Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City

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Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 1,363 ratings · 204 reviews

"Neither Jewish nor Arab, Delisle explores Jerusalem and is able to observe this strange world with candidness and humor...But most of all, those stories convey what life in East Jerusalem is about for an expatriate."—Haaretz

"Engaging...[ Delisle] highlights the very complex lives of Israelis, Palestinians, and foreign residents."—Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Guy Delisl...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published April 24th 2012 by Drawn and Quarterly (first published 2011)

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Apr 04, 2013 Xandra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: atheism-myths-science, graphic-novels, biography-memoir, non-fiction, favorites, humor, travel, reviewed

If you had asked me last year what I wanted from the graphic novel world I would have said: a more colorful Guy Delisle travelogue. And here I have it. A fantastic book with more color, more humor and more depth than his previous ones and unlike most graphic novels, I didn’t feel like it went by too fast or that it wasn’t worth the money. It left me with a feeling of completion and the satisfaction that I got a solid and visually appealing account of a year in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is Guy Delisle...more If you had asked me last year what I wanted from the graphic novel world I would have said: a more colorful Guy Delisle travelogue. And here I have it. A fantastic book with more color, more humor and more depth than his previous ones and unlike most graphic novels, I didn’t feel like it went by too fast or that it wasn’t worth the money. It left me with a feeling of completion and the satisfaction that I got a solid and visually appealing account of a year in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is Guy Delisle’s fourth travelogue and, in my opinion, his best. It’s obvious that a lot of work went into this. It’s a pretty big book that packs everything I love: travel (he travels more than in his previous books, including two short trips to Europe), self-deprecating humor (his funniest book yet), religion (always a fascinating topic) and great artwork.

Delisle lives in East Jerusalem with his wife and two kids and coveys what it’s like to live in a bizarre city torn apart by deep-seated beliefs. A place where the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a never-ending concern. A place where followers of three major religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) have still to learn how to live together in peace. A place of religious, social and geographical segregation. Starting 2002, a separation wall was built to control the entry of Palestinian West Bank residents into Israel and therefore prevent terrorist attacks. The barrier is still under construction and its length upon completion is estimated to be approximately 700 kilometers.

It’s a complicated reality which Delisle manages to present in understandable terms, with depth and humor, always keeping an open mind and a perpetually fascinated and confused attitude as one would expect from an atheist confronted with religion. He is curious, interested, observant, funny, insightful, questioning, he tackles a wide variety of topics ranging from strange religious practices to the 2008-2009 Gaza War and, all the while, he immortalizes in his drawings a year of his life.

So what makes Jerusalem and its surrounding areas so different? To name a few oddities: Samaritans adamant in their belief that prayers must be placed over and not on the doorframe (like Jews wrongly think), ultra-orthodox families averaging 7 children and living below poverty line because the husbands don’t work and are exempt from military service (they study sacred texts instead), inbreeding Samaritans with a disability rate of nearly 12%, parallel transportation systems (Israeli buses that go everywhere except the Arab quarters and Arab minivans that operate nowhere but the Arab quarters), the omnipresence of guns, Spiderman kippas, an Arab family renting crosses to people who want to reenact Christ’s Passion, stores being closed on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday according to their owners’ religious affiliation. No farther than Tel Aviv coffee shops are open on the Sabbath and girls in bikinis are smoking hookahs on the beach.

All in all, a wonderful book and highly recommended if you like graphic novels, traveling, humor or you're interested in religion. Sadly, according to this interview, we won't be seeing any more travelogues from him anytime soon.
(less)

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Mar 05, 2013 Jonathan Funk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Guy Delisle has an uncanny ability to capture those small moments that we tend to take for granted.

In the very first scene (flight to Israel), a stranger on the airplane provides some unprompted comfort to Guy's child, and winds up casually engaging the youngster for the duration of the flight. In the grand scheme of things this is just a brief intersection of lives that will never touch again, and yet touch they did. Each character having a small, but memorable impact on the others before parti...more Guy Delisle has an uncanny ability to capture those small moments that we tend to take for granted.

In the very first scene (flight to Israel), a stranger on the airplane provides some unprompted comfort to Guy's child, and winds up casually engaging the youngster for the duration of the flight. In the grand scheme of things this is just a brief intersection of lives that will never touch again, and yet touch they did. Each character having a small, but memorable impact on the others before parting company forever.

As the travelogue proceeds, Guy continues to capture the small moments in the midst of the more obviously memorable ones (getting shot at! witnessing riots!), and I love that about this book. It wouldn't have to be about Jerusalem, or any particular place, and it would hold me captive just to see this multitude of moments (many of which resonate with my own, rather different life).

And of course there are the big stories, too. Border conflicts and ethnic rivalries. Guy manages to get tied up in many curious scenarios, by luck or choice, I don't know. I really appreciate his unerringly neutral perspective on all of these matter. He somehow manages to be politically, religiously, even gender neutral on so many issues. An unbiased documentarian.

Finally, I compliment the aesthetic nature of his work. He uses a very neutral palette of colors for so much of his work that when he needs to emphasize something, or wants to draw your eyes, a rare splash of color becomes quite visually striking. His linework is deceptively simple, considering the breadth of emotion he is able to communicate with just a few penstrokes. Guy uses a lot of universal images or actions so that many scenes are communicated without text. It is a very artful form of storytelling, which I can't help but appreciate.

The only downside (which I feel petty mentioning) is the price. If you can, find it at a library (as I did). Highly recommended in general, and in particular to any graphic novel connoisseurs.(less)

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Feb 12, 2013 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: male-author, graphic-novels, middle-east

In Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, Guy Delisle tells of the year he spent living in Jerusalem while his wife was stationed there with Doctors Without Borders. Delisle travels throughout Israel and Palestine, visiting many of the holy sites of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism as well as other area landmarks. The book is full of his observations about the things he sees and events he witnesses. I love Delisle’s willingness to often portray himself as a confused outsider. There are some i...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Kathe rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read the book in English. My kids read it, and they thought it was weird, mostly because they couldn't understand why he was living in Bet Hanina when he kept complaining about living there. For me, a recent immigrant to Israel with strong opinions about what goes on here, it was good to see a different perspective on "the situation," and it emphasized that things are not black and white, to the point where he does not want to shop in the stores in the nearby Jewish community, but then he sees...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Oleg Kagan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: judaism

Finding Guy Delisle's Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea somewhat unsatisfying, I was not sure what to expect when I decided to take the Unshelved Book Club up on their recommendation for Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City. A few things were in the book's favor from the outset. First, I have some interest in the region specifically, and I like travelogues generally. Second, I figured that the graphic novel genre would allow me to experience a city that is known for its ancient architectur...more Finding Guy Delisle's Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea somewhat unsatisfying, I was not sure what to expect when I decided to take the Unshelved Book Club up on their recommendation for Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City. A few things were in the book's favor from the outset. First, I have some interest in the region specifically, and I like travelogues generally. Second, I figured that the graphic novel genre would allow me to experience a city that is known for its ancient architecture, age-old style, and beauty. Third, remembering Delisle's mostly unassuming, foreigner's perspective on North Korea, I was looking forward to the same treatment of the heavily politicized situation in Israel. Now that I've read it, I can safely say that these things are still in Jerusalem's favor. In addition, much more happens in this book than in Pyongyang, which on its own raises it above the North Korea book.

In fact, a major appeal of this book is the functional explanations it gives of the various regional conflicts. It is through difficulties in travel, chance encounters with various characters, self-guided explorations of the area, and the occasional tours that Delisle shows life in the Holy City. A particularly strong sequence follows Delisle on two tours of Hebron, one led by "Breaking the Silence", an organization founded by Israeli soldiers who take testimonies from soldiers about their experience in the Settlements, and the other led by a representative of the settlers. Sequences like this one and others lead me to consider Jerusalem, in addition to Ted Conover's chapter on the West Bank in The Routes of Man, useful additions to reading lists on the Israeli-Palestinian situation.

While I can't say Jerusalem was entertaining in the way of a traditional plot, I did find Delisle's episodic tales satisfying. Because things moved so quickly, my mind was constantly attentive to the various facets of the author's life in Israel. Whether it was a section involving his children, taking a tour, going out sketching, a party, a happening while traveling, teaching a workshop etc. etc. there seems to have been many elements to Delisle and his family's life in this book. Even if it was occasionally dour, I liked the glimpse we got.(less)

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Sep 16, 2012 Paul rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Paul by: Rose

Shelves: graphic-novelly-stuff

I love these graphic autobiographers and their concentration on the miniscule humdrum realities of their ordinary lives. ( On Thursday I tried to find a playgroup for my kids. On Friday I went to this really dull party.) I would buy all of them, every one, except that these are the least value-for-money books ever, they're always really pricey and you can read them in a couple of hours. But they're soooo nice.

This one is an account of a year as a "trailing spouse" in Jerusalem. Mr Delisle's miss...more

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Tzipora Love your last paragraph! I don't know, as a semi-religious Jew that I completely agree politically with this book (but neither do I completely agree...more
Apr 17, 2013 04:46pm

Paul I visited Jerusalem only once, for a week, in the 1990s - it was a very memorable trip! We were English and not Jewish and were therefore most suspici...more
Apr 18, 2013 12:30am

Jun 23, 2012 Aaron rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book would be more accurately titled "a bunch of random journal entries by an Ugly American in East Jerusalem." Delisle spends a year in East Jerusalem with his girlfriend and their children while she works for Doctors without Borders. The book is his travelogue of that time, but Delisle manages to spend a year in an incredibly diverse and vibrant city and not be changed in the least by it. He shows contempt for almost everyone he meets and seems continually surprised when things are differ...more This book would be more accurately titled "a bunch of random journal entries by an Ugly American in East Jerusalem." Delisle spends a year in East Jerusalem with his girlfriend and their children while she works for Doctors without Borders. The book is his travelogue of that time, but Delisle manages to spend a year in an incredibly diverse and vibrant city and not be changed in the least by it. He shows contempt for almost everyone he meets and seems continually surprised when things are different from a North American City. He never asks why people do what they do, just is surprised by their actions.

A few examples:
He gives several presentations and workshops on cartooning to Palestinians throughout the year. During the first one, he "accidentally" shows a cartoon of a naked woman and man. One might think that he could figure out that in a society where women dress modestly and often go veiled, they might be a little offended by the nudity. In fact, a third of his audience leave immediately. At the next presentation, he shows the same images to "see what would happen." One might expect that he would learn from his first experience and be more sensitive to the Muslim culture, but he doesn't. He does it again and again.

During passover (which he bizarrely calls the "Jewish Easter" which shows a major misunderstanding of both holidays), when Jews are forbidden to eat products with yeast in them, he gets annoyed that many of his regular foods are hidden behind plastic sheeting. Instead of asking why this is or is it's ok to buy them, he pushes the plastic aside and takes what he wants (p. 241). What he doesn't realize is that by doing so, he could be making many foods in the store unkosher and if someone saw what he was doing, possibly cost the store time and money to clean up his mess.

He is especially critical of Israeli Jews in the book, seeming to have no understanding of Judaism and no desire to learn. He repeatedly comments on the prevalence of weapons among Israeli Jews, but never seems to ask why. He eats in a cafe where people are remembering those who died at a suicide bombing at the same cafe a few years earlier, but gets continually surprised that there is security guard at the door who checks his bag. He never connects the dots and understands that the check is to make sure he isn't a suicide bomber. He looks at a guard with a gun at Masada and comments that "you see weapons even in the most peaceful places" (p. 157). But never asks the guard why she is there or why she carries a gun.

He goes to the ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Mea-Shearim a lot. He draws a sign he saw on the wall that asks tour groups not to pass through the neighborhood. I was in Jerusalem at the same time as he was and know that the sign continues and asks tourists to dress modestly and respect the beliefs of the residents (though this part of the sign is not in the book). He seems to think that the residents just don't like tourists, and ignores the fact that the tourists may act in ways that are offensive to the residents. I'm not sure he understands that some of his behavior is offensive, though clearly he doesn't care when it is.

The most shocking frame of the book is when he compares ultra-orthodox Jews to monkeys on page 107. I didn't get the impression that he is overtly anti-Semitic, but I think the last people to make such a comparison were the Germans in the 1930's.

The books reads like the journal of a man who walks through life untouched by any of it. It's a random collection of images and tells no coherent story. Many of the images and stories contain no explanation or if they do, it is often incomplete or incorrect. He generally cares only about doing his drawing but has no care to learn what or who he is drawing. He's an ugly American (though he is from Canada) and it's a shame he wasted the opportunity of spending a year in Jerusalem. (less)

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Jun 21, 2012 Dorian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My first book by Delisle (which I read in English--for some reason, the translation is not available on goodreads). I certainly found his visual style engaging. As a character, he comes across as wry, amusing, and a little self-righteous. I wish he'd demonstrated a little more self-consciousness about the less appealing parts of his character. The book chronicles, in episodic fashion, the year he spent living in East Jerusalem while his wife worked for MSF. Delisle has a particular take on the p...more

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May 23, 2012 Mark Schlatter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, author_track

An amazing read.

Now, I've been a big fan of Guy Delisle travel graphic novels for some time, but this one kicks it up a notch. Guy and his family spend a year in East Jerusalem as his wife works for Medicine Sans Frontieres. There are still the vignettes of family life and the trials of adapting to a new culture, but an overwhelming theme is one of separateness. Delisle not only shows the separated nature of Israel and Palestine (through coverage of maps, checkpoints, and the wall), but also emp...more

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May 13, 2012 Sam Quixote rated it 4 of 5 stars

Guy Delisle travels to Jerusalem with his partner and their two kids for a year. His partner is an administrator for "Doctors Without Borders" and Delisle spends the year working on his comics, looking after the kids, and exploring/trying to understand the city of Jerusalem and its peoples.

If you've read Delisle's work before you'll know he goes to hard-to-reach places and reports on his time there (North Korea, China, Burma) and that the resulting travelogues are always entertaining and enlight...more Guy Delisle travels to Jerusalem with his partner and their two kids for a year. His partner is an administrator for "Doctors Without Borders" and Delisle spends the year working on his comics, looking after the kids, and exploring/trying to understand the city of Jerusalem and its peoples.

If you've read Delisle's work before you'll know he goes to hard-to-reach places and reports on his time there (North Korea, China, Burma) and that the resulting travelogues are always entertaining and enlightening - just like this latest book.

The book isn't a polemic nor is it meant to explain the region or the history, it's really just a memoir/travelogue of his time there. So there is equal parts of his time describing his everyday duties looking after the kids and going to parties, making friends, as much as there is encountering and observing violence from bombings in Gaza, to the numerous checkpoints and outright chaos of this area.

The reader gets to see how bizarre Jerusalem is. The city is divided into Christian quarters, Jewish quarters, and Muslim quarters, where literally one side of the street a woman can wear what she likes and on the other she must be covered head to foot. The constant military presence and day to day reminders of violence - everyone carries a gun, not just soldiers. The shrillness of the piercing calls to prayer echo throughout the city whether you are religious or not. The ridiculously high number of checkpoints everywhere, the constant traffic jams...

As an atheist myself, it's hard to believe that this troubled region is because of one group believing one thing over another leading to literally millennia of conflict. As such, it's incredibly shocking how people will be so petty over everything. One contested house becomes demolished, another goes up - years pass, the house is demolished/taken over, another goes up. And on and on. And the bizarre behaviour of Orthodox Jews who are just flat out racist and violent toward anybody who isn't an Orthodox Jew themselves, is just terrifying.

Delisle doesn't take sides on whether he believes one side is right over another, he's an atheist himself and does his best to present all sides of the argument. Through his fresh eyes the reader sees the area as if they were visiting it themselves. It's a fascinating look at a troubled region, told memorably and filled with excellent artwork throughout all by Delisle, who has once again written/drawn a wonderful book on a strange part of our world with characteristic good humour and intelligence. (less)

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Mar 26, 2012 Antoine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

L'agence Delisle Easy Travel vous propose un long séjour familial en Terre Sainte, une année de découvertes et de divertissements variés entre murailles antiques et murs plus modernes. Culture, aventure, gastronomie et un vrai contact avec les populations locales figurent au programme, le tout dans la bonne humeur et la décontraction !

Après la Chine, la Corée du Nord et le Myanmar, Guy Delisle a eu l'occasion de passer en famille une année à Jérusalem Est (la partie arabe de la ville). Comme pou...more L'agence Delisle Easy Travel vous propose un long séjour familial en Terre Sainte, une année de découvertes et de divertissements variés entre murailles antiques et murs plus modernes. Culture, aventure, gastronomie et un vrai contact avec les populations locales figurent au programme, le tout dans la bonne humeur et la décontraction !

Après la Chine, la Corée du Nord et le Myanmar, Guy Delisle a eu l'occasion de passer en famille une année à Jérusalem Est (la partie arabe de la ville). Comme pour les Chroniques birmanes, l'album commence par l'arrivée du héros à sa nouvelle destination. Pendant que sa femme – en mission pour MSF – travaille, il explore, parfois seul, parfois avec ses enfants, les rues et ruelles de la cité millénaire. Toujours avec l’œil et le pinceau aux aguets pour faire ressortir le moindre détail incongru, il s'étonne, s'amuse et commence à prendre ses marques. Les rencontres aidant, il finit par appréhender, à sa manière, la « masse » historique de La ville trois fois sainte.

Passé ces pages très touristiques à arpenter les lieux mythiques (le Mont des Oliviers, L'esplanade des mosquées, le mur des lamentations, etc.), la réalité politique actuelle prend un peu le dessus. La deuxième partie de l'ouvrage, sans vraiment changer de ton sur le fond – Delisle rappelle de façon indirecte et humoristique qu'il n'est pas Joe Sacco - est néanmoins plus grave. Le créateur de l'Inspecteur Moroni, invité à donner des séminaires/ateliers de BD dans plusieurs localités palestiniennes, se retrouve en contact avec des jeunes étudiants du cru ; ces déplacements et ces discussions permettent un point de vue nouveau et très percutant de la situation. Tout en restant un éternel Candide, Delisle réussit alors à retranscrire avec précision la conjoncture tragique et kafkaïenne dans laquelle sont embourbés aussi bien les Palestiniens que les Israéliens depuis plus de soixante ans.

Les chroniques de Jérusalem devraient réjouir tous les amateurs de voyages au long cours et autres passionnés de maçonnerie à travers les âges.(less)

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Aug 25, 2012 Elaine Bearden rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

high school, adult
I read the English version, which didn't come up on goodreads, so here is the French cover.

Though this is written for adults, a teen who was really interested in life in Jerusalem today would be interested in this book. I finally finished this book. It was LONG! 336 pages. The author/artist must have felt the same way when producing this graphic novel. I am not familiar with Guy's other work, though the back cover says he has written two other kind of travel-logues. Bascially,...more high school, adult
I read the English version, which didn't come up on goodreads, so here is the French cover.

Though this is written for adults, a teen who was really interested in life in Jerusalem today would be interested in this book. I finally finished this book. It was LONG! 336 pages. The author/artist must have felt the same way when producing this graphic novel. I am not familiar with Guy's other work, though the back cover says he has written two other kind of travel-logues. Bascially, this book chronicles a year in his life, as he and wife and two kids move to Jerusalem while his wife works for Doctors without Borders (MSF in French). And this book is also translated from the French. How interesting. At any rate, I saw this on the new bookshelf and was drawn to it, because I do like graphic novels that are drawn in this sepia-tone, minimalist style, and I traveled to Jerusalem in 1996 with a tour, so I was curious to see how Guy's observations/experience compared to mine.

I think he captured very well the odd juxtaposition of machine guns and grocery shopping. (The back cover has a picture of someone in a military outfit with a machine gun eating ice cream.) Guy was pretty open to visiting with different people and getting different perspectives on the conflict in Israel over land and ownership. He went on tours with both sides of the conflict in Gaza, which is really fascinating. Though Guy denounces religion, he found refuge in a church, where the minister allowed him a room for his studio. The highways and the trash heaps, olive trees and protection of families in the middle of the night. I found it fascinating how many different cultures he ran across - even within the Jewish culture. And the Samaritans. And Christian Palestinians. All in one piece of land the size of New Jersey.

I found the book fascinating, but very episodic, which I think was intentional, because that is what it feels like to go between cultures and values and venues so much in Israel. However, this meant that the momentum sometimes was ssllloooowwww. The division of the book into months helped, but it wasn't until the last bit of book where they were getting ready to leave that it seemed to pick-up pace. I think Guy didn't want to manufacture conflict and plot where there was none - the point was a chronicle. I appreciate that, but I'll say again, it was long. However, I would definitely recommend this book to get a snapshot of the complexity in Israel today. (less)

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Jun 05, 2012 Eva rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels-and-illustration, other-non-fiction

Beautifully drawn, well-observed travelogue from Delisle who details his year spent in Jerusalem. If you've read his other travelogues, you will know what to expect - but Jerusalem goes further - a step up in the quality of drawing, writing and anecdote material.

Drawing upon a year's experience of Jerusalem life, it would have been easy for Delisle to have used the political as the narrative for this travelogue - but that is not his style, instead pointing out similarities between different grou...more

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May 26, 2012 Patrick McCoy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels

Jerusalem: Chronicles From The Holy City (2012) is the latest graphic novel from Guy Delisle, a graphic novelist I have come to greatly appreciate. Delisle is partners with a doctor who participates in Doctors Without Borders, which has led him to live in places like Jerusalem and Rangoon, which he recounts in his graphic novels. Earlier his job as an animator led to stints living in Pyongyang, North Korea and Shenzhen, China which both also got graphic novel treatment. I find Delisle very engag...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Erik rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I fell in love with Guy Delisle and his style when I first read "The Burma Chronicles." After that I had to read absolutely everything I could get my hands on of his. Though I'm not a huge fan of his "Albert and the Others" style, his graphic novel travelogues are nothing short of brilliant. They are funny, charming, disturbing, and thought-provoking all at once. As a warning, this isn't that much of a solid through-line, other than the chronology of Delisle's own year spent in Jerusalem. Things...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Malapata rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Casi sin quererlo he pasado de Footnotes in Gaza de Joe Sacco a estas Crónicas de Jerusalén, así que no puedo evitar entrar en la comparación.

Mientras Sacco entra de lleno en la Gaza ocupada, viviendo entre palestinos y buceando en la historia del conflicto, la mirada de Delisle es la de un expatriado que pasa un año en Jerusalén occidental acompañando a su mujer, que trabaja en Médicos Sin Fronteras, junto con sus dos hijos.

Delisle nos cuenta su día a día, resultando muy interesante la evoluci...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Mkeirsbi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: r-52-books

This has been a wonderful reading experience. Guy Delisle surely knows how to tell a story!
Well... There's actually not much story involved. That makes it really remarkable the book turned out to be a real page-turner.

The story is a collection of observations and impressions that struck Delisle about his stay in Jerusalem. His wife works for doctors without borders, and she and her family got deployed to Jerusalem. While his wife is working there for a year, he's looking after the kids; he's sk...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Alli Poirot rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

an excellent, quiet, small way to begin understanding the issues and history and realities of palestine & israel. there is no grandiose pontificating or policy-proposing; guy delisle, like in his other travel-comics (there's one on burma and one on north korea- both fascinating- his wife works for doctors without borders and he travels with her and the children), the book consists of small snapshots of daily life, rendered into comics. the drawing is simple (but the architectural renderings...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Clark Carlton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Extraordinary.

Delisle's style is the epitome of "show don't tell" and his novel is a mix of impressions, journalism and history. The illustrations are simple but engaging and what's left out is as important as what's left in. It's wry, ironic, heartfelt and never sentimental.

It's not that Delisle doesn't have opinions -- he is clearly on the side of Obama and the Israeli university students who recently cheered the President's call for a Palestinian state with defined borders. Delisle also is...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Una Dimitrijevic rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels-bd, non-fiction, travel-writing

There's no story as such, no beginning, middle and end, no great personal tragedies or adventures, just the day-to-day life of a Frenchman in Jerusalem who has no particular reason to be there (he followed his wife who works for an international aid organisation) and spends his days looking after his kids, trying to understand what the hell is going on around him and sketching everything he can. It makes for a very personal, believable experience which takes the reader on a slow path to understa...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Gemma collins rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't read this in French, I don't know if perhaps some nuances could have been lost in translation but this is an excellent new travel chronicle from Delisle. He manages a tricky thing, to remain impartial whilst still recording accurately the terrible things happening in peoples every day lives in Jerusalem. Like in Pynogyang or Burma Chronicles, he manages to simply depict just the sheer idiocy and absurdity that arise from conflicted or oppressed regimes without actually coming down on on...more

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Jul 10, 2012 David Gallin-Parisi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Take this for what it is, not an illuminating or life-changing experience. Instead this is a travelogue of a comic artist living for a year in Jerusalem. Follow an artist's daily observations, surprisingly insensitive interactions with people, and confusion in a drastically different place than he is used to. The best parts of this book happen near the end when Delisle starts capturing the surreal and weird happenings, seemingly everyday occurrences. Perhaps he renders them so well because maybe...more Take this for what it is, not an illuminating or life-changing experience. Instead this is a travelogue of a comic artist living for a year in Jerusalem. Follow an artist's daily observations, surprisingly insensitive interactions with people, and confusion in a drastically different place than he is used to. The best parts of this book happen near the end when Delisle starts capturing the surreal and weird happenings, seemingly everyday occurrences. Perhaps he renders them so well because maybe they are so different from his own perspective. The grappling with the historical, political, and cultural situations are only mildly informative. This is an example of a white dude coming to a different land, and feeling confused, irritated, and bewildered. For that I appreciate Delisle's honesty in showing how annoyed he gets by certain aspects of living in Jerusalem. Also, his multiple illegal moves, culturally are something I approve - I might find myself making the same mistakes in his shoes. However, some of his grumpiness could use tempering with Edward Said's Orientalism or a even deeper look at people he encounters. Like why do cafe owners constantly check his backpack. Suicide bombs are not something to depict lightly, quietly appearing in a comic panel. Yet here they are, for a second. If bomb checks are shown as singular events - why? This is my main question about this work: why show so many other details, yet leave out more information, emotional feelings, or other people's feelings about violence? Maybe he didn't know how to ask people how they felt. This leaves the work feeling incomplete.
One other aspect that stands out is his workshops with different audiences. He works with a small group of women, who seemingly cannot draw in any way that impresses Delisle. He also works with a group of art school students whose work, conversations, and engagement wows Delisle in a major way. He wishes he could invite these people to hang out in Jerusalem, but he knows he can't, then finds out they actually wouldn't want to anyway. Then back to another workshop with the earlier group of women artists. Delisle is shocked to learn they want to become art teachers like himself. This is perhaps my favorite part of the work for its awkwardness. One teacher struggling to engage with students is shocked by others' aspirations. While the students show a completely different understanding. Their expectations are vastly different from Delisle's, almost a defeated feeling that things cannot improve. Or maybe not. Perhaps not, through the sharing of more art. How do these women feel about Delise's work? Or more deeply, their own?(less)

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Jan 14, 2013 Elizabeth Campbell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Comics? Superheroes? Think again.

Guy Delisle is a journalist, who tells his story through drawings. He goes to these places (Burma, North Korea, etc.) with Doctors Without Borders as a househusband and caregiver to his family. So, not only is he observing the country he visits, he's also trying to live there. With this installment of his travels, we learn about Jerusalem from the POV of an atheist, Western ...dude. Someone who interacts with the city much the same way I would expect myself to: n...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Kristin added it · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels

I'm a big fan of graphic novels, and it's rare to find one I don't like. But I didn't like this one. Here are my beeves with it: A. You can't just make any day-to-day life interesting by chronicling it in graphic novel form. You have to first have an actually interesting life, or if fictional, interesting characters. The characters in this are duller than the colors used to make the pictures. B. This book is blatant Israel-washing (as in, whitewashing, brainwashing, greenwashing), and sets about...more

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May 29, 2012 Debra Askanase rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Guy Delisle is a Canadian graphic artist (comic book artist) who has created two other graphic novels about cities where he has lived. He travels with his girlfriend, a Doctors Without Borders employee, to hotspots around the world. In this installment, Jerusalem, Guy and his girlfriend (along with their two young children) spend a year in Jerusalem. More specifically, East Jerusalem.

If you've ever spent time in Israel at all, you would know that there are very different experiences living in W...more Guy Delisle is a Canadian graphic artist (comic book artist) who has created two other graphic novels about cities where he has lived. He travels with his girlfriend, a Doctors Without Borders employee, to hotspots around the world. In this installment, Jerusalem, Guy and his girlfriend (along with their two young children) spend a year in Jerusalem. More specifically, East Jerusalem.

If you've ever spent time in Israel at all, you would know that there are very different experiences living in West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem. Also, different experiences as a Jew, Muslim, Christian (which Delisle is). What is left out of this book is the experience of a Jew in Israel (even a secular Jew), or much of Israel outside of the Palestinian Territories.

The book has a definite political slant: it shines a light on the experience of Palestinians living in the Israeli Territories and West Bank, and living in East Jerusalem. While much of it is interesting to read about, and some of it disturbing, it lacks political context whatsoever. It also lacks almost any editorial or graphic images of life in the rest of Israel: Tel Aviv, the rest of Jerusalem, Haifa, or any other part of Israel.

By the end of the book, I felt as if I was reading a complaint about Israel. It is his experience, and I don't deny this, but I didn't feel that Delisle took any opportunity to expand his knowledge outside of the Territories, or get much context on the political situation besides speaking with some settlers in Hebron (who represent an extreme of the extreme of the extreme right wing in Israel).

I don't disagree with many of his political views, but he took a very complex situation and looked at it through an extremely narrow microscope. Any bit of context would have been welcome and needed to fill out his imagery and story. Most Israelis in Israel live a very, very different life than the one Mr. Delisle and his family lived.

I also was tired of the many images of the separation wall by the end of the book, and of his complaining about how he cannot get any work done in the city. I wonder: did he enjoy his year much? (less)

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Mar 28, 2013 M.H. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Easily, Delisle's most moving book. In previous works he's taken us inside cities and societies held back by strange political forces, but this tour of the maze of walls, rules, guns, and fear created by religion is by far the most terrifying. Yes, North Koreans or the Burmese might be political hostages, but there is hope that those regimes might one day be unseated by common sense. Moment by small moment, Delisle shows the human cost of intractable religious belief, obvious even from his prote...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Livinginthecastle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels-and-non-fiction, from-the-library

I have a problem with non-fiction, I know I should read it, but it doesn’t have the same draw as fiction. I also have a broad disdain for travelogues as most of them seem to scream ‘look how marvellously well-travelled and sophisticated I am’. I picked up this book mainly because it has pictures. I’m not a big graphic novel reader either (how many volumes do I have to read?), but it was something about the bemused expression on the main character’s face that drew me in. This is obviously a very...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Martiño rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have been reading the books from Guy Delisle for some years now and I can only say that the more I read the more I like it. It is not only fun but also educational. Behind his naive style he has a very ironic point of view of the situation in places where major conflicts are happening and where individual freedom is usually limited or restricted. He tells his stories from a privileged position, the one of a foreigner that has some special rights and permissions to move around those conflict pl...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Bryce Holt rated it 5 of 5 stars

What's not to like about Delisle's work? It's hilarious at times, pensive at others, and an expertly crafted travelogue throughout. I liked "Shenzhen" and "The Burma Chronicles," but this is the first one that seems to live up to "Pyongyang." I feel this is more professional than much of Guy's other work; as if you're seeing someone who has transitioned from a good storyteller who practiced his art for awhile into someone who is a craftsman at what he does.

The literary world often treats graphi...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Now that I have read other graphic travelogues from this author, I have to say : this one is maybe (with the book about Pyongyang) the most interesting. Despite that, one warning, the author doesn't care so much about the religious nonsense of the area (well, I think that he doesn't care at all about any religion actually), so, if it is what matters to you, maybe this book is not for you.

Like in Pyongyang and Shenzen, Guy Delisle is focused most of the time on the tiny things of ordinary life an...more

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About Guy Delisle

Born in Quebec, Canada, Guy Delisle studied animation at Sheridan College. Delisle has worked for numerous animation studios around the world, including CinéGroupe in Montreal.

Drawing from his experience at animation studios in China and North Korea, Delisle's graphic novels Shenzen and Pyongyang depict these two countries from a Westerner's perspective. A third graphic novel, Chroniques Birmanes,...more

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