Guy Delisle expertly lays the groundwork for a cultural road map of contemporary Jerusalem,utilizing the classic stranger-in-a-strange-land point of view that made his other books, Pyongyang, Shenzhen, and Burma Chronicles, required reading for understanding what daily life is like in cities few are able to travel to. In Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, Delisle explores the complexities of a city that represents so much to so many. He eloquently examines the impact of the conflict on the lives of people on both sides of the wall while drolly recounting the quotidian: checkpoints, traffic jams, and holidays.
When observing the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim populations that call Jerusalem home, Delisle's drawn line is both sensitive and fair, assuming nothing and drawing everything. Jerusalem showcases once more Delisle's mastery of the travelogue.
Recommend this book
Add your recommendation
Only registered users can recommend books. Please use the buttons below to either create a new account, or sign-in to an existing account.
A wonderfully candid book, which makes the situation’s hideously insoluble complexities more vividly understandable than anything else I have encountered. - Daily Telegraph
My other favourite graphic book of the year... makes breathtakingly light work of one of the world’s most complex political situations. - Observer
His [Delisle’s] quizzical, bemused approach comes as a breath of fresh air on a topic fraught with political division…the utterly distinctive drawings are as enchanting as ever. - Telegraph
Quietly living his life and observing what goes on around him, Delisle captures the craziness, beauty and tragedy of the Israel-Palestine conundrum. - Jewish Chronicle
Jerusalem is Delisle’s biggest and most accomplished work to date… Without Delisle we might never learn what it’s actually like to live in a place like this, or get a realistic idea of the people we would meet if we did. He’s clear-eyed, good-hearted, he takes what he sees and he turns it into art. - New Statesman
A brilliant, educational piece of observational journalism. - Word Magazine
Delisle’s artwork is just stunning and accompanies the tale brilliantly. - Dog Eared Discs
Delisle’s genius lies in his ability to simplify convoluted international situations and make them vividly relatable to the reader. - Mr. Hyde
Guy Delisle was born in Quebec city in 1966 and has spent the last decade living and working in France. He has written and drawn five graphic novels including Shenzen, an account of his travels in China, and Pyongyang, an account of his experiences in North Korea.
