Awards

• ALSC Graphic Novels Reading List
• Independent Publisher Book Silver Award
• YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Overview

Simon Schwartz was born in 1982 in East Germany, at a time when the repressive Socialist Unity Party of Germany controlled the area. Shortly before Simon's birth, his parents decided to leave their home in search of greater freedoms on the other side of the Berlin Wall. But East German authorities did not allow the Schwartzes to leave for almost three years. In the meantime, Simon's parents struggled with the costs of their decision: the loss of work, the attention of the East German secret police, and the fragmentation of their family. In his debut graphic novel, Simon Schwartz tells the true story of his parents' coming of age in East Germany, their rejection of the communist way of life, and the challenges of leaving that world behind.

Full Product Details

9781467760287

Table of Contents

Reviews

In Watkinson's graceful translation, German author-illustrator Schwartz charts each painful step of his parents' departure from East Germany. Black-and-white panels set amid the grim institutional architecture of post-WWII East Berlin record the courtship of Schwartz's focused father and artistic mother, who meet as university students and, despite their differences, realize that they're attracted to one another. 'You're in the church?' he asks disbelievingly; just as disbelievingly, she counters, 'You're in the party?' When the two begin to spend time with dissidents, and the state apparatus starts to close around them, they apply for an exit permit. But their departure is blocked, and Schwartz describes with anguish the family's alienation from his father's parents and its persecution by the Stasi, the East German secret police. The story suffers somewhat from the way Schwartz shuffles back and forth between the family's time pre- and post-emigration; it's not always clear what's happening when. Complex political undercurrents demand a lot from readers, too, but Schwartz's smart, probing account makes this piece of history matter. --Publishers Weekly --Journal In the opening pages of this graphic memoir, the author as a young child realizes that his neighbors and relatives are not free to move around. They live on the eponymous other side of the wall. Schwartz shares his story growing up in West Berlin and that of his parents' lives in East Berlin as they grow increasingly disillusioned with the Communist government of East Germany and face great resistance to their desire to immigrate. Depicted in black and white with a realistic style that portrays a grim history without being overly stark, this graphic novel shares an important view of recent history. Likely to have greatest resonance with high schoolers, this book would be appropriate for middle school as well. While it might appeal most to adults with personal memories of a communist empire, Schwartz's work is also a fantastic supplement to traditional textbooks. A good addition to school and public libraries looking to add diversity to their teen or secondary education graphic novel collections. --School Library Journal --Journal The Cold War tension represented by the Berlin Wall likely still has some real estate in the German psyche today, but it might still be rather remote to most American readers. Schwartz's multiple-award winner (in his native Germany) will go some way toward remedying that. Schwartz recalls his parents' struggle to make a life in Communist East Berlin and, eventually, to immigrate to the democratic west side of the wall, at the cost of careers, friends, and family. The complex politics are set aside in favor of a narrative that captures the desperation of adults caught in an oppressive society and the confusion of a young child seeing it through the prism of family. Schwartz's black-and-white cartooning abets this simpler, emotionally resonant style with large, minimalist faces that powerfully express feelings, while realistic backgrounds give an underlying sense of authenticity. This slim volume typifies the format's great strength in this area, which is not to deliver hard facts but to bring the human face of history off the page and into readers' hearts. --Booklist --Journal

In Watkinson's graceful translation, German author-illustrator Schwartz charts each painful step of his parents' departure from East Germany. Black-and-white panels set amid the grim institutional architecture of post-WWII East Berlin record the courtship of Schwartz's focused father and artistic mother, who meet as university students and, despite their differences, realize that they're attracted to one another. 'You're in the church?' he asks disbelievingly; just as disbelievingly, she counters, 'You're in the party?' When the two begin to spend time with dissidents, and the state apparatus starts to close around them, they apply for an exit permit. But their departure is blocked, and Schwartz describes with anguish the family's alienation from his father's parents and its persecution by the Stasi, the East German secret police. The story suffers somewhat from the way Schwartz shuffles back and forth between the family's time pre- and post-emigration; it's not always clear what's happening when. Complex political undercurrents demand a lot from readers, too, but Schwartz's smart, probing account makes this piece of history matter. --Publishers Weekly --Journal The Cold War tension represented by the Berlin Wall likely still has some real estate in the German psyche today, but it might still be rather remote to most American readers. Schwartz's multiple-award winner (in his native Germany) will go some way toward remedying that. Schwartz recalls his parents' struggle to make a life in Communist East Berlin and, eventually, to immigrate to the democratic west side of the wall, at the cost of careers, friends, and family. The complex politics are set aside in favor of a narrative that captures the desperation of adults caught in an oppressive society and the confusion of a young child seeing it through the prism of family. Schwartz's black-and-white cartooning abets this simpler, emotionally resonant style with large, minimalist faces that powerfully express feelings, while realistic backgrounds give an underlying sense of authenticity. This slim volume typifies the format's great strength in this area, which is not to deliver hard facts but to bring the human face of history off the page and into readers' hearts. --Booklist --Journal In the opening pages of this graphic memoir, the author as a young child realizes that his neighbors and relatives are not free to move around. They live on the eponymous other side of the wall. Schwartz shares his story growing up in West Berlin and that of his parents' lives in East Berlin as they grow increasingly disillusioned with the Communist government of East Germany and face great resistance to their desire to immigrate. Depicted in black and white with a realistic style that portrays a grim history without being overly stark, this graphic novel shares an important view of recent history. Likely to have greatest resonance with high schoolers, this book would be appropriate for middle school as well. While it might appeal most to adults with personal memories of a communist empire, Schwartz's work is also a fantastic supplement to traditional textbooks. A good addition to school and public libraries looking to add diversity to their teen or secondary education graphic novel collections. --School Library Journal --Journal

Author Information

Simon Schwartz grew up in Berlin, Germany. He is a freelance illustrator and illustration professor in Hamburg, Germany.

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