Waltz With Bashir

Written by Ari Folman
Art by David Polonsky
I need to preface any discussion of this graphic novel by saying that I have not yet watched the film version of 'Waltz with Bashir', of which this is the graphic novelization. I do now want to see the film, and I'm going to be looking to rent it this week-end for sure.

In this book, the narrator (who I assume is Ari Folman) is disturbed by the fact that he can not recall any of the events he was present for during Israel's war with Lebanon in 1982, specifically the massacre that took place in Sabra and Shatila.

He embarks on a quest to talk to the people that were there with him, and attempt to reconstruct his memories. He also speaks to psychiatrists, journalists, and others. As he works through this, he also examines the events of the massacre, which was perpetrated by Phalangist Christians against Palestinians in Lebanon in the wake of the murder of Bashir, a popular political leader.

The big draw of this book for me was the art. It has the same look as The Shooting War, with its heavy use of computer colouring and images layered on top of photographs. There are sequences, especially the one involving a boy and an RPG, where the art appears to be three-dimensional. This is a beautifully illustrated book, and the image of young Isreali soldiers driving armoured vehicles through the Lebanese night, and just shooting blindly, is one that will stick with me.