Vanni
A Family's Struggle Through the Sri Lankan Conflict
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- USD 19.99
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- USD 19.99
Descripción editorial
In the tradition of Maus, Persepolis, Palestine and The Breadwinner, Vanni is a graphic novel focusing on the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the 'Tamil Tigers', told from the perspective of a single family. This moving, exceptional graphic novel portrays the personal experiences of modern warfare, the processes of forced migration and the struggles of seeking asylum in Europe. Inspired by Dix's experience of working in Sri Lanka for the United Nations during the war, Vanni draws upon over four years of meticulous research, includes first-hand interviews, references from official reports and cross-referencing with experts in the field. Elegantly drawn by Lindsay Pollock, and with a real sense of immediacy, Vanni takes readers through the otherwise unimaginable struggles, horrors and life-changing decisions families and individuals are forced to make when caught in conflict.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dix and Pollock report on a family ravaged by war, natural disaster, and the decisions of distant powers in a work that manages to remain intimate and generous despite its tragic focus. The Ramachandrans and their neighbors, the Chologars, live in the small village of Chempiyanpattu, on the coast of Sri Lanka until the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the Sri Lankan civil war send them on a long and arduous trek to a "safe zone" the government keeps moving. This is a story about the Tamil Tigers (whom we see force a young woman into service) and international relief efforts, but what elevates the chronicle into art is the close attention it pays to the Ramachandran family's attempt to maintain their dignity under fire. Scenes of tent building and frantic attempts to calm children are illuminated by Pollock's soft, monochromatic use of graphite, while aesthetic details such as the patterns of cloth used for makeshift shelters and the blaring advertisements of a crowded London street are lushly rendered. In following the triumphs and travails of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, Dix and Pollock communicate their message with harrowing clarity: war extends far beyond the boundaries of the battlefield.
