong sides? There are clearly wrongs but the sides become problematic.

Joe's story succeeds best when he puts himself in the line of questioning - individuals asking him what he hopes to accomplish. Mothers telling detailed stories of dead sons and then, without a beat, saying they've told this story before - so what will he accomplish? Being asked why UN Resolutions regarding occupying lands don't apply to them. Being asked why a won war is not a won war in Tel Aviv.

Joe's wondering what the long-term outcome of humiliating refugees will be is the easiest question to answer in the book. His book chronicles the last bit of the First Intifada in 1992. Hamas is mentioned briefly in parts as an extremist organization in Joe's world. In the world of 2009, this extremist organization has made news again and one can't help but wonder if Joe's lingering question of what happens to those that feel they've been humiliated too long had been partially answered...

In the end, Sacco offers no answers. This is his trip because he'd wanted to see the other side and hoped to find answers - but instead, he found a tangle of more difficult questions and problems. Even where Joe felt like he would be able to make small differences, he finds himself facing perspectives that he had not at all expected. In one scene, he offers to take two Israeli women through to the Arab Market to show them that it's safe and worth the trip. And while they make it to the market, Joe's prior confidence is seemingly crushed as he feels the paranoia walking to Damascus gate. A walk he'd made a few times a day suddenly became a claustrophobic journey where every movement may have meant something else - something potentially dangerous. And while they were safe, he knew his desired result was lost. ( )

Sacco’s account focuses on the horrible conditions of the Palestinian refugees in Israel, the torture of the Isreali Defense Forces, and the reasons why the youth felt the need to rise up in rebellion in the intifada. While I can’t say I loved the blatant anti-Jewish slant of the book (which was to be expected), it was a fascinating experience to read it and I learned a lot that I hadn’t realized.

More detailed review on my blog

Palestine is one of those books that change the way that you look at the world around you. I knew that the people in Palestine are living surrounded by the Israeli people, many of whom are hostile towards them. But before this, I had not experienced any first-hand information about the simple people in Palestine and their lives.

Joe Sacco's style in creating comics is something that I at first did not like. He uses a LOT of text, and his drawing style is somewhat cartoonish. But once I got engrossed in his journey to the Gaza strip and other Palestinian territories, his style seemed to become more and more suitable. It is his style, and this is a very personal account.

Sacco tells about the people that he met during his journey, recounting their joys and sorrows as well as the "endless" stories about their plight in the hands of the Israelis. Mr. Sacco does not spare his subjects, one of which is himself. He tells about his selfishness in hunting good stories and subject matter, which makes the book very believable and touching.

If you have never read any comics or graphic novels, this is a good place to start. ( )

(My Review from: file:///c:/website/reviews.html#Palestine)

This is a graphic novel about the life in Palestine. It has been presented to us in the visual form unique to the medium, and is mainly a trip report of the author's visit to Palestine. The author is himself the main character who goes about visiting West Bank, Gaza etc. visiting refugee camps, talking to people (of different generations from old people who were around and personally affected in 1948, to young children who have known no other life than the suffering they are living through), visiting hospitals, seeing Israeli soldiers storm streets and fire grenades and tear gas shells, and having cups of highly sugared tea offered to him one cup after another wherever he went. The book gives us a good idea of the Palestinian situation from the point of view of the average Palestinian - one who has had close friends and relatives killed, injured, cheated, by Israeli soldiers and policies, and has himself been arrested once or twice. It is presented with down-to-earth, real and human feel with no pretense of understanding the "real reasons" behind the problems or proposing any solutions.

So while it is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the reality of the situation on the ground, it's also true that it doesn't provide any history, background, or anything of the kind that might help you get an insight of the complexity of the situation in broad terms. Having said that, the author seems to have achieved what he aimed to, and the graphic novel medium has been put to good use, and that's another (perhaps smaller) reason to read this book. ( )

Engaging. Very true to the Palestinians (giving an eye witness or first hand impression of their dramatic living conditions, at times mildly mocking their habits). And very true to the many NGO workers, diplomats, journalists, photographers, ... trying to get a grip on Palestine. ( )