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La Gran Guerra (2014)

by Joe Sacco(Favorite Author)

4.35 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

8439727518 (ISBN13: 9788439727514)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

MONDADORI

review 1: This is the most impressive book I have encountered in a very long time. It is a staggering wordless graphic history of the first day of the battle of Somme. In one continuous panel Sacco depicts the progression of the bloodiest day in World War I. It is a remarkable format for a book, and even more stunning for a non-fiction book about war. Elaborately drawn and thoroughly engrossing this is evocative storytelling with no words and almost no recognizable characters. It is unlike anything I've ever seen. Like most art I prefer to experience it, read about it then experience it again within the context of the knowledge I've gained from reading about it and that's what I did with this book. Viewing the panorama itself was an incredible experience. Oddly beautiful through the... more incredible visual imagery of destruction, loss and pain. The ink drawing was scrupulously done and very easy to look at. That alone made the sheer volume of drawing and information conveyed tolerable. After absorbing as much of the drawing as I could I read the explanatory essay by Adam Hochschild detailing what the panorama shows, and I followed that by re-reading the book with the annotations. My first experience of the book was almost overwhelming but when viewed through the lens of the annotations, I was pulled even further into the drawing and the story. From the macro look and overall effect to the micro view of gorgeously rendered detail this was an outstanding book and a powerful statement about the effects of war.
review 2: This isn't really a book. The pages are attached to each other and about 20 panels or more fold outward. It is, in fact, a detailed, huge, panoramic ink drawing of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. from no man's land and active explosions to going over the top, to death and injury, to supply lines, guns, medics, gas, trenches, hospitals and the huge number of people and equipment needed to operate this theater. I've read a lot about this war but nothing quite gives the impact this drawing does. It also comes with a small booklet describing the battle and is boxed. My grandchildren, 10 and older, and my children were shocked. Great investment. Also, I just read the Paris underground has reproduced this drawing on the walls. less

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