Abirached, Zeina. A Game for Swallows.

Abirached, Zeina.  A Game for Swallows.                  Graphic Universe see Lerner       188p  $22.00  978-0-7613-8568-4              2012      hs             E-BN       Graphic novel                      

This is the graphic-novel memoir of Zeina Abirached, born in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War.  With a city divided into Christian and Muslim halves, travel is risky, and one evening her parents fail to return from a visit to the other side.  Supportive neighbors and endless optimism form the basis of this tale of war, friendship and survival.  With features that I am certain will provide endless comparisons to the Persepolis books, this one stands as similar but very different.  Yes, it is also a graphic novel, and yes, it is also black and white, but beyond these similarities it is very different, and yet just as wonderful. Why? Because the story is very different, as Zeina and her brother remain in Beirut while the city is bombed and destroyed.  Residents are trapped indoors and they create maps (well documented in this book) to note where safe neighbors and buildings are located, where to find supplies, how to avoid snipers, and so much more.  This is a loving memoir about neighbors who become family, about how valuable small kindnesses can be, and how survival can be celebrated.      

Abirached, Zeina, 1981–Graphic nonfiction                                                                      --Lynn Fisher