Zeina Abirached chose an interesting angle for her memoir of the civil war in Beirut: instead of focusing on the politics or the chronology of the war, she illustrates the impact of the unrest on day-to-day life. From the school bus that won't come to her house, to her mom's bullet-ridden car, to her little brother's shrapnel collection, Abirached remembers it all. And her remembrances are a reminder to the rest of us of just how much most of us take for granted and how much we should be thankful for.

I enjoy Abirached's simple black-and-white illustrations. I especially like her letter O's, with dots in the middle; the curlicue hair she drew on herself, the macaroni-shaped hair she gave to her brother, and the interesting mustaches; and her illustration of Florence Griffith Joyner's Olympic nails.

There were a few references I didn't get, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, because it spurred me to look them up and learn even more.

Note: I received a digital copy of this book through NetGalley. ( )

Written like a children's book, containing snippets of daily life during the Lebanon civil war of the 70s and 80s. Most of it seemed more inconvenient than threatening. ( )

Lovely, mostly black, pictures illustrate this quietly intense book of childhood in war-torn Beirut. I really appreciated how her vivid memories were of both casually normal routines and also of frightening or fun experiences: returning RC bottles, her brother's shrapnel collections, her haircuts... ( )

In this companion to A Game for Swallows, Abirached recalls the details of daily life inside a war zone in Beirut. Stark, evocative, and poignant. ( )

I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached is a graphic novel style memoir about growing up in Beirut during the fighting between Muslims and Christians. Though her block wasn't in the contested area, it was close enough to make life difficult and sometimes dangerous.

Rather than focusing on the danger and destruction, Abirached hones in on the mundanity of childhood. She talks about hair cuts, and paper folding, and favorite songs. The scenes of her curly hair vs the overly conservative barber are hilarious.

The fighting is there too, of course. It comes in the form of memories of the ever moving bus stop, the trips to the coast to avoid the worst of the fighting, the repeatedly broken windshield on the car, and her brother's interest in collecting shrapnel.

Recommended for readers who enjoy the works of Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis, Chicken with Plums, etc.). ( )