Fax from Sarajevo

This is a horrifying read, which is appropriate for a horrifying period. I asked my library to acquire this last year, and by the time I got to reading it yesterday I had pretty much forgotten what it was about. Which sort of tracks, as very few people remember much about the Bosnian Genocide and even the Wikipedia article downplays what happened in the region.

Kubert uses his skills as an illustrator well here, and the graphics highlight the atrocities in a brutal fashion. Cutting between the story of Ervin's family and the faxes he sent from the Sarajevo area is a nice touch, with the dramatization underlined by actual messages sent as it was happening. They don't really interlink well in many places, though; the faxes often spoil the upcoming story developments, and a dramatic event is sometimes undercut by a fax treating it as a non-event. It's a nice storytelling device used poorly.

In spite of these issues, this is still a powerful and emotional story. It brought me to tears a few times, and while I read it in a day it's something I had to put down repeatedly to give myself space to breath. Highly recommend.

This memoir deals with how a comics writer dealt with living in Sarajevo, Bosnia, during the war in—and invasion of—former Yugoslavia.

His family is, like the rest of the population of Sarajevo, under constant attacks which are perpetrated by Serbs. Say what you want about the war and invasion, but the Serbs are The Evil.

I've no qualms with somebody recanting their story. I mean, this story is theirs both in what I surmise is their truths and their memory. The main problem I have with this book is that the author has written a story that is so filled with minimalistic constant that it is extremely hard to digest.

An example: a father gets ready to go buy bread for his family. He kisses his wife. He kisses his kids. He says goodbye to a micro utopia. He leaves his family's home for his city square. The city square is bombed to shreds by Serb and the man dies. The family is displayed in tatters, crying, with an outro text saying 'war is Hell'.

Next story: an old man gets ready to leave his home to get food from a UN truck. He envisages freedom, daydreams a Serb-free existence where they are not, for Serbs are Evil. The man walks out and sees the UN truck. Serb-infested arms explode into combat, repelling the UN troops while killing the poor old man. An outro text says 'Beware of Evil Serbs!'.

OK, the examples are made by me, not to invoke pity—I'm of Serbian heritage—but to emphasise that the book should have been edited a lot harder to make it breathe. The entire book is filled with utterly horrible stories but the style is ultimately what ruins this book. I fully accept the contents of the book and absolutely agree that Serbs committed atrocities during the civil war. The style of this book drips of pity-invoking scenes that, early on, invites antipathy; it's a shame, for this story could have been wondrously told.

The illustrations are old-school US-style: sharp imagery of the old biff-boom-bang style abound. No nuance, all contrast.

I wish this book had been tightly edited to highlight tension and make it nuanced; even though war can be one-sided, this book is, simply put, far too simple to engage me and think it's a human experience that's not absolutely lopsided.

PS. The atrocities committed by NATO, the USA, the UN, Croatia, and even Bosnia, aren't in this book.