Deogratias
I considered doing one of my “all time favorite books” for this first book blog review but decided I’d just jump right in with a review of the last book I read. Doesn’t hurt that it was an incredible book! So, here we go….
Book review of:
Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda
by J.P. Stassen
translated by Alexis Siegel
I’m a graphic novel fan and my favorite graphic novels are the autobiographical variety. Deogratias isn’t autobiographical but it is an historical story set in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994. The author was living in Rwanda at the time and obviously experienced some unspeakable stuff up close and personal. So while this graphic novel is not autobiographical, it has an element of truth and history to it that hits home for me.
This book shook me harder than any book in a long time. The story is told in two parts, flashing back and forward. We never witness the crucial moment in the story but we see Deogratias’ memories of what happened before the genocide, and his experiences now after the genocide. Eventually we find out what happened at that crucial moment that transformed Deogratias from the light hearted boy to the haunted madman. As a child he was endearing: sometimes charming, sometimes obnoxious, but only in the way of all teenaged boys. But the Deogratias we see now is frightening and possibly hallucinating. Up until the end you will be wondering what is real and what is not, what actually happened and what is purely in Deogratias’ mind.
The illustrations are beautiful. The colors you see on the cover are the colors used predominantly throughout the novel. Lots of deep, muted blue, shades of brown and maroon, and only the occasional bright splash of green or yellow. Pay attention to the border of each frame for a quick visual cue whether you are in the past or the present.
This book came to my attention when I became aware of a new publishing imprint called First Second Books that is publishing some great new graphic novels. I think I found them via my interest in the works of Joann Sfar. Their website is pretty awesome and you can see some more pictures from Deogratias there.
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