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The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography (2010)

by Tetsu Saiwai(Favorite Author)

3.76 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0143118153 (ISBN13: 9780143118152)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Penguin Books

review 1: This graphic novel is a perfectly illustrated version of the story of the 14th Dalai Lama. Tenzin Gyatso was recognized as the successor of the 13th Dalai Lama at age 2. The novel illustrates his adventure, lifestyle and personality, as well as giving a great history lesson on the China-Tibetan feuds. The purpose of this biography is to tell the story of the Dalai Lama and his adventures in a simpler way, as oppose to reading the actual Dalai Lama. The book teaches the reader a lot about Buddhism, the China-Tibetan feuds and the Dalai Lama's failures but also successes. A simple, but interesting read, this book is fit for a child or teenager who is looking for some background on the Dalai Lama. It is easy to compare this book with the 10th Edition Art of Happiness. The Art... more of Happiness is expressing the teachings, ideas and lessons of the Dalai Lama, while the 14th Dalai Lama: Manga Biography is more informative on the process of his becoming the Dalai Lama, what the job entails, his successes and failures as well as information about the world and Buddhism at the time.
review 2: I knew nothing about the 14th Dalai Lama or the issues surrounding everything in Tibet before reading this graphic novel. Apparently, I haven't really been paying attention and I know nothing about history at all--something I need to work on. Regardless, this graphic novel was a wonderful read that was quick but also quite compelling. I had a hard time concentrating on other things while I read this, which is both good and bad since I read it a lot when I had breaks from work. I will say that the art really interested me, mainly because it was a little cartoony while also dealing with some extremely serious topics. I can see this as a gentler version or format for introducing readers to these topics and this might be a good way to get additional interest in the events and the history. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Maus with how effective it was in dealing with these harsh topics and I would definitely recommend it. The only criticism that I can think of is that the heavy topic could easily eliminate frequency of rereading, but I suppose that happens with some books. less

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