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The Inheritance
A provocative call-to-arms to economic leaders to change course and better protect our planet and its people, presented in words and pictures by the multi-award-winning creator of The Island and The Mediterranean
"All this will soon be yours, respect what I have built and make it prosper."
These are the last words of the old industrialist before dying. While the three brothers discuss how to fulfill their father's wishes, the sister lists for them the disastrous consequences would disease; marine pollution; deforestation; the destruction of the landscape; pollution of skies and rivers . . .
The Inheritance tells of the greed and blindness of those who hold economic power, and reminds us that silence and indifference amount to complicity. With minimal text, this powerful story is told primarily through Armin Greder's distinctive illustrations that challenge the reader to question the status quo and fight for the future.
"All this will soon be yours, respect what I have built and make it prosper."
These are the last words of the old industrialist before dying. While the three brothers discuss how to fulfill their father's wishes, the sister lists for them the disastrous consequences would disease; marine pollution; deforestation; the destruction of the landscape; pollution of skies and rivers . . .
The Inheritance tells of the greed and blindness of those who hold economic power, and reminds us that silence and indifference amount to complicity. With minimal text, this powerful story is told primarily through Armin Greder's distinctive illustrations that challenge the reader to question the status quo and fight for the future.
36 pages, Hardcover
First published August 3, 2021
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 26, 2023
Nothing good ever came from reading an Armin Greder book...
July 25, 2022
This exceedingly short children's book is a rather strident anti-capitalist, pro-environment text that may either strike a chord with its potential readers, or go over their heads. It may also find some older readers either extolling its powerful political message and its artistry, or be damned by adults as a book that is going too far in spreading climate change fear or radical views.
This reviewer considers 'The Inheritance' to fall somewhere between these stools. It is highly effective with respect to its design and its underpinning logic. However I wonder if the tone of Greder's work is too harsh, too 'in your face', too depressing for the young audience it is aimed at. There is nothing inherently wrong with endowing a children's book with a political message; many of the titles that are marketed to kids both now and in the past had some kind of ideal or concept that the author wanted to propagate. Those messages may have been 'softer', and perhaps built around ideas related to morality, citizenship, even religion. However I am unaware of a children's book being so forthright in its textual and visual language.
There is a stridency in Greder's illustrations that are perhaps more powerful than his words. As one reads the book it is Greder's charcoal drawings that grab the attention, dominating the dialogue between composer and audience as the text dies out. There are hints of German expressionism in the author's art; one can see links between Otto Dix's work and Greder's. One cannot doubt the power of these drawings, their emotional power.
The story, slight that it is, seems rather too simplistic and perhaps conforms to cliches just as artlessly as a more 'innocent' book might. The clash of good versus evil in the story is too polemic; older male businessmen are bad, the sister who travels is good. Now one can empathise with such a construct, and as I read Greder's book I couldn't help but think of someone like Rupert Murdoch. However I am an adult who can interrogate the text and query its values (whilst agreeing with them for the most part). A better book might have provided a more challenging characterisation of this struggle between greedy capitalism and innocent humanism.
Having seen examples of propaganda from totalitarian regimes that was designed specifically for children I would consider 'The Inheritance' to not be too dissimilar from such work. It's argument, its political sensibilities may be admirable, yet is it not just as bad to produce a text that provides such a dogmatic view of the world, of people as would those who have a negative social agenda. This is not a book that will provoke thought or questions; it is a statement of belief that doesn't allow for dissent. It is, in fact, a counter argument to the author's own intentions.
This reviewer considers 'The Inheritance' to fall somewhere between these stools. It is highly effective with respect to its design and its underpinning logic. However I wonder if the tone of Greder's work is too harsh, too 'in your face', too depressing for the young audience it is aimed at. There is nothing inherently wrong with endowing a children's book with a political message; many of the titles that are marketed to kids both now and in the past had some kind of ideal or concept that the author wanted to propagate. Those messages may have been 'softer', and perhaps built around ideas related to morality, citizenship, even religion. However I am unaware of a children's book being so forthright in its textual and visual language.
There is a stridency in Greder's illustrations that are perhaps more powerful than his words. As one reads the book it is Greder's charcoal drawings that grab the attention, dominating the dialogue between composer and audience as the text dies out. There are hints of German expressionism in the author's art; one can see links between Otto Dix's work and Greder's. One cannot doubt the power of these drawings, their emotional power.
The story, slight that it is, seems rather too simplistic and perhaps conforms to cliches just as artlessly as a more 'innocent' book might. The clash of good versus evil in the story is too polemic; older male businessmen are bad, the sister who travels is good. Now one can empathise with such a construct, and as I read Greder's book I couldn't help but think of someone like Rupert Murdoch. However I am an adult who can interrogate the text and query its values (whilst agreeing with them for the most part). A better book might have provided a more challenging characterisation of this struggle between greedy capitalism and innocent humanism.
Having seen examples of propaganda from totalitarian regimes that was designed specifically for children I would consider 'The Inheritance' to not be too dissimilar from such work. It's argument, its political sensibilities may be admirable, yet is it not just as bad to produce a text that provides such a dogmatic view of the world, of people as would those who have a negative social agenda. This is not a book that will provoke thought or questions; it is a statement of belief that doesn't allow for dissent. It is, in fact, a counter argument to the author's own intentions.
July 27, 2022
When this book arrived for me I absolutely judged it by the cover, and seriously wondered why on earth this had been nominated for an award, it barely looked like a childrens book. The entire book is black and white. Clearly making a statement, when a bunch of white men make decisions, and wreck the earth and don’t care what kind of world they are leaving. So poignant. The illustrations are very VERY profound, and make up for a lack of words on the last several pages. Quite unappealing.
August 12, 2022
An atrocious children’s book. It’s so loaded with political posing and virtue-signalling that it’s hard to take seriously. I read it in a library and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. I hated it so much that I have gone out of my way to write a little book review for the first time in my life.
A good book transports you into its little world; all I could see when reading this book was an unshakeable image of the author smugly writing it and sending it off, knowing he’d be a shoe-in for an award from the po-faced arbiters of the literary community.
The message of this book is as subtle as a sledgehammer. Even Disney gives more nuance and moral contours to its goodies and baddies. ‘Four legs good, two legs bad’ was satire. This book expresses a similar message but painfully and self-consciously seriously. I couldn’t recommend or read this to a child of any age. I genuinely can’t imagine any child liking this book. But I think I can see why so many adults do, because it flatters their own politics.
I would have given it one star but the illustrations are compelling so credit where credit’s due.
A good book transports you into its little world; all I could see when reading this book was an unshakeable image of the author smugly writing it and sending it off, knowing he’d be a shoe-in for an award from the po-faced arbiters of the literary community.
The message of this book is as subtle as a sledgehammer. Even Disney gives more nuance and moral contours to its goodies and baddies. ‘Four legs good, two legs bad’ was satire. This book expresses a similar message but painfully and self-consciously seriously. I couldn’t recommend or read this to a child of any age. I genuinely can’t imagine any child liking this book. But I think I can see why so many adults do, because it flatters their own politics.
I would have given it one star but the illustrations are compelling so credit where credit’s due.
September 5, 2021
Greder continues to present powerful messages through grim, sparse and compelling text and imagery. The family inheritance is an industrial empire, and on his death bed, a dying industrialist instructs his family to maintain his legacy. The sons are committed and start to plan for further development and expansion, modernisation and offshore projects, profit margins and Virgin Islands. The arrival of the daughter, just returned from overseas travels challenges this view. she presents a different view encapsulated in five compelling couplets...
"We cement the land for the sake of our cars
and the fumes they are spewing are making us ill..."
to go on to describe the effects of litter, forest destruction, mining and industrial pollution.
The brother reject her notions and when she again challenges this the are only concerned with passing on the legacy. "what is the problem?" the ask. And then 'the problem' is graphically presented with double page spreads that illustrate each of the five outcomes the sister has identified followed by a stark and final graphic of what this will mean for the children. The charcoal drawings are grim, dark and bleak - typical Greder - and very compelling.
This is a timely text that illustrates the grim reality of the predictions made in the recently released IPCC report on climate change. Like the report, it has no happy ending. There is a clear message if we do not change our ways and measure profit and loss in only monetary terms then we are on a path of destruction.
I have long felt that Greders' books are misplaced as children's fiction - even if young adult readers are the audience that they are promoted to. I feel that Greder writes social and political commentary through a picture book medium and his target audience is adults. His grim illustrations support this view. In Europe, here is a burgeoning adult market that reads and respects picture books in this light, but in Australia publishers (and the buying public) appear locked into the child market and this seems to be the only avenue for such works to be published. I have no problem with young adults reading and exploring the themes of this text within an educational context - it provides graphic support for studies on sustainability and economically driven policy making. I think the book is excellent in terms of text, illustrations and the powerful message that is conveyed. But is it a picture book for a younger market? For me, no - it has no hope at then end, no light at the end of the tunnel, and I strongly believe that our children need hope to guide action to address their concerns and fears. But, if promoting to the child market is the only avenue to get such books published in Australia and into the hands of adults then so be it.
"We cement the land for the sake of our cars
and the fumes they are spewing are making us ill..."
to go on to describe the effects of litter, forest destruction, mining and industrial pollution.
The brother reject her notions and when she again challenges this the are only concerned with passing on the legacy. "what is the problem?" the ask. And then 'the problem' is graphically presented with double page spreads that illustrate each of the five outcomes the sister has identified followed by a stark and final graphic of what this will mean for the children. The charcoal drawings are grim, dark and bleak - typical Greder - and very compelling.
This is a timely text that illustrates the grim reality of the predictions made in the recently released IPCC report on climate change. Like the report, it has no happy ending. There is a clear message if we do not change our ways and measure profit and loss in only monetary terms then we are on a path of destruction.
I have long felt that Greders' books are misplaced as children's fiction - even if young adult readers are the audience that they are promoted to. I feel that Greder writes social and political commentary through a picture book medium and his target audience is adults. His grim illustrations support this view. In Europe, here is a burgeoning adult market that reads and respects picture books in this light, but in Australia publishers (and the buying public) appear locked into the child market and this seems to be the only avenue for such works to be published. I have no problem with young adults reading and exploring the themes of this text within an educational context - it provides graphic support for studies on sustainability and economically driven policy making. I think the book is excellent in terms of text, illustrations and the powerful message that is conveyed. But is it a picture book for a younger market? For me, no - it has no hope at then end, no light at the end of the tunnel, and I strongly believe that our children need hope to guide action to address their concerns and fears. But, if promoting to the child market is the only avenue to get such books published in Australia and into the hands of adults then so be it.
July 5, 2022
What a striking book!
The story is so cleverly depicted. Showing the characteristics of human kind and delving into our drives and ambition, and yet not forgetting what the benefit of observation can provide.
The illustrative style gives great weight to the story, it's darkness exudes the sorrows. The expression of each character's attitude can be truely felt.
I think that the display of the text is so beautifully balanced, this is a story with quite few words and yet it says so much. I like the smart use of text styling to convey the character attitudes and the moods between their viewpoints.
I love that the words fall away to the pictures that say it all and allow the reader to reflect on the story and their own thoughts, immersing them within the story as our world is their inheritance too.
The story is so cleverly depicted. Showing the characteristics of human kind and delving into our drives and ambition, and yet not forgetting what the benefit of observation can provide.
The illustrative style gives great weight to the story, it's darkness exudes the sorrows. The expression of each character's attitude can be truely felt.
I think that the display of the text is so beautifully balanced, this is a story with quite few words and yet it says so much. I like the smart use of text styling to convey the character attitudes and the moods between their viewpoints.
I love that the words fall away to the pictures that say it all and allow the reader to reflect on the story and their own thoughts, immersing them within the story as our world is their inheritance too.
April 9, 2023
Ooo and ahh! I loved this book. It's a dark story about an elderly business tycoon who dies and leaves the inheritance of his business and wealth to his three sons, who are asked to carry on the father's legacy. But when their sister returns from traveling the world and is concerned at what their plans are and of what her father has already done to the world in destroying it. She questions their judgement and asks the age old questions: What about the children? They tell her that THEIR children will inherit the wealth, but then the book goes through a series of dark images (done in the style of Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream) looking forward at what the future holds for future generations and the last image is out of an Edward Gorey book. I really loved this book! Strong message and very darkly imaginative. My rating - 5/5
September 7, 2022
This really should get 5 stars. It was thought provoking and the pictures were fantastic. My only wish it that it wasn't for children. I believe children should enjoy their lives, not have to worry about stuff like this. This pictures are far to dark and disturbing for any child. All and all this is a great book but would be better for adults as a graphic novel.
January 6, 2025
Another picture book for the older children and adults, this reads like a retelling of the Prodigal Son.
Greder provides a great opportunity to discuss economics, industrialisation, sustainability and what we owe to future generations with young adults and, for the English teachers, there is the potential to make links to Romanticism and Modernism.
Greder provides a great opportunity to discuss economics, industrialisation, sustainability and what we owe to future generations with young adults and, for the English teachers, there is the potential to make links to Romanticism and Modernism.
September 7, 2021
Takes a minute to read but packs a punch - very powerful message.
October 9, 2021
Open ended sophisticated visual text that is thought provoking
May 24, 2022
Brutally bleak portrayal of an all too familiar scenario that hits close to home. The disturbingly dark illustrations are the true storytellers here, and they don’t pull any punches.
August 29, 2022
The artwork is dark, striking and with a subtle colour palette. Interestingly there are no words from about half way through onwards. Read this in a wide reading period cover with year 8.
October 13, 2022
A short, dark, thought-provoking (young adult) picture book that leaves you pondering its many understated threads.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews