Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey

Özge Samancı was born in 1975 in Izmir, Turkey. Her memoir begins with her six-year-old self using binoculars to see her sister waving from school across the street. "School," Özge says, "was the place where you could wave to your mother and your sister, who were watching you with binoculars. I wanted to be on the other side of the binoculars." Her whole childhood was spent thus, trying to keep up with her smart and accomplished sister, who always seemed one step ahead, and to be in the limelight of her parent's approval. Always slightly off-kilter from the expectations of her family, teachers, and Ataturk (whose hagiographic presence in Turkey during the '80s was ubiquitous), Özge struggled to find her own path and dare to show more disappoint these expectations.

The tone of the book, as well as the drawings, are funny and sweetly expressive. I was reminded of [Ramona the Brave], but life in Turkey was not as saccharine as American suburbia. I learned a bit about Turkey's ban on imports, educational practices, and political tensions, but without any explicit lessons. [Dare to Disappoint] was a fun book to read, and I enjoyed following Özge into college. She is currently an artist and assistant professor at Northwestern University in Chicago. show less

Really, 4.5 stars. I really loved this. I loved reading about a childhood in Turkey (a place I'm kind of shamefully ignorant about). I loved reading about the author's struggle to please her parents and her self, the struggle to balance happiness and being true to oneself with real concerns about livelihood and financial safety.

I really wish there was more! I want to know what happened next, and next, and then next.

I really liked her artistic style, too. Big fan of her color palette. I particularly liked the use of some of the mixed media, like stamps - it created a kind of zine-like, intimate, kid-in-their-bedroom feel which I loved.

Probably one of the most beautiful graphic novels I've ever seen--not that it's over-the-top like the Book of Kells or something, but because the artwork isn't bound by panels, is primarily black and white except for occasional splashes of color, and, mostly, because of Samanci's collage-like pages, which incorporate (images of) real objects and papers. It's also, of course, a fascinating account of life in Turkey and its education system. And Samanci's struggle to please her parents and find a dream to pursue are so relatable to me. I'm so happy that she found a career that (I hope) she enjoys, and a little bit jealous that she did find it in the end.

I'll be keeping and treasuring this one.

The struggle for Özge growing up was real. As with many young adults Dare to Disappoint tells Özge's story of trying to navigate the voices and white noise influences encountered while transitioning to adulthood. Her story was humorous in its telling, conveying her personal struggles and just enough Turkish history to not be overwhelming. Admittedly I am not a great fan of graphic novels so at times I thought it took just a millisecond too long to tell the story.

As a child, Ozge Samanci was drawn to the sea. Her early hero being Jacques Cousteau. Her father wanted her to be an engineer and pushed her hard. Set on the Aegean coast, in Turkey this wonderful graphic memoir, details Ozge early life struggling against the system to become who she wanted to be, not what society demanded. Funny, warm and insightful. Ozge now teaches at Northwestern in Chicago.

I read this book in one sitting--I could NOT put it down. Samanci captures the voice of herself throughout all of her ages, starting as a young child and moving into adulthood grappling with fantasies of acceptance, allegiance to her nation, duty to her family, and the persistent dream of being an artist. Her use of unusual materials to create the collages of each page is to be heralded, including bread!

In her autobiographical graphic novel, Özge Samancı describes her youth in Turkey, and the conflict between doing what your parents think is best for your future and what your own heart desires. I suspect we are of a similar age, and so it was fascinating to see the ways in which her childhood in the 1980s and 1990s was both similar to and different from mine. I loved learning more about the Turkish culture and some key history of the country -- Ataturk was quite the dynamo in terms of revolutionizing Turkish society, and a blue-eyed blond to boot (who knew?). It seemed to end abruptly, leaving me yearning to learn how she did finally achieve success in her chosen field (but perhaps she's saving that tale for part II?). The sad thing show more about graphic novels is that they are simply over too soon, and it's a challenge to savor the experience. Highly recommended, especially in conjunction with Persepolis. show less