Koni Benson

I haven't read a whole lot of graphic novels in my day, and I sure am glad I picked this one up. The best way to learn history, in my opinion, isn't by reading about it in books written by old white dudes, but rather to hear it directly from the people (not governments, not police departments, not military) who experienced it. This book does a great job of doing that.

My only issues were that (a) the sometimes non-linear story telling made it a bit hard to follow and (b) the writing was so darn small that I had to hold it up to my face to read.… (altro)

I'm always ready to learn about overlooked people and moments in history, but this book killed my interest in South African women's activism against racist and forced relocations in the 1970s-90s with its deadly dull text that assumes a lot of foreknowledge of the situation on the audience's part. It's a "graphic history" but it is told almost entirely in captions that either overwhelm the art or whose font is reduced to microscopic size to fit into slightly less obtrusive boxes. Dozens and dozens of people are quoted in passing, but I didn't really get to know anyone well enough to connect to their plight on an emotional level.

The art is okay, but there are a lot of talking heads. It occasionally varies between depicting real events and offering an editorial cartoon style interpretation of the people and forces at play.… (altro)