Pick of the Day: “Not the Israel my Parents Promised Me” by Harvey Pekar and J.T. Waldman

The late Harvey Pekar, most famous for “American Splendor,” returns with “Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me,” a graphic novel autobiographically exploring American Jews’ relationship with Israel. Writing at Electronic Intifada, Joy Ellison explains: “Pekar’s father believed Israel to be the fulfillment of religious prophesy. His non-religious mother believed Israel would fulfill the promise of communism. But both of Pekar’s parents believed wholeheartedly in the Jewish state.” The book traces Pekar’s disillusionment with Israel. Ellison praises him, writing “for readers who want to understand a Jewish anti-Zionist perspective, this book will not disappoint. Likewise, Pekar will satisfy readers who want to understand the historical context of Zionism. ”

Describing the book in Haaretz, Nirit Anderman says a meeting at the Israeli consulate about the prospect of moving to Israel was a turning point for Pekar. “The clerk, irritated by the desperate man staring at him across the counter, told Pekar that moving to Israel would be a massive mistake and that he had no chance of finding work if and when he arrived. In an instant, Pekar’s lifetime illusions of life in Israel were popped like a sorry balloon.” He also notes that “The book, like the story itself, ends with Pekar’s death.” Anderman quotes the book’s illustrator, J.D. Waldman, who had to finish the project after Pekar’s death, as saying ““The book is not prescriptive. It’s not saying: This is how you can change things to make it better. It’s subjective… This is the history of Harvey’s point of view.”

Posted by Left Eye On Books on Aug 12 2012. Filed under News Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry