A gripping, moody, illustrated chronicle of the notorious Crescent Hotel.
Fitzgibbon’s graphic novel details a historically creepy old hotel.
The author takes as his subject the infamous Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, which opened in 1886 and trundled along as a hotel and a school for girls until the Great Depression ended both concerns in 1934. In 1937, the sprawling, ornate building was converted into a cancer clinic by a man named Norman Baker, who attracted a wide clientele by promising a cure for the disease. “To gaze into the lobby and see the folks, young and old, sitting around contentedly enjoying themselves, one would hardly think of them as being sick, but upon inquiry you would learn that many of them have been pronounced incurable and have come to the Baker Hospital as a last resort.” Fitzgibbon inserts himself into the narrative, depicting himself researching the story of Baker and his clinic, delving into old newspaper accounts and hearing from some people who had direct experiences with the crackpot medical regimens practiced at the old hotel. The author also includes details from correspondence and private memoranda, such as a “For Patients Only” notice Baker circulated in 1939: “Be determined,” it reads. “Make up your mind that you are going to get well. Do not let those poisonous, good-for-nothing thoughts enter your mind.” Fitzgibbon frames this history for maximum cinematic effect—a pair of young boys warily walk through the cobwebbed empty rooms of the abandoned Crescent, examining the dusty remnants of the horrifying quackery that harmed many hopeful patients under Baker’s dubious care. Fitzgibbon illustrates most of his story in evocative sepia tones and muted colors, and his use of the various historical source materials is very effective throughout. This is a powerful interpretation of the real horrors behind an infamous institution.
A gripping, moody, illustrated chronicle of the notorious Crescent Hotel.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2021
ISBN: 9798985068900
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Curio Box
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An impassioned message of rage and hope.
The author of Persepolis returns with a collection about burgeoning activism in Iran.
In September 2022, the beating and death of Mahsa Jina Amini, an Iranian student arrested for not wearing her headscarf properly, incited a solidarity movement among women and men that spread around the world. To publicize and bear witness to this major uprising, Satrapi has gathered stories, cartoons, and essays from more than 20 artists, activists, journalists, and academics. The author has two aims: “to explain what’s going on in Iran, to decipher events in all their complexity and nuance for a non-Iranian readership, and to help you understand them as fully as possible”; and “to remind Iranians that they are not alone.” Setting the movement in context, Iranian American historian Abbas Milani offers an overview of the political upheavals and revolutions that have led to the current misogynist, repressive regime and the “resolute defiance” that has emerged in protest. As each contributor attests, life under a wrathful dictatorship is consistently frightening and dangerous: “The Islamic Republic ensures its own survival by murdering people. During the successive demonstrations” over Amini’s murder, “several hundred people were killed in an attempt to strike fear into the hearts of protesters. Young people were forced to confess under torture.” Women are especially vulnerable. Since November 2022, young students in schools across Iran have been poisoned by toxic gas as part of an attempt to force girls’ schools to close. Protecting the regime falls to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a paramilitary organization that answers directly to Khomeini, the Supreme Leader, and for the past four decades has carried out a reign of terror. This collection pays homage to victims and celebrates the dreams of Iran’s determined activists. Other contributors include Joanne Sfar, Lewis Trondheim, Paco Roca, and Mana Neyestani.
An impassioned message of rage and hope.Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781644214053
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Seven Stories
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
An accessible, informative journey through complex issues during turbulent times.
Immersion journalism in the form of a graphic narrative following a Syrian family on their immigration to America.
Originally published as a 22-part series in the New York Times that garnered a Pulitzer for editorial cartooning, the story of the Aldabaan family—first in exile in Jordan and then in New Haven, Connecticut—holds together well as a full-length book. Halpern and Sloan, who spent more than three years with the Aldabaans, movingly explore the family’s significant obstacles, paying special attention to teenage son Naji, whose desire for the ideal of the American dream was the strongest. While not minimizing the harshness of the repression that led them to journey to the U.S.—or the challenges they encountered after they arrived—the focus on the day-by-day adjustment of a typical teenager makes the narrative refreshingly tangible and free of political polemic. Still, the family arrived at New York’s JFK airport during extraordinarily political times: Nov. 8, 2016, the day that Donald Trump was elected. The plan had been for the entire extended family to move, but some had traveled while others awaited approval, a process that was hampered by Trump’s travel ban. The Aldabaans encountered the daunting odds that many immigrants face: find shelter and employment, become self-sustaining quickly, learn English, and adjust to a new culture and climate (Naji learned to shovel snow, which he had never seen). They also received anonymous death threats, and Naji wanted to buy a gun for protection. He asked himself, “Was this the great future you were talking about back in Jordan?” Yet with the assistance of selfless volunteers and a community of fellow immigrants, the Aldabaans persevered. The epilogue provides explanatory context and where-are-they-now accounts, and Sloan’s streamlined, uncluttered illustrations nicely complement the text, consistently emphasizing the humanity of each person.
An accessible, informative journey through complex issues during turbulent times.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-30559-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Metropolitan/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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