Green Almonds: Letters from Palestine

I enjoy reading graphic novels, especially non-fiction ones such as memoirs. I downloaded this travelogue in the hopes of learning more about present-day Palestine, its past, its people and culture. Having lived overseas in a Muslim country for a couple of years I was expecting to hear about how Anaële’s expectations differed from her reality or how she experienced cultural shock but none of those things were described.Anaële was unsettled and depressed by how normalized ruthless killings had become in Palestine society. It was noteworthy to see how different citizens dealt with frequent jailing, civil unrest, forced evacuations, placement camps, withholding of water, their inability to leave the city, and having guns pointed at them by soldiers.I enjoyed Delphine’s illustrations, especially of Palestine landscapes and cityscapes. My only gripe is how she drew women’s chests. They looked like saggy socks and made me want to gag. Am I the only one who thought this?However, as I was reading this memoir, I was left with several unanswered questions. I know Anaële went to Palestine for work but she never quite tells the reader what she did for a living (not until the afterward, at least). <spoiler>I found it weird that she told customs officials that she was planning on volunteering but didn’t have any story prepared to tell officials when she got to customs. If I was going to a place where many Muslim countries will deny you re-entry after visiting, I think I’d have asked co-workers what they said to get through customs first.</spoiler>I could never quite understand what Anaële did all day. It seemed like she only visited with friends and strangers who became friends for a day only to pass out of her life again.My biggest gripe about this graphic novel is that this story was told entirely from the point of view of anti-Israeli Palestinians. Anaële had both Muslim and Jewish friends but I only read about how antagonistic the Israelis were. I was hoping to find a more balanced testimony to the history of these peoples and I didn’t find it in this book. I understand that this book wasn’t meant to be a treatise on the history of Palestine but I found myself scarcely more enlightened about the country than before I read this book.I received a free copy of this book from <a href=" https://www.netgalley.com/">Netalley</a> (it's not an ARC). You can go there to download a free copy as well.

Green Almonds is a graphic memoir in the form of exchanges of letters, well letters from Anaele Herman’s and postcards from her sister Delphine, describing Anaele’s six month visit to the Palestinian Territories, where she volunteered with children. I wish I could be more specific about what she did while she was there but since she failed to be more specific I rather at a loss to tell you what he did. It seems like her days were filled with visits to her newly made Palestinian and Israeli friends.One of my problems with this book is we get a terribly one-sided view of a very nuanced conflict. Despite Anaele having, according to her, Israeli friends whom she visits on occasion, we hear nothing of their views, hopes and dreams or reactions to the conflict. We hear much about the Palestinians reactions to the Separation Wall, without any acknowledgement of the reason for its existence, which is not unexpected. Much is made of the increasing heavy handed Israeli presence in the West Bank and it is made to appears oppressive. There are references to increasing numbers of Palestinians winding up in Israeli jails and the reader is left with the impression that this is another example of Israeli heavy-handedness; however, it should be noted that this took place in 2008’ following the Second Intifada when there had been a noticeable uptick in suicicde bombing and other terrorist attacks inside Israel, so the Army;was extra vigilant.. This reality was not reflected in the book .In general, I found the book to be disappointingly one-sided, especially by someone who supposedly had friends on both sides and professed sympathies for both sides. I think the author was a bit naive before she arrived and too easily swayed once she stayed within the Palestinian Terrotories. There is no denying the conditions she experienced but the realities of situation which caused those conditions was not explored at all and an opportunity to perhaps bring some light to a complicated and nuanced situation was lost.I was provided a copy of this book by netgalley in return for an honest review.

'Green Almonds' by Anaele Hermans with art by Delphine Hermans is a graphic novel about a correspondence between two sisters.Two sisters, Anaele and Delphine, in Belgium start writing each other when Anaele leaves for Palestine. Anaele is going to volunteer in an aid program and learns firsthand the delicate situation between Israelis and Palestinians. Through holidays and travel Anaele writes her sister about how she is feeling. Delphine, in turn, writes short postcards and her anxiety for her sister is pretty evident.I liked this story about an outsider who sees firsthand a situation that is going on. The art is interesting as is the story.I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

The beauty of graphic memoirs is their sincerity. While reading them, you feel more than just the words. While Green Almonds is technically a graphic novel and memoir, it is the telling of a broken political city from the view of an outsider. So unlike the memoirs where you feel a part of the story, this graphic novel makes everyone an outsider. This takes away from not only the experience reading, but the message they are trying to tell and education they are trying to share.