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Marzi #1-5
Marzi: A memoir
“I am Marzi, born in 1979, ten years before the end of communism in Poland. My father works at a factory, my mother at a dairy. Social problems are at their height. Empty stores are our daily bread.I’m scared of spiders and the world of adults doesn’t seem like a walk in the park.” Told from a young girl’s perspective, Marzena Sowa’s memoir of a childhood shaped by politics feels remarkably fresh and immediate. Structured as a series of vignettes that build on one another, MARZI is a compelling and powerful coming-of-age story that portrays the harsh realities of life behind the Iron Curtain while maintaining the everyday wonders and curiosity of childhood. With open and engaging art by Sylvain Savoia, MARZI is a moving and resonant story of an ordinary girl in turbulent, changing times.
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2008
41 people are currently reading
1576 people want to read
About the author
Marzena Sowa
35 books64 followersMarzena Sowa is a Polish cartoonist. Since 2001, she has been living in France and Brussels. Sowa studied at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow and then at the Michel de Montaigne University in Bordeaux. Sowa is the author of the autobiographical comic Marzi, a series of comics about her childhood in 1980s-era Poland. She writes about life under communism, food shortages, and her childish escapades. The illustrator is Sylvain Savoia, Sowa's life partner. So far, six volumes of Marzi have been published by comic book publisher Dupuis. In Poland, the first three volumes were collected and published by Egmont. Marzi is also translated into Spanish and, in 2011, into English.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 213 reviews
January 25, 2012
Let me just say how much I loved little Marzi. Her character is sweet, charming, and vulnerable, with a healthy dose of insecurity brought on by the culture of her environment and a mother who seemed to feel she had to bring Marzi up with an iron first. Marzi was just a normal little girl, watching as her parents stood in line for simple food staples, went to school with friends who had goods her family seemingly couldn't afford, and spent time with her country relatives, learning to store up food for leaner times. Marzi's life is what is not normal. Although she is a little girl who wants to play, to learn new things, and to have her own puppy, the world she lives in is much too oppressive for a little girl to really understand. Through her eyes, we really get to see how scary and challenging it was for the people of Poland to negotiate these last days under communist rule.
Overall, I really did enjoy this graphic novel. The version I had was a little over 200 pages long, and with the vignettes, it made it hard to stick with the novel in one sitting. I found myself coming back to it, to read a few stories at a time. One part of the story that I found especially interesting was the section after the accident in Chernobyl. Although it was far away, the affect of the radioactive cloud that traveled to Marzi's town in Poland was huge! The fears they had over the rain, the food, and even their animals sent a country already suffering for food and work into a greater tailspin. I don't know that I'd ever considered the dramatic affect this event had on other nations, but we really do get a good first-hand account from little Marzi.
On the whole, this was a good graphic novel that I could see being used to help explain more about Poland's modern history and about communism. Honestly, it has made me want to learn more about the author today and her thoughts on these events as an adult. Not a short read, but a good one!
Overall, I really did enjoy this graphic novel. The version I had was a little over 200 pages long, and with the vignettes, it made it hard to stick with the novel in one sitting. I found myself coming back to it, to read a few stories at a time. One part of the story that I found especially interesting was the section after the accident in Chernobyl. Although it was far away, the affect of the radioactive cloud that traveled to Marzi's town in Poland was huge! The fears they had over the rain, the food, and even their animals sent a country already suffering for food and work into a greater tailspin. I don't know that I'd ever considered the dramatic affect this event had on other nations, but we really do get a good first-hand account from little Marzi.
On the whole, this was a good graphic novel that I could see being used to help explain more about Poland's modern history and about communism. Honestly, it has made me want to learn more about the author today and her thoughts on these events as an adult. Not a short read, but a good one!
November 11, 2011
This book was a win from first reads give-away. It was an advanced copy=not for sale.
The story follows the trials and tribulations, as well as the joys, hopes, and drams of a girl growing up in Communist Poland, in the 1970's. I remember being about the same age at this time, and dreading the Red Menace, that plagued my grandparents' homeland. I thought how horrid it would be somewhere, where they decided what you would do, where you lived, and what you do when you grew up. The lines for scare food items boggled my American mind-supermarkets had everything-every day. I felt bad for them and prayed for them often. Hated that the Allies let Russia keep Poland, making it suffer all the more.
Marzi, takes us back to that time, to tell how it was for her and other. How she treasured what tiny possessions she had. Her extended family and friends, and how life was easier in the country for many. Also, how her father striked for working conditions, and eventually the fall of Communism in Poland.
I really enjoyed this book, for I could truly relate to it. I followed the news nightly, at that age. The joys in this book are bittersweet.
The first few pages are in a color palette, that fits the mood of the story so well. Then it goes black and white, I do not know if this is due to it being an advanced. If this book is released completely in color-I will buy it!!
The story follows the trials and tribulations, as well as the joys, hopes, and drams of a girl growing up in Communist Poland, in the 1970's. I remember being about the same age at this time, and dreading the Red Menace, that plagued my grandparents' homeland. I thought how horrid it would be somewhere, where they decided what you would do, where you lived, and what you do when you grew up. The lines for scare food items boggled my American mind-supermarkets had everything-every day. I felt bad for them and prayed for them often. Hated that the Allies let Russia keep Poland, making it suffer all the more.
Marzi, takes us back to that time, to tell how it was for her and other. How she treasured what tiny possessions she had. Her extended family and friends, and how life was easier in the country for many. Also, how her father striked for working conditions, and eventually the fall of Communism in Poland.
I really enjoyed this book, for I could truly relate to it. I followed the news nightly, at that age. The joys in this book are bittersweet.
The first few pages are in a color palette, that fits the mood of the story so well. Then it goes black and white, I do not know if this is due to it being an advanced. If this book is released completely in color-I will buy it!!
February 5, 2012
Yes, I'm biased as can be reviewing this wonderful graphic novel about a girl born at the end of the 1970s to live through the last decade of communism in Poland. Yes, I grew up in the same city of Stalowa Wola and shared so many similar experiences like time spent with relatives in the countryside, and being told that “children and fish don’t have a voice.” Despite this incredibly coincidental bias I will still congratulate Marzi for writing the story of her childhood with such a strong voice. Marzi expresses her innermost feelings of how she felt as a child, while being ignored waiting in line for the last batch of oranges, to then be told there is none left, after a woman cuts in front of her and takes the last few, she cries to herself “my tears form the path of my invisible existence.” The turmoil of the politicized times brings forth many questions which Marzi struggles to find answers to; she’s unable to find someone willing to talk with her and explain the anxiety in the air. She finds solace in her friendships, in nature, her pets and her loving relationship with her father going mushroom-picking or watching him referee a soccer game. Marzi will teach her readers, she will make her readers laugh, cry and remember their own childhood moments.
April 21, 2014
This is another one I find really difficult to rate. I wouldn't describe it as touching, or moving, or exciting, though it can be some of those things at times. I'd most describe it as... interesting. It's delivered very plainly, and most of the vignettes are about everyday life. It's informative, but it's slice-of-life... so by its very nature, it's not super gripping. It's smart - it has a great eye for minor events that make statements, both to childlike Marzi, and on into today - but sometimes it reaches a little too far for meaning. I'm sure there's some that's lost in translation (as there always is), especially since some parts I believe are double-translated (from Polish to French to English). But I think the tone is intentional. It's melancholic and thoughtful, not exciting. The art is very cute, but predominantly operates in washed-out earthy tones, emphasizing the theme of a child's understanding of uncertain times. Overall, I think it accomplishes what it sets out to do, you'll just need to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy it.
February 24, 2019
Som nadsena! Hladam dalsi diel
February 18, 2023
This might be the best graphic novel I've read. It's so many stories within a story. Marzi is a precocious child who sees her country of Poland changing and wants to understand it. She wants to understand and analyze everything: religion, cultural traditions, social inequalities, the entire world of nature, how place affects politics, and why children have to labor. Her story tells the story of her nation, and it's mesmerizing.
December 27, 2018
This was so good!
I'm pretty startled that it took me so long to discover it.
Marzi grew up in Poland, and is just a few years older than I am (she was born in 1979).
I'm sure a million people have asked her "What was it like to grow up under communism?"*
This book seems to be her answer.
I really liked the approach of the book. Marzi's chapters are extremely episodic. She doesn't vary her panel layout at all - six panels per page, and each chapter is indicated with a heading above the panels on the starting page. The color work is limited as well - just blacks and greys with a touch of orange or red every once in a while. There's a monotony that seems to symbolize the monotony of communism.
The chapter topics range between "games we played in the stairwell" "how school handled kids with the same name" "making our own bubblegum" (which is supergross) to "the protests that overthrew communism."
In some GN-memoirs, I want disparate parts to be brought together in one narrative. Here, that didn't feel necessary. She gets across her life experience, and makes it feel more real, in a way, by letting the everyday clash against the big picture world changing stuff.
For my travelogue tracking - pages 81-87 has a great sequence of her going on a trip with her grandma.
I also appreciated her perspective on how different the fall of communism felt in Poland vs. how it might have felt in a place like Germany where a big physical wall fell.
The big stuff sneaks up on you. I would have been totally satisfied just following her through her life. I loved hearing about the day-to-day in her apartment block. But then, her dad just doesn't show up to work one day - and suddenly, we get an education in polish politics of the 1980s.
In these times, it made my heart ache a little to read a story where ordinary people actually changed the world.
Read with:
Dare to Disappoint
Persepolis
A Game of Swallows
*As insensitive and innappropriate as it is for anyone to ever ask that question of another person. We all live our own normal.
I'm pretty startled that it took me so long to discover it.
Marzi grew up in Poland, and is just a few years older than I am (she was born in 1979).
I'm sure a million people have asked her "What was it like to grow up under communism?"*
This book seems to be her answer.
I really liked the approach of the book. Marzi's chapters are extremely episodic. She doesn't vary her panel layout at all - six panels per page, and each chapter is indicated with a heading above the panels on the starting page. The color work is limited as well - just blacks and greys with a touch of orange or red every once in a while. There's a monotony that seems to symbolize the monotony of communism.
The chapter topics range between "games we played in the stairwell" "how school handled kids with the same name" "making our own bubblegum" (which is supergross) to "the protests that overthrew communism."
In some GN-memoirs, I want disparate parts to be brought together in one narrative. Here, that didn't feel necessary. She gets across her life experience, and makes it feel more real, in a way, by letting the everyday clash against the big picture world changing stuff.
For my travelogue tracking - pages 81-87 has a great sequence of her going on a trip with her grandma.
I also appreciated her perspective on how different the fall of communism felt in Poland vs. how it might have felt in a place like Germany where a big physical wall fell.
The big stuff sneaks up on you. I would have been totally satisfied just following her through her life. I loved hearing about the day-to-day in her apartment block. But then, her dad just doesn't show up to work one day - and suddenly, we get an education in polish politics of the 1980s.
In these times, it made my heart ache a little to read a story where ordinary people actually changed the world.
Read with:
Dare to Disappoint
Persepolis
A Game of Swallows
*As insensitive and innappropriate as it is for anyone to ever ask that question of another person. We all live our own normal.
November 9, 2011
An autobiography of Marzena Sowa in a graphic novel format- it was a very enjoyable read! This book details memories she had as a child growing up in Poland during the fall of the communist regime. It was very interesting to look from a child's perspective the various issues that plagued her young life- such as financial and political issues, ration cards, worker strikes, and long lines to purchase limited food items. I would definitely recommend this book. The story of young Marzi is fascinating and the artwork is very well done.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
March 28, 2015
The autobiographical novel "Marzi" written by Marzena Sowa greatly depicts living in Comunist rule. Marzi is the main character in the novel, and through her eyes we can observe political and historical changes that are taking place in the 1980s Poland. Although on the each page of the novel we can notice the same six-panel layout, the story told from Marzi's point of view does not happen to be monotonous. Quite the opposite: the reader does not only get a sense of what are the changes that the society has to accept. More importantly, one can observe the influence of such changes on Marzi's childhood. Małgorzata Sowa allows the reader to enter the world as seen through the eyes of Marzi, hence, many of the panels are drawn from a child's eye-level, and there is also a lot of text in speech bubbles. The young and very sensitive girl very often seems to notice more than the adults around her. In my humble opinion, this graphic novel does not resemble the very traditional European comic books with bright colours. Małgorzata Sowa went one step further and chose more colorful illustrations and, moreover, she decided on very suggestive cover of the novel. I would definitely recommend this novel.
Read
October 11, 2017Marzi è una bambina che vive nella Polonia degli Anni Ottanta: la sua infanzia è raccontata con i disegni da Sylvain Savoia e dettata dalle parole di Marzi stessa, Marzena Sowa. Sylvain e Marzi si sono innamorati da adulti e lei, per cercare di fargli conoscere il suo mondo, gli ha descritto la vita sua e dei suoi famigliari in quegli anni pre-caduta del Muro e pre-Solidarność, in un paese comunista, e lui poi ne ha tratto le strisce. La cosa veramente sorprendente di questa graphic è che dalla scatola dei ricordi della piccola polacca, inevitabilmente salgono, emergono pian piano e poi scoppiano i ricordi del lettore stesso, la piccola italiana in questo caso (!), non tanto per assonanza di situazioni (alcune davvero lontane da quanto accadeva in Italia, qui la fila per prendere la carne o la frutta con i razionamenti non l’ho mai vista), quanto forse per la contemporaneità dei tempi “storici”: il disastro di Černobyl', la tanto desiderata Barbie, la prima televisione a colori…. Oggi a pranzo a casa dei miei genitori ho chiesto di chi si ricordava com’era e quando era arrivata a casa nostra la prima televisione a colori, i miei fratelli la ricordavano benissimo (anche io!) e ricordavano anche i cartoni animati che vedevo io :D poi siamo finiti, non so come, a parlare di polpette e di verdure ripiene che ci si litigava quando li faceva mia mamma… insomma leggere Marzi è stato bello, come avere un’amica lontana che viveva certe solitudini o certe avventure più o meno mentre ne vivevo anche io. Mi ha sorpreso la sua grande vicinanza a Dio (del resto, la cattolicissima Polonia…) e una cosa è certa: sua madre e la mia sono due gemelle separate dalla nascita!
December 22, 2012
My list of graphic novels depicting the horrors of daily life under a Communist regime is growing: after Pyongyang A Journey in North Korea, The Year of the Pioneer, Acum nu e momentul and other Romanian books by Mihai Stanescu, I found the wonderful memoir of Marzena Sowa, Marzi.
Overall, this is one of the best first-hand accounts of a survivor of those times, aided greatly by the visuals. Recommended for anyone interested in life under Communism and for anyone who's lived that nightmare. (I also recommend the classics: Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, Herta Müller, Ismail Kadare, perhaps even George Orwell and Yevgeny Zamyatin.)
The remainder of my review may present a high-level view of what is in this book. However, the real pleasure is in the details, so I do not feel like I am spoiling any fun.
I enjoyed very much the treatment of the topic. There is so much that I recognize and strongly relate to! Growing up in the 1980s. The scarcity of things: toilet paper, meat, gas. The great scare following the atomic explosion at Chernobyl, 1986. Ulker's Turbo as chewing gum and collectible pictures of cars, and the national craze for the TV series Isaura the Slave (Escrava Isaura, Ro: Sclava Isaura). The infinite queues for unknown loot (Heh, maybe that's why I grind through hack-and-slash RPGs). The hard, practical life taught to children since early age ("Eat all there is in your plate!", "Here is what is inside this chicken! Don't be afraid of the entrails!", "Go queue and don't leave until you have bought toilet paper!", "You need to fight for your place in the queue!", "Pluck these feathers and stuff this pillow!", "You need to help with weeding out the legumes!", "The next three days we'll have to harvest strawberries!", etc.). At the same time, the eternal lies and smiles, as parents were trying to avoid involving the children into political life ("When you'll be older, you'll understand this better"). The feeling of the inevitability of the end of Communism. The surprisingly abrupt fall of Communism. The deal made by the new leaders with the Russians, presumably to avoid an invasion (the specter of Hungary). The eternal question: did the new rulers sell us out for their own benefit?
Double-speak and double-life, the main elements of surviving life under Communism, were well represented in this novel. The stages marches of joy accompanying the 1st of May (the international day of Communism) vs the silent resistance (here: turning off tvs, wearing resistors at the sleeve). The empty fridges vs the joyous birthdays staged for the kids. The angry sellers at the department store, more like little dictators of necessary resources than employees providing services. The expectation that Communism will imminently fall vs the surprise and total loss of lucidity when it did. Etc.
There were also parts about the Communism in Marzi's experience that fall far from my own. Being poor, for example; I had the impression that in Romania the problem was not the money, but the lack of actual merchandise to buy and the long waiting lists for anything worthwhile. (In other words, I had the impression that the regime was printing enough money, but there was simply no way they could be spent for daily necessities, as these did not exist in stores; or for vacations or a car or electrical implements, as these had waiting lists that could be bypassed only through connections; or the impossibility to buy or own a house.) Having teachers who would openly discuss how bad things were under Communism or explaining the meaning of the struggle against it. Having teachers replaced because the parents were complaining their children were being abused. Having a big family and access to the country side to compensate scarcity (although many Romanians did have this). Not having to worry at all about speaking openly (or even in the apartment, other than in hushed voices) against the regime (no internal police? Stasi? Securitate?). Religion and the workers population (in Romania, the church was known to collaborate murderously with the internal police, so religion in general and confessions in particular were snubbed by many in the city). The Pope supporting audibly and physically the country. A Solidarnosc and a Lech Walesa; a quiet revolution.
Visually, the book is rather good. The illustrator speaks the language of Understanding Comics The Invisible Art and the variety of topics is really staggering. Color-wise, gray tones and one-two colors (mostly reds) can do wonders. Nothing brilliant, or perhaps my mind was elsewhere.
Overall, this is one of the best first-hand accounts of a survivor of those times, aided greatly by the visuals. Recommended for anyone interested in life under Communism and for anyone who's lived that nightmare. (I also recommend the classics: Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, Herta Müller, Ismail Kadare, perhaps even George Orwell and Yevgeny Zamyatin.)
The remainder of my review may present a high-level view of what is in this book. However, the real pleasure is in the details, so I do not feel like I am spoiling any fun.
I enjoyed very much the treatment of the topic. There is so much that I recognize and strongly relate to! Growing up in the 1980s. The scarcity of things: toilet paper, meat, gas. The great scare following the atomic explosion at Chernobyl, 1986. Ulker's Turbo as chewing gum and collectible pictures of cars, and the national craze for the TV series Isaura the Slave (Escrava Isaura, Ro: Sclava Isaura). The infinite queues for unknown loot (Heh, maybe that's why I grind through hack-and-slash RPGs). The hard, practical life taught to children since early age ("Eat all there is in your plate!", "Here is what is inside this chicken! Don't be afraid of the entrails!", "Go queue and don't leave until you have bought toilet paper!", "You need to fight for your place in the queue!", "Pluck these feathers and stuff this pillow!", "You need to help with weeding out the legumes!", "The next three days we'll have to harvest strawberries!", etc.). At the same time, the eternal lies and smiles, as parents were trying to avoid involving the children into political life ("When you'll be older, you'll understand this better"). The feeling of the inevitability of the end of Communism. The surprisingly abrupt fall of Communism. The deal made by the new leaders with the Russians, presumably to avoid an invasion (the specter of Hungary). The eternal question: did the new rulers sell us out for their own benefit?
Double-speak and double-life, the main elements of surviving life under Communism, were well represented in this novel. The stages marches of joy accompanying the 1st of May (the international day of Communism) vs the silent resistance (here: turning off tvs, wearing resistors at the sleeve). The empty fridges vs the joyous birthdays staged for the kids. The angry sellers at the department store, more like little dictators of necessary resources than employees providing services. The expectation that Communism will imminently fall vs the surprise and total loss of lucidity when it did. Etc.
There were also parts about the Communism in Marzi's experience that fall far from my own. Being poor, for example; I had the impression that in Romania the problem was not the money, but the lack of actual merchandise to buy and the long waiting lists for anything worthwhile. (In other words, I had the impression that the regime was printing enough money, but there was simply no way they could be spent for daily necessities, as these did not exist in stores; or for vacations or a car or electrical implements, as these had waiting lists that could be bypassed only through connections; or the impossibility to buy or own a house.) Having teachers who would openly discuss how bad things were under Communism or explaining the meaning of the struggle against it. Having teachers replaced because the parents were complaining their children were being abused. Having a big family and access to the country side to compensate scarcity (although many Romanians did have this). Not having to worry at all about speaking openly (or even in the apartment, other than in hushed voices) against the regime (no internal police? Stasi? Securitate?). Religion and the workers population (in Romania, the church was known to collaborate murderously with the internal police, so religion in general and confessions in particular were snubbed by many in the city). The Pope supporting audibly and physically the country. A Solidarnosc and a Lech Walesa; a quiet revolution.
Visually, the book is rather good. The illustrator speaks the language of Understanding Comics The Invisible Art and the variety of topics is really staggering. Color-wise, gray tones and one-two colors (mostly reds) can do wonders. Nothing brilliant, or perhaps my mind was elsewhere.
November 1, 2020
Marzi is a memoir of growing up in communist Poland, with its hardships and political unrest. It's also the story of a little girl's family and friends, and the bright spots that keep them going. It's not overtly focused on the political, but Marzi grows into understanding what's going on around her. Especially when her father becomes active in the struggle for liberation. Even if you're not interested in history, though, this is an excellent memoir. Sowa was willing to lay many things bare, such as her mother's dysfunction and cruelty. It's not sensationalistic, but it's sobering. But in many ways her family was one of the lucky ones, finding ways to survive and enjoy parts of their lives even during hardship. This one stayed with me for a long while after I turned the last page.
February 12, 2012
Dobře napsaný a skvěle ilustrovaný autobiografický grafický román nebo spíš sled samostatných příběhů o dětství v komunistickém Polsku v druhé polovině 80. let. Fronty v obchodech, povinné lékařské prohlídky, Černobyl, polská obdoba Tuzexu, dlouhé velikonoční mše, stávky dělníků, Solidarność - to všechno líčené očima a jazykem malé a zvědavé Marzi s velkýma modrýma očima.
Kdo tehdejší dobu zažil, připomene si, kolik nenormálních věcí byli dospělí tak dlouho ochotní snášet a kolik z nich dodnes přetrvává v životě a myšlení lidí kolem nás. Ostatním bych knížku doporučila jako místy smutný, ale hlavně upřímný a osvěžující pohled do doby nedávno minulé - kdyby někdy vyšla v češtině, mohly by ji číst i děti ve věku Marzi.
Dětský jazyk dobře vystihuje i anglický překlad, který zachovává polské názvy reálií (pozorný čtenář se naučí i pár polských nadávek) - knížka je tedy vhodná i pro ty, kdo v angličtině číst teprve začínají.
Kdo tehdejší dobu zažil, připomene si, kolik nenormálních věcí byli dospělí tak dlouho ochotní snášet a kolik z nich dodnes přetrvává v životě a myšlení lidí kolem nás. Ostatním bych knížku doporučila jako místy smutný, ale hlavně upřímný a osvěžující pohled do doby nedávno minulé - kdyby někdy vyšla v češtině, mohly by ji číst i děti ve věku Marzi.
Dětský jazyk dobře vystihuje i anglický překlad, který zachovává polské názvy reálií (pozorný čtenář se naučí i pár polských nadávek) - knížka je tedy vhodná i pro ty, kdo v angličtině číst teprve začínají.
January 2, 2015
I was born just months before the Berlin Wall fell in Spain from foreign parents, so all the stories about life under a state of war, communism, civil war, dictatorship... come to me from books, articles, TV and cinema and, sometimes, from friends whose relatives lived such years.
Thus, my knowledge about what happened in Eastern Europe is reduced to school books and such. As a fan of graphic novel memoirs, I find 'Marzi' a really good one, tender, bitter, innocent... but so easy to relate to too when it comes to common childhood issues, such as being ignored by the adults or criticized by the use of our imaginations.
Totally recommendable. A joy to read, while learning a bit more about how life in Poland was not so long ago.
Thus, my knowledge about what happened in Eastern Europe is reduced to school books and such. As a fan of graphic novel memoirs, I find 'Marzi' a really good one, tender, bitter, innocent... but so easy to relate to too when it comes to common childhood issues, such as being ignored by the adults or criticized by the use of our imaginations.
Totally recommendable. A joy to read, while learning a bit more about how life in Poland was not so long ago.
September 28, 2014
Yes, it's slow and "vignettes" is definitely the right term for this storytelling... but it was charming and true to the child's perspective. I enjoyed it very much.
February 10, 2026
Actually around 3.75. I always love to read these kind of graphic novels where you mix reality and art, where, with the effort of the people who lived these stories firsthand and the ones who wanted give these memories a tangible form. In my case, I'm always curious to know more about Eastern Europe, geographically close for me yet so culturally far here and all the stories fulfill my desire to know more: a collage of stories about poverty, opportunities, dreams, fights, joy, death, life and growth.
Currently reading
October 27, 2024I've been thru tome 1 for well over a year and want to get back to it so I'm using my 'currently-reading' for inspiration. Maybe it is the depressing nature compounded over many more pages that's keeping her shelved "at bay"- but it's told in such a vivaciously adorable way.
September 3, 2017
The world of graphic novels is not one I turn to often these days. When i was younger I read them a lot. As a dyslexic I was encouraged to do so as they figured few words would help with my learning to read. However I have long since given up the world of cape crusaders and men of Steele. For the most part it takes a lot o get my attention in this form of reading. The last being Mouse the tale of surviving the holocaust. So it was with only idle curiosity I happen to be flick through this section on my favorite review site and saw Marzi listed.
Marzena brings you into her story slowly with a tale of carp a Christmas. For the most part the story's she tells you of herself are of care free days spent playing with her many assorted friends. That is not to say politics don't get pushed to the forefront. Although most of this is towards the second half of the book. I have some basic knowledge of the Solidarność movement that brought an end to communist rule in Poland. The author gives an insight in to what it was like for the family's of those caught up in it. I would point out that at no point is this an in depth account of every thing that happened during the massive upheaval. Just a bit of everyday life in communist 80's Poland.
The story's she tell come across as very informative. As the author says hers self it never occurred to her that her family was poor. Because every one she knew was to. For the most part she seems to have enjoyed her childhood. One of my favorites of these story's is when the children in her block of flats play the pope. Much to the adults dismay and shouts of blasphemy. There are also dark moments from Poland declaring a state of marshal law to the explosion at Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The illustration for this book are by Sylvain Savoia who seem to capture the mood of the book well. He never uses overly bright tones. The pallet of muted colours fill each page breathing life in to each of these story's. The only colours that stream from the page are white and red. These being the colours of the polish flag and those used by the Solidarność movement.
Overall I would suggest giving this a peace of your time. As memoirs go it's light and doesn't take all that long to get through. I spent an afternoon with it and am glad I did. For the most part it the tale of adolescent but also that of the start of change to the eastern block countries. This is the story of a small girls growing up in uncertain times.
Marzena brings you into her story slowly with a tale of carp a Christmas. For the most part the story's she tells you of herself are of care free days spent playing with her many assorted friends. That is not to say politics don't get pushed to the forefront. Although most of this is towards the second half of the book. I have some basic knowledge of the Solidarność movement that brought an end to communist rule in Poland. The author gives an insight in to what it was like for the family's of those caught up in it. I would point out that at no point is this an in depth account of every thing that happened during the massive upheaval. Just a bit of everyday life in communist 80's Poland.
The story's she tell come across as very informative. As the author says hers self it never occurred to her that her family was poor. Because every one she knew was to. For the most part she seems to have enjoyed her childhood. One of my favorites of these story's is when the children in her block of flats play the pope. Much to the adults dismay and shouts of blasphemy. There are also dark moments from Poland declaring a state of marshal law to the explosion at Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The illustration for this book are by Sylvain Savoia who seem to capture the mood of the book well. He never uses overly bright tones. The pallet of muted colours fill each page breathing life in to each of these story's. The only colours that stream from the page are white and red. These being the colours of the polish flag and those used by the Solidarność movement.
Overall I would suggest giving this a peace of your time. As memoirs go it's light and doesn't take all that long to get through. I spent an afternoon with it and am glad I did. For the most part it the tale of adolescent but also that of the start of change to the eastern block countries. This is the story of a small girls growing up in uncertain times.
February 8, 2018
Possibly aimed at the same audience (age-wise) as Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, Marzi is an autobiographical recollection of Marzena Sowa's life growing up in communist Poland during the 80s. Her life is reflected in the dull, muted, grey colouring, full of queues and whispered angsts amongst adults against the state. Throughout, the young Marzi is desperate to find out the truth of the story behind their country but when she eventually does so, a part of her wish she had not known and with this knowledge comes that sobering realisation that she has 'grown up.'
I found the same six-panel approach a little tiresome at times and there is a lot of text throughout. Although this may have frustrated at the start, I began to see how Marzi's written story, told from the perspective of a young child at the time, was of great importance and almost might have been better written as a novel itself. The graphic novel is made up of various stories of different lengths - such relating to family, play, politics, hopes and fears and Marzi herself is as flawed as any real person - which I thought was brave and quite beautiful.
I have tagged this as KS2/KS3 but it is probably for older readers than that. There is a part of me though, that thinks some of her stories would be worth sharing with children in these categories so that they get a broader picture of life in a different country of someone similar to their age.
I found the same six-panel approach a little tiresome at times and there is a lot of text throughout. Although this may have frustrated at the start, I began to see how Marzi's written story, told from the perspective of a young child at the time, was of great importance and almost might have been better written as a novel itself. The graphic novel is made up of various stories of different lengths - such relating to family, play, politics, hopes and fears and Marzi herself is as flawed as any real person - which I thought was brave and quite beautiful.
I have tagged this as KS2/KS3 but it is probably for older readers than that. There is a part of me though, that thinks some of her stories would be worth sharing with children in these categories so that they get a broader picture of life in a different country of someone similar to their age.
December 13, 2011
Originally posted at http://littleapplebookworm.blogspot.c...
This simply but beautifully illustrated graphic novel tells the story of Marzi, a young girl coming of age behind the Iron Curtain. Marzena Sowa was born in 1979 in Stalowa Wola, Poland. The majority of this graphic novel, written as a series of vignettes, takes place in the years leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Ms. Sowa manages to demonstrate both the uncertainty of the time and the joys and wonder any child can find in the world. She and her friends often act out the visit the Pope made to Poland. She talks about her anxiety when her father is away from home for days at a time when he and his fellow factory workers go on strike. She also describes carefree summer days visiting her grandmother and playing with her cousins in the country. Presenting this story as a series of vignettes is very powerful. These snippets of a childhood spent in a country with stores filled with empty shelves and celebrations where people only show up and cheer because that's what's expected provide a unique perspective of a country that was shrouded in secrecy for decades.
Some other wonderful memoirs told in graphic novel form are Persepolis and Vietnamerica.
This simply but beautifully illustrated graphic novel tells the story of Marzi, a young girl coming of age behind the Iron Curtain. Marzena Sowa was born in 1979 in Stalowa Wola, Poland. The majority of this graphic novel, written as a series of vignettes, takes place in the years leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Ms. Sowa manages to demonstrate both the uncertainty of the time and the joys and wonder any child can find in the world. She and her friends often act out the visit the Pope made to Poland. She talks about her anxiety when her father is away from home for days at a time when he and his fellow factory workers go on strike. She also describes carefree summer days visiting her grandmother and playing with her cousins in the country. Presenting this story as a series of vignettes is very powerful. These snippets of a childhood spent in a country with stores filled with empty shelves and celebrations where people only show up and cheer because that's what's expected provide a unique perspective of a country that was shrouded in secrecy for decades.
Some other wonderful memoirs told in graphic novel form are Persepolis and Vietnamerica.
May 5, 2014
This is a memoir about a young girl living in Communist Poland in the 1980s. I would give this book 5 stars for authenticity. The author captured her childhood experiences in vignettes of 2-4 pages, each one a little comic strip of daily life. I read the book in "bits and bites" over a month. Marzi (the character) was a three-dimensional person. I found myself irritated with her at times, just like I would be with a real child! I found the book had too much content about the minutiae of everyday life. If it had been serialized in a weekly newspaper, it would have been just right. It's a good thing I'm not an editor. I would have cut the book by half and put the rest online as a web comic! Later I found out its original publication had been in 5 volumes. I learned a tremendous amount about her time and place. Marzi's trying to understand politics by listening to grown-ups reminded me of when I was a child trying to understand the FLQ and Watergate!
August 17, 2019
That was intense.
Marzi is an extremely heavytext biography of Marzena Sowa, born in 1979, in a factory city in Poland.
Enter Cold War in its last ten years. Life in Poland is harsh, as in any other Eastern Bloc's country. People go to buy things only with coupons and stay at queues for hours freezing hoping to buy something, from a sausage to new shoes. Because USSR used these countries as cheap labor.
In Marzi's town, the factory makes weapons and one day the workers start a strike. Among them, her dad. Nothing would be the same again for little Marzi.
Marzi manages to open the eyes of the whole world to the harsh life in Poland, while keeping a very sweet, humane and optimistic approach. And deserves to be read.
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Marzi is an extremely heavytext biography of Marzena Sowa, born in 1979, in a factory city in Poland.
Enter Cold War in its last ten years. Life in Poland is harsh, as in any other Eastern Bloc's country. People go to buy things only with coupons and stay at queues for hours freezing hoping to buy something, from a sausage to new shoes. Because USSR used these countries as cheap labor.
In Marzi's town, the factory makes weapons and one day the workers start a strike. Among them, her dad. Nothing would be the same again for little Marzi.
Marzi manages to open the eyes of the whole world to the harsh life in Poland, while keeping a very sweet, humane and optimistic approach. And deserves to be read.
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May 29, 2012
Marzi's got a bit of a slow burn, because it's a series of vignettes only loosely tied together with narrative. What's nice about that is that it's easy to pick up and put down again if you only have small blocks of time to read. It does, however, reward he patient reader with a sense of time and place not necessarily connected to narrative, a sense of how one's own childhood connects with Marzi's--because so much of our own childhoods follow that nonlinear path. Sowa doesn't try to tie these events together with a grownup's story of what it all means; rather, she speaks from the perspective of a child who doesn't have the benefit of history or future knowledge and by default encourages the reader to experience her story that way.
January 8, 2012
If you're expecting a story Maus or Barefoot Gen you'll be disappointed. Based off the book's pre-publishing publicity I was expecting something more like those two. A story of the writer's growing up during the beginnings and success of the Poland's Solidarity movement. Well, Solidarity appears around the halfway point, and becomes more of a focus towards the end as Marzi's father is one of Solidarity early supporters.
You do get a good view of young girl growing up in Poland during food and clothing shortages, and how she and her family manage to find ways to get through. In addition, you see how families and neighborhoods bonded to deal with these issues.
You do get a good view of young girl growing up in Poland during food and clothing shortages, and how she and her family manage to find ways to get through. In addition, you see how families and neighborhoods bonded to deal with these issues.
December 11, 2015
Great story, pretty art, and a look at a place and time where things couldn't have been more different.
I could definitely connect with Marzi's confussion with the adult world and feeling left out. What kid didn't feel that way?
It also made me realize what a blessed childhood I had. I couldn't imagine living in a place where you had to stand in line for something as basic as toilet paper (not to mention food) and hope they still had some when you got to the front of the line.
Definitely something I'd recommend to someone looking for a good story.
I could definitely connect with Marzi's confussion with the adult world and feeling left out. What kid didn't feel that way?
It also made me realize what a blessed childhood I had. I couldn't imagine living in a place where you had to stand in line for something as basic as toilet paper (not to mention food) and hope they still had some when you got to the front of the line.
Definitely something I'd recommend to someone looking for a good story.
August 8, 2012
I'm ending my relationship with Marzi early. It's an interesting enough story, but I've realized by trying this one that I don't really care for graphic novels that are written and drawn by separate people. There was too much of a disconnect between the art and the writing in this one--too many words and too many pictures jammed on one page. With some good editing, Marzi's story might have held my interest longer.
January 14, 2013
Marzi is an important book in that it draws attention to the more recent history of Poland under Jaruzelski, Chernobyl and the Solidarnosc union, but also reminds that these were not simply notable points in history, but that actual people were trying to live normal lives. This alternation of the universal and the strange is perhaps Marzi’s best achievement.
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December 25, 2018
This is fantastic slice of life series of stories. They are the reminiscences of Marzena Sowa from her childhood growing up in Poland during the late 1980s as Communism was falling in Eastern Europe. These are touching and insightful stories that warm your heart and give you a better understanding of the power of belief and perseverance.
May 23, 2012
I love graphic novels, but I did not love this one. This is memoir of a young girl in Poland, and I did find the backdrop of family and culture interesting. But the book as a whole did not suck me in.
February 18, 2023
This is a memoir graphic novel that gives a detailed look at childhood in late communist Poland. It is interesting to see what daily life was like, both the good and the bad. It was all very different from life in the U.S.
This is a surprisingly long book for a graphic novel. It has 230 very large pages with lots of text on each page. It is more like reading an ordinary book with lots of pictures. The drawings are all very good and detailed.
This is a surprisingly long book for a graphic novel. It has 230 very large pages with lots of text on each page. It is more like reading an ordinary book with lots of pictures. The drawings are all very good and detailed.
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