The other side of the Wall

Simon Schwartz, 1982-

Book - 2015

"Simon Schwartz was born in 1982 in the GDR (East Germany). One and a half years later, he left the country with his parents, and the family resettled in West Berlin. As political dissidents, his parents experienced harassment by the Stasi and a lack of understanding from members of their own family. This striking graphic novel memoir chronicles the family's difficult journey to get to the other side of the Berlin Wall"--Provided by publisher.

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Subjects
Published
Minneapolis : Graphic Universe 2015.
Language
English
German
Main Author
Simon Schwartz, 1982- (-)
Other Authors
Laura Watkinson (translator)
Edition
First American edition
Item Description
Translation of: Drüben!
Physical Description
112 pages : chiefly illustrations, map ; 24 cm
ISBN
9781467758406
9781467760287
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

The Cold War tension represented by the Berlin Wall likely still has some real estate in the German psyche today, but it might still be rather remote to most American readers. Schwartz's multiple-award winner (in his native Germany) will go some way toward remedying that. Schwartz recalls his parents' struggle to make a life in Communist East Berlin and, eventually, to immigrate to the democratic west side of the wall, at the cost of careers, friends, and family. The complex politics are set aside in favor of a narrative that captures the desperation of adults caught in an oppressive society and the confusion of a young child seeing it through the prism of family. Schwartz's black-and-white cartooning abets this simpler, emotionally resonant style with large, minimalist faces that powerfully express feelings, while realistic backgrounds give an underlying sense of authenticity. This slim volume typifies the format's great strength in this area, which is not to deliver hard facts but to bring the human face of history off the page and into readers' hearts.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2015 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In Watkinson's graceful translation, German author-illustrator Schwartz charts each painful step of his parents' departure from East Germany. Black-and-white panels set amid the grim institutional architecture of post-WWII East Berlin record the courtship of Schwartz's focused father and artistic mother, who meet as university students and, despite their differences, realize that they're attracted to one another. "You're in the church?" he asks disbelievingly; just as disbelievingly, she counters, "You're in the party?" When the two begin to spend time with dissidents, and the state apparatus starts to close around them, they apply for an exit permit. But their departure is blocked, and Schwartz describes with anguish the family's alienation from his father's parents and its persecution by the Stasi, the East German secret police. The story suffers somewhat from the way Schwartz shuffles back and forth between the family's time pre- and post-emigration; it's not always clear what's happening when. Complex political undercurrents demand a lot from readers, too, but Schwartz's smart, probing account makes this piece of history matter. Ages 12-up. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 6 Up-In the opening pages of this graphic memoir, the author as a young child realizes that his neighbors and relatives are not free to move around. They live on the eponymous other side of the wall. Schwartz shares his story growing up in West Berlin and that of his parents' lives in East Berlin as they grow increasingly disillusioned with the communist government of East Germany and face great resistance to their desire to immigrate. Depicted in black and white with a realistic style that portrays a grim history without being overly stark, this graphic novel shares an important view of recent history. Likely to have greatest resonance with high schoolers, this book would be appropriate for middle school as well. While it might appeal most to adults with personal memories of a communist empire, Schwartz's work is also a fantastic supplement to traditional textbooks. A good addition to school and public libraries looking to add diversity to their teen or secondary education graphic novel collections.-Elizabeth Nicolai, Anchorage Public Library, AK (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

Schwartz's graphic memoir chronicles his parents' upbringing in East Germany, their growing discomfort with the oppression there, and--after his birth--their struggle to leave. It's an honest family portrait, with poignant details about his father's strained relationship with his parents, staunch communists. Schwartz jumps back and forth in time, sometimes confusingly, but his grim palette of black, white, and gray is fitting. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A stark and pensive glimpse at a young boy's family as they immigrate to West Berlin prior to the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Through the dual lenses of childhood innocence and adult hindsight, Schwartz tells the story of how his parents fled East Germany, leaving behind all they had ever known and even severing ties to loved ones who disagreed with their defection. More artistic than allegiant, and keenly observant, his parents come separately to their own realizations that they want to leave their oppressive homeland. When they apply for leave, they face the wrath of the fierce StasiEast Germany's police force, which knows no boundariesand suffer ridicule, loss of privacy and humiliation as they are slowly denaturalized. Readers will feel the force of the stern and smothering oppression and should re-examine their own given freedoms. However, while significant and evocative, Schwartz's offeringbobbing about in a veritable sea of graphic memoirsdoesn't leave enough that lingers, down to its art, which is reminiscent of Marjane Satrapi's or Zeina Abirached's. For a more memorableand visually strikinglook into this time, check out Peter Ss' remarkable The Wall (2007). Though important both culturally and historically, unfortunately what should be haunting is less than. (glossary, timeline, map) (Graphic memoir. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.