January 2020 Reading Wrap-Up

The start of the year has been great. I wanted to read 20 books. Ended up reading 13. Not bad though, out of which two were graphic novels and one a picture book for children (seemingly). .

Books read transported me to so many lands and made me explore my own stance on issues and life in general. From a story of a marriage to a story of how a movie on Manto was made to a novel on racism in modern-day America to a book on Dara Shukoh, I’m quite pleased with the diverse reading. At the same time, it so happened organically that I ended up reading 12 books by women and 1 by a man. Also, thank you to all the publishers who sent these books.

Here are the titles with my ratings:

1. A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid (5/5)
2. Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (5/5)
3. Exquisite Cadavers by Meena Kandasamy (4/5)
4. I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached (5/5)
5. Jaipur Journals by Namita Gokhale (4/5)
6. All my Goodbyes by Mariana Dimópulos (5/5)
7. Manto & I by Nandita Das (4/5)
8. North Station by Bae Suah (5/5)
9. The Beach at Night by Elena Ferrante (5/5)
10. Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (5/5)
11. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (4/5)
12. So All is Peace by Vandana Singh-Lal (5/5)
13. The Emperor Who Never Was: Dara Shukoh in Mughal India by Supriya Gandhi (5/5)

This is my list. What have you read this month that has got you excited or made you want to recommend it to everyone you know? .

I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached

Title: I Remember Beirut
Author: Zeina Abirached
Publisher: Graphic Universe
ISBN: 978-1467744584
Genre: Graphic Memoir
Pages: 96
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5/5

It doesn’t take time to read a graphic memoir. However, it does take time for it to settle in your heart and mind, if you allow it to that is. I Remember Beirut is one such memoir – I don’t think it is spoken about all that much as Persepolis or Maus, but it is in the same vein and extremely relevant (sadly) even today, given the times we live in.

Zeina Abirached writes about growing up during the Lebanese Civil War. She remembers things that happened in Beirut and what it was like to be a child in such a time. Zeina remembers all sorts of things – the darkness, being hugged by her mother, the holes in her mother’s Renault, the colours, how her brother loved collecting shrapnel for his collection, and her backpack that had everything she wanted, if they ever had to be on the run.

I Remember Beirut is a book of childhood remembrances as seen through the eyes of a child. A childhood that was partially lost, a childhood that also had so many happy things in it – songs, laughter, and fun in the most unusual ways.

Abirached uses black and white drawings for this book and it works wondrously. Sometimes all you have is pitch black panels depicting what they have to in the most subtle manner. At others, the combination reflecting violence, happy times, or just humour works splendidly, with clean lines and patterns that add the extra touch to the memoir. Also, though quite short it worked for me, and also kept me wanting more.

I Remember Beirut is a marvellous look at East Beirut during the Civil War through the eyes of not only a child, but also involving her family, friends, and slowly coming to some realisations of how life can be during wartime.