Unterzakhn

Unterzakhn by Leela Corman (2012) 208 pages

Earlier this year I saw Book Riot's list "22 of the Best Graphic Novels of All Time." I added all the ones I didn't already have on my reading list to my "Want To Read" list. This historical fiction graphic novel sounded particularly interesting. It is about two sisters growing up on New York's Lower East Side in the early twentieth century. The title is Yiddish for "Underthings." We start in 1909 when Esther and Fanya are six. We progress to 1912, then there is a flashback to 1895 to learn how their father came to America. The story of the sisters continues in 1917 through 1923. Fanya finds education and work with an obstetrician, Bronia, who provides illegal, but desperately needed abortions for the poor immigrant population. Esther finds a different type of education and work with Miss Lucille, a madam of a brothel/burlesque house. The parents of Fanya and Esther, from the old world, have perhaps less influence on their lives than these two women. The book deals with many adult themes. The later portion of the story sees Esther taking a slightly larger role as she becomes a jazz age Broadway star. The ending is tragic and ironic, so the author leaves us with a short flashback to a funny, carefree episode when the girls were young.

The Handmaid's Tale: the graphic novel

The Handmaid's Tale: the graphic novel by Margaret Atwood; art & adaptation by Renee Nault (2019) 240 pages

The Handmaid's Tale has been on my to-read list for years, so when I saw it at the library as a graphic novel, I jumped at the chance to read it. As only my second foray into the graphic novel format,  I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I found was a full-bodied story, with suspense and horror as well as resignation.

We get a glimpse of the narrator's previous life as a student and later as a wife and young mother before the war. Rebellions  continue to pop up here and there, although it's hard to know how effective the rebellion is since the televised news airs only what the government of Gilead wants the people to see. The ease with which the government suspended the Constitution is frightening, as are the regulations which forced women out of the workforce and made it illegal for them to handle money practically overnight. The narrator, who's now a handmaid, has lost all the people she cares about, and is strictly regulated in everything that she does. She lives in the household of "The Commander," where she's expected to bear a child for him, just as other handmaids are expected to do for their masters. Weirdly, sex occurs with the wife present, and if a child is conceived and born from this handmaid, the wife is brought in near the end of labor, so that she may collect and name "her" child.

The artwork is good and the story flows. However, now I need to read the original Margaret Atwood novel, to see if I've missed anything...