Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City

In this graphic memoir Delisle chronicles what it’s like to live and work in East Jerusalem for a year, while his wife works for an NGO. What should have been a pretty straightforward travelogue became an illuminating if somewhat one-sided perspective of the everyday lives of Palestinians living on the fringe of Israel. The indignities, long waits, constant tension, and really the boredom that comes with living within East Jerusalem are well detailed with Delisle’s subtly simple black and white line drawings. Delisle clearly feels for the plight of the Palestinians. And while I can sympathize with Delisle’s views, the lack of an Israeli perspective, outside the settlements, strips away any nuance and begs the question how can show more Israelis reconcile the conditions of the Arab neighbors are forced to endure. I’m not saying his viewpoint is wrong necessarily but unlike his other memoirs Israel proper is a free and open country where a whole host of views and perspectives can be expressed. It would have been nice to get a counterpoint or two along with the stories of the Palestinians. show less

This is Guy Delisle's account of a year he spent living in Jerusalem with his family. (His wife was stationed there with MSF.) Delisle is a generally engaging guide to the foibles, the frustrations, and the fears that come with life in East Jerusalem. As an expat with no political role—he's a cartoonist and stay-at-home dad—and minimal prior knowledge, but whose profession has trained his eye for detail, he wanders off-piste to find things both quirky and telling (like street graffiti or local pickles sold in old soda bottles). Delisle treads lightly around many hot-button issues, but he clearly finds religious extremists of all stripes to be baffling, the Israeli government to be obstructionist against any perceived opposition, and show more systemic power to be weighted against Palestinians.

Jerusalem didn't work quite as well for me as other works of Delisle, though. I get that his cartoon self is probably a bit more clueless at points than his real self was to allow for exposition—e.g. there are plenty of cartoon maps that crop up when Delisle learns something new about how space is partitioned, sectioned, and policed in Israel-Palestine. But the dry, just-some-guy humour that I've enjoyed in previous works by him mapped less well onto the real sensitivities at play here. There's cheerful insouciance and there's glibness and e.g. his glossing of Pesach as as "Jewish Easter" I felt tipped over the line into the latter. show less

56. Jerusalem : Chronicles from the Holy City by Guy Delisle (2012, 336 pages, Read Nov 2-5)
translated from French by Helge Dascher

I closed this in quite a state - very emotional and sad and wishing the world were different - and also kind of surprised this book suddenly got to me so strongly.

Delisle spent a year living in East Jerusalem. His girlfriend worked for Doctors without Borders and he took care of the very young kids and drew and made comic connections. As a French Canadian and an atheist he makes an interesting outsider in Israel. And he goes everywhere - in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron - getting tours from a variety of Palestinians & Israeli Jews of varying sanities. It's impressive how much detail he show more covers. There is so much and yet I can't think of any glaring misses and I learned a ton.

The book is a chronicle of his life, but it's also a tour of as many different aspects of Israel as he could capture. And, for a graphic book, the pace is slow. It takes some time to get through, which has a nice side affect giving every aspect he wants to capture it's full due...and of allowing the book to build on itself without the reader fully realizing what is happening. He does, in many places, catch the reader off guard, as cynical observation and humorous side story suddenly becomes engagingly emotional.

I'll be looking for more of his books.

This is also posted on my LT thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/160515#4395400 show less

I have leafed through a number of Guy Delisle's books before, but this is the first one I've read cover to cover. I've been to Jerusalem a couple of times, though not for many years, and many years before the events in this book. He spent a year there with his family (his wife worked for MSF), and the book details that stay. It was a turbulent time in Israel -- though when is it not a turbulent time in that country? Delisle paints a stark yet loving portrait of a city -- and a country -- that lives constantly in the shadow of separation, alienation, and conflict, yet manages to be a vibrant place full of passionate, funny, smart people, who are totally aware of their surroundings and situations. I've always been struck by the many show more contradictions in Israeli history and society, and this is a terrific illustration (literally and figuratively) of that complicated place, as well as the author's own journey as a father and an artist. show less

I've always enjoyed Guy Delisle's work. I love his drawing style, his wry, self-deprecating humor, and his keen insight into people, which he displays both in the storytelling and through drawing style. If, because of the political context, you are expecting another Joe Sacco style book (another great comic artist btw) then you will be disappointed. Delisle's strength in this, as his previous books, is precisely in that he doesn't pretend to have a deep understanding of the issues or to be an activist. He looks at everyone as a human being and portrays them as they present themselves. He has a keen and natural insight into people and places and with a few brush strokes of image and words, make people come alive and be their unique selves.

A very nicely captured slice of life of a year in Jerusalem, with all the religious zealots, peculiar customs, fascinating sights and sad human stories that city contains. It is well-drawn and illuminated with washes of simple colour, and the occasional bright highlight for loud sounds or blood. It depicts an outsider's view of the 'Holy City' with gentle humour and some bewilderment. The author lived there for a year and became more than a tourist and less than an insider. The book reveals the complex, unbalanced and fragmented nature of Jewish/Palestinian society; showing injustice without taking sides.

I am now totally sold on [[Delisle]] and just ordered [Shenzhen a Travelogue from China] and [Pyongyang: a Journey in North Korea], having already read [Burma Chronicles]. I have read a few books about Israel and Palestine lately so have been gaining different perspectives. In this fictionalized account of Delisle's trip to Jerusalem, perspectives are not only presented from Israelis, Palestinians, and Muslims, but from different subgroups within those groups. This deeply enriches the information offered. Delisle takes tours of one place for example, with two different tour groups, one from each "side". He hears from the Israeli group about Palestinians killing Israelis, and from Palestinians about Israelis killing Palestinians. He show more learns from separate sources about subgroups from each that have helped and given shelter to the other side. And he also hears from conservative and liberal groups from all three religions/groups. I find that especially interesting as well as hopeful. It is also interesting to compare attitudes with Israel of those who Iive in Tel Aviv with those in Jerusalem.

An interesting view of daily life in this area of the world is presented. For example, taxis will not travel in both sections of Jerusalem, which results in big inconvenience, especially during off hours. There are actually three sabbaths in the area between Christians, Jews and Muslims, so you have to know which store to go to when, as well as which group sells what and refuses to sell other items. One common sight is people walking down streets carrying rifles slung over their backs or pistols in their hands. Another weird experience is sitting on a beach during a much needed day off and knowing the jets flying over are on their way to bomb Palestinian areas, especially when you know and love both.

I am embarrassed to report my surprise at the large amount of international intervention and assistance offered in this area of the world. Once again, my ethnocentricity surprises me. The author himself is Canadian and I believe his home is France.

There is an incredible amount of information packed into this graphic novel and I highly recommend it. Also, once again I seem to have a deeper or more complete experience with the graphics included. You know that feeling when you look up from your reading and realize you are not actually in that place you are reading about? It is very strong for me with graphic books. I almost feel as if I toured the holy places and attended both NGO and embassy gatherings as well as those of locals. Five stars. show less