After the Spring: A Story of Tunisian Youth

Some Tunisian twentysomethings flounder about in their personal lives as their country remains in turmoil a couple years after the revolution of the Arab Spring. The work of a French woman who visited Tunisia for a month, it's one of those unsatisfying stories that doesn't make much sense without reading all the background information provided in the back of the book, which is written in deathly dull prose. At the same time, the amount of political background the author still manages to shove into the main story steals screen time from the characters and my ability to learn much about them. It doesn't help that the art is simplistic and vague, making it a bit difficult to tell people apart.

The end result is just one giant muddle: a show more snapshot of young folks and a country caught in a moment where everything is up in the air and nothing is really resolved.

"So we had a revolution. What do you want to do tonight?"
"I don't know, what you do you want to do?"
"I don't know." show less

What's happening in Tunisia since the Arab spring? Activities by panel space:
1. Scowling while smoking cigarettes
2. Complaining about how much Tunisia sucks since the Arab spring
3. Complaining about how much Tunisia sucked before the Arab spring
4. Protesting/attending the funerals of martyred reformist politicians
5. Sitting on the beach/stony desert while engaging in items 2 or 3
6. Trying to find a place to make out when you are living with your conservative parents

This wasn't really bad, just not that good. Not being able to find a job and being hassled by the police sucks, but I wasn't able to generate a lot of feeling for the characters.

The art is also a little weak. Better than I could manage, but there are more than a few weird show more looking hands and mouths. show less