book data
78 ratings, 3.47 average rating, 26 reviews
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published
September 2nd 2008
by Villard
binding
Hardcover, 224 pages
isbn
0345500695
(isbn13: 9780345500694)
description
On September 10, 2001, Eddie Torres started his dream job at Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The next morning, he said...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 137)
Read in November, 2008
Alissa Torres's husband, Eddie, started a job at Cantor Fitzgerald on September 10, 2001; his second day of work was his last. The story of the first year after his death is told in fragmentary bursts (with illustrations by Sungyoon Choi) that capture the frustration of dealing with the bureaucracy that sprung up around the surviving families of those who died in the World Trade Center while Torres was pregnant with their child--and when, though the specifics are left unspoken, there was an unre...more
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Read in November, 2008
I expected more. Torres has such a compelling story-she is 7 months pregnant with her first child when her husband, Luis, begins his job at Cantor Fitzgerald on 9/10/01. What an amazing tale of embarking on an unexpected life as a single parent. Unfortunately, the story derails into a vendetta against Red Cross and the other aid organizations that have wronged the author. Her son rarely enters the picture.
Two stars are awarded. One is for her search for her husband in the days post 9/11...more
Two stars are awarded. One is for her search for her husband in the days post 9/11...more
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Read in September, 2008
To grieve the loss of a loved one is difficult enough, but to grieve in the world’s spotlight seems an unfathomable trial.
Writer Alissa Torres’ husband started his dream job Sept. 10, 2001, at the World Trade Center. The next day, he was gone. Torres was seven months pregnant. “American Widow” chronicles her despair, struggle and determination, holding nothing back. At times, it’s excruciating to read, because this is her life, and you feel it on every page, the unfiltered, raw emo...more
Writer Alissa Torres’ husband started his dream job Sept. 10, 2001, at the World Trade Center. The next day, he was gone. Torres was seven months pregnant. “American Widow” chronicles her despair, struggle and determination, holding nothing back. At times, it’s excruciating to read, because this is her life, and you feel it on every page, the unfiltered, raw emo...more
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Read in August, 2008
American Widow is a graphic memoir revealing the story of Alissa Torres who was left widowed at seven months pregnant by the tragedy of 9/11.
The story includes that fateful day up to the one-year anniversary with alternating flash backs including scenes of Eddie at 10-years old, his life before meeting Alissa and their courtship, marriage and pregnancy. In chapter one alone, my arms were covered with goose bumps. 9/11 was just Eddie’s second day at his new job with Cantor Fitzgerald. Incl...more
The story includes that fateful day up to the one-year anniversary with alternating flash backs including scenes of Eddie at 10-years old, his life before meeting Alissa and their courtship, marriage and pregnancy. In chapter one alone, my arms were covered with goose bumps. 9/11 was just Eddie’s second day at his new job with Cantor Fitzgerald. Incl...more
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Read in November, 2008
Poignant story of loss. Reading it just felt cathartic -- storyline seemed a little scattered at times. She captures the stupid remarks people make perfectly though. Not the best oeuvre about the post 9/11 world, but her heart certainly went into this. Graphic novel was the way to go
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Read in September, 2006
Great news! You are pregnant, newlywed and your husband has gone to work, his first day at a new job at Cantor Fitzgerald. Bad news, today is Sept. 11. Now you're an American Widow. A graphic autobiography by Alissa Torres, art by Choi. Find out how you can be used and abused by everyone with a cause or a dollar or a title. Among the saddest things is the way she's treated by The Red Cross. In The Band Played On, the book that made America see and feel AIDES, Randy Shilts wrote of t...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Robin by:
ARCrecommends it for: those who like autobiographical GNs
This is a wonderful addition to the graphic non-fiction category which includes a big chunk of titles which are memoirs or autobiographical in nature.
This is the posting on the book's discussion forum
www.americanwidowbook.com
This touching story actually brought tears to my eyes as this horrible tragedy was brought to life once again through the eyes of one person. But that's all we need to relate to anything of this magnitude. One person. And for me that one person is Alissa Torres a...more
This is the posting on the book's discussion forum
www.americanwidowbook.com
This touching story actually brought tears to my eyes as this horrible tragedy was brought to life once again through the eyes of one person. But that's all we need to relate to anything of this magnitude. One person. And for me that one person is Alissa Torres a...more
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Read in October, 2008
A heartwrenching account of one woman's shattered life in the aftermath of 9/11. Torres shares her pain, grief and anger after the loss of her husband (whose first day at Cantor-Fitzgerald was September 10, 2001) in this compelling graphic memoir. Her description of her battles to receive compensation from the American Red Cross & other relief organizations was particularly eye-opening -- I had read stories like this before, but her personal narrative really brought the frustration home in a...more
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Read in November, 2008
This book, aside from being incredibly depressing, was an interesting insight into what happened to the victims' families. However, I just was a little disappointed with it. I thought that it could have been done a bit better. I was left with a lot of questions hanging, and it seemed disjointed to me. There was also so much bitterness that I nearly choked on it, and after a while, I went from sad to irritated. I feel for this woman and what she went through though, and the end gave me a lit...more
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Read in November, 2008
Wow. A woman relays her experiences after her husband dies in the Twin Towers on September 11. This is a great format for the story, as the text remains fairly simple and descriptive, while the illustration contains tons of emotion. The author tackles all the aspects of her experience, including the backlash against the families for receiving assistance, and her troubles navigating through the red cross red tape. There are added hurdles to her story because her husband was not born in the united...more
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Read in September, 2008
recommends it for:
Fans of graphic novels
Torres recounts the aftermath of 9/11 on her small family in this graphic novel. Torres was pregnant and her husband had been working in the World Trade Center for exactly one day before it was destroyed. In addition to the loss of her husband Eduardo, Torres found herself without income or insurance, floundering in a sea of paperwork, agencies, social workers, case files and depression. The novel is somewhat hard to follow because of the many flashbacks to Eduardo's life before 9/11, but Tor...more
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I really enjoyed this. The art within the book is amazing and I like the greenish-blue, black, and white colors used. The story of a widow suffering through her first year after her husbands death from 9/11 is a really sad yet uplifting story. I like the way the story is told and that she divided it up into chapters. I also liked that she actually showed a lot of the hardships that she had to face from not only the Red Cross and her insurance but her friends and family as well. It's a great ...more
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In American Widow, author Alissa Torres chronicles her journey since 9/11, when her husband was killed in the North Tower of the World Trade Center and she was seven months pregnant. I'm not too big on graphic novels but this appears to be a 'must read' This review from the Los Angeles Times also has a link to six pages of drawings from the book.
http://www.latimes.com/feature...
http://www.latimes.com/feature...
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Read in October, 2008
You know, I know this book wasn't perfect, but it really captured the complexity and awkwardness of grief in the of the aftermath of 9-11 very intimately. The art was good (I like the blue-tinting, whatever that's called)...it supported the story and didn't show off but was still pretty quality. I am giving it five stars because I had a sobby lump in my throat the whole time I was reading it. Very sad, but not melodramatic. Good.
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sometimes I think I'm a Grief Voyeuer. Will I never tire of watching/reading people fall apart and come back together again? In this case, fate was pretty cruel with her husband starting work in the World Trade Center on September 10, 2001. As she was seven-months pregnant. But she is dry and fairly unsentimental and presents the bureaucratic side of grief. Not as crazy about the drawings, surprisingly.
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This is the first graphic novel I have read in full, so my rating is not based on much experience with this type of book. It is the story of a young widow whose husband dies in the 9/11 attack, and it details her tribulations (both personal and with bureaucratic issues) over the course of a year after the attack. It was a quick and easy read.
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Read in October, 2008
This graphic novel memoir follows a 9-11 widow to the first anniversary. The drawings are beautiful and tell the story so eloquently that the writing is almost not necessary. That said, the way Torres tells her story is through and heartbreaking.
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A 9/11 widow who has a baby less than a month afterward writes a graphic novel. Some of it seems whiney, but it was a good reminder of how some individuals were affected.
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Read in October, 2008
Moving tribute to one of the many lives lost that day. Told in graphic novel format the illustrations really add punch to the words that are already tough to take.
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This heart-rending graphic novel may be read in one sitting, but you will think of it long after.
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