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Using the graphic novel form to tackle an issue like the rise of Nazi Germany is fraught with traps, not least of which are comparisons to other works, such as Maus, as well as literary criticism for minimizing such an important topic. Lutes navigates these hazards well, creating sparse black-and-white sketches that often render a mood wordlessly. Whole pages go without text, and it serves the story well. As much can be told by showing a character in a window's evening reflection, eyes inked as darkened sockets, than through retelling details of (now) familiar historical events. The story itself has a rambling and philosophical feel, focused on details that become all the more poignant for their insignificance. One segment--where Lutes shows Marthe's walk onto a newly snow-covered street--tells us everything we need to know about this character, without much actual action occurring. Lutes doesn't use moments of transcendence to make a point or add sentimentality; instead, he firmly grounds us in this time and place.
Without knowing more about the next volumes, it's impossible to say whether Lutes will use this attachment against the readers later, knocking down his characters cheaply, allowing the shortcuts demanded by the burden of history. The last pages of this book--with a disappointingly predictable resolution--hinted in that direction, but the overall tone of the book indicates that something much richer and deeper will happen along with the inevitable loss. --Jennifer Buckendorff
Book Description
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A graphic masterpiece to read over again and again,
By Thomas Niksa (Logan, WV United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Berlin: City of Stones, Book One (Paperback)
I picked up "Berlin: City of Stones" and immediately fell in love with it. The art is outstanding and the human interest is unsurpassed. Even minor characters who have but a few frames seem to have Tolstoy-novel vividness to them. For instance:1) A traffic director whose intestinal constipation makes him see the vehicles he's directing as loathsome insects. 2) A physically vigorous fifty-ish newspaper distributor who likes making fun of the Nazis. 3). A schoolteacher who faces down her dochstoss-spouting student by telling her pupils that November, 1918, was a good month for the German people, as it was the month that brought democracy. The book is full of these, along with major characters you'll care deeply about. The end - involving a single mother's vision of her now-estranged husband - very moving. I can't wait for the second installment of a story of individuals in this politically ablaze city. Mr. Lutes, please hurry!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Social-ist history,
By MrPolyester (Montreal, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Berlin: City of Stones, Book One (Paperback)
Lutes makes history human. He shows it doesn't just happen to people - people do it themselves. 1920s Germany comes alive, and Lutes shows politics wasn't something separate, left to politicians: it was life & death to everyday people. Lutes' Communists & fascists are real, and we feel their motivations. The love affair brought a lump to my throat. City of Stones is proof that education and emotion don't have to be separate.Finally, as a student of socialist history, I can vouch for Lutes' accuracy. The fascist street gangs with their wealthy backers, the communist cooperatives, rising anti-semitism set against revolutionary fervour - it's all there, drawn in beautiful, spare lines.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A BOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO THINK,
By s.5 "spenceronehalf" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Berlin: City of Stones, Book One (Paperback)
This is a graphic novel for people who like to think -- a complexly connected set of stories that move together in productive, thoughtful ways. Lutes takes full advantage of his spare, generous style of drawing in the creation of this graphic novel ... once you read it, you'll be dying for the next one to come out. It's historically and psychologically rich; a tremendous addition to this growing genre.
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