Thursday , March 28 2024

Book Review: In the Shadow of No Towers

Art Spiegelman, the author of the amazing, powerful book Maus gives his reaction to the destruction of the twin towers. Is In the Shadow of No Towers as amazing and brilliant as Maus? No. Is it fair to hold him to that standard? Not really.

The book contains&#8212in his cartoon format&#8212some of his memories of September 11, when he and his wife went to pick up their daughter amid chaos at her New York City school.

Where the book really takes off, though, is when he objects&#8212in his unique, creative way&#8212to how President Bush uses the September 11 attacks to wage war in the Middle East. Spiegelman, no fan of Bush, accuses the President of “hijacking” the tragedy to gain public support, settle scores and help big business.

Whether you agree with the artist or not on that issue, Spiegelman’s book is a must-read for anyone interested in cartoons and/or how artists are addressing their emotional reaction to the attacks.

I give it an 8.

This review was originally posted in my blog.
ed/Pub:NB Edited: PC

About Scott Butki

Scott Butki was a newspaper reporter for more than 10 years before making a career change into education... then into special education. He has been working in mental health for the last ten years. He lives in Austin. He reads at least 50 books a year and has about 15 author interviews each year and, yes, unlike tv hosts he actually reads each one. He is an in-house media critic, a recovering Tetris addict and a proud uncle. He has written articles on practically all topics from zoos to apples and almost everything in between.

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