Replay : Mémoires d'une famille

by Jordan Mechner

Franzi, 7 ans, est séparé de ses parents et devient réfugié dans la France occupée de 1940. Son père, autrichien menacé par le nazisme, a vécu la Première Guerre, connu le Front russe et doit fuir son pays pour l'Amérique. 80 ans plus tard, le fils de Franzi, Jordan Mechner, raconte leurs histoires grâce aux carnets tenus par chacun d'entre eux et y mêle son expatriation professionnelle des États-Unis en France.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, History, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Video Games

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2024

About the author

Jordan Mechner is an author, graphic novelist, video game designer, and screenwriter. He created Prince of Persia as a solo game developer in the 1980s, joined forces with Ubisoft to relaunch the series in 2003 with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and adapted it as a 2010 live-action film for Disney. Jordan's books include his game development journals The Making of Karateka and The Making of Prince of Persia, the graphic novels Templar (a New York Times bestseller) and Monte-Cristo. His games include Karateka and The Last Express. In 2017, he received the Pioneer Award from the International Game Developers Association. @jmechner on Instagram, Facebook, Mastodon and Twitter.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and First Second Books for an eARC of this book to read and review.

I get the layers of family that the author was going for, tying in his family and their flight from Europe in WWI and WWII, that was interesting, though not always clear which scenes belonged to which timeframe.

But his life? I always say I will never write my memoirs because 1) no one cares and 2) it will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am a self-centered idiot who has First World Problems, usually of my own making.

The memoir portion of this graphic novel follows those failings to a T. We don't need to see the disintegration of your second marriage. Yes, she didn't come out of it looking great, but neither did you. I hope that was the intent.

His family's life and struggle to survive? Yes, give me more of that please. (Though you could have left out the bits about how no one could seem to keep it in their pants in 1930s France. And the bit where your grandparents divorced in their 70s and how your grandfather has kids the age of yours....or if you mention it, you need to give MORE. Like WTH!?!? Did he have a secret family, was his new wife like more than half his age?? SOOOO many questions.)

Again, the WWI and WWII bits were fascinating, though more obvious distinction between the two timelines would have been helpful. Modern day? Not necessary, thanks. The only part where it worked was the parallel Passover dinners. That gave me chills.

2, this had potential and wasn't horrible but I was hoping for more, stars.

[Thom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I follow Jordan Mechner on social media and have played most of his games - loved The Last Express. This is a triple-memoir in graphic form, and while originally published in French, looks fantastic in translation.

This is *not* a development journal of any particular game; most of those are published elsewhere. The theme here is families and connectedness and sub theme of trains just keeps cropping up. The perspectives are eye opening, and the story is a very good read - it was hard to put down, and finished in a few days. The troubles of the eastern front in WW1, the perspective of WW2 from a partly Jewish family - it is said in the text, but there was a lot of luck in getting this far. Finished just before Passover in 2024, and that also plays a part in the end, bringing all three stories together.

Borrowed hardcover from the library for this read; will probably reread in the future. Definitely recommended.

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing, if sprawling, epic saga. I got a little lost at times, with the jumping timelines and the sheer number of characters, but this is a very good graphic presentation of specific and personal narrative history.

[Alberto Martín de Hijas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las historias individuales están bien contadas, aunque no me resultan especialmente interesantes. Sin embargo, lo que realmente destaca en este libro es cómo se entrelazan en paralelo, conectando unas con otras y creando un conjunto que supera con creces la suma de sus partes.

[Evilblacksheep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Jordan Mechner, à qui l'on doit la série des jeux vidéos Prince of Persia, enfile ici sa casquette d'auteur/dessinateur pour nous livrer ce roman graphique très personnel. Il y narre en parallèle son expatriation à Montpellier pour travailler sur un nouvel opus de Prince of Persia et l'exil de son père et sa famille pour fuir la seconde guerre mondiale.

Pour cette partie du récit, Mechner se base à la fois sur les souvenirs d'enfance de son père, Franzi, d'une part et sur les carnets de mémoires écrits par son grand-père Adolph d'autre part. Les trois récits s'entremêlent de façon très fluide et rendent la lecture de ce roman graphique agréable et facile à suivre. Le choix de la mise en couleur qui utilise trois teintes différentes selon les époques n'y est pas pour rien et m'a un peu rappelé celle de The Magic Fish dans une version plus neutre.

Au final une lecture très agréable, que vous vous intéressiez aux jeux vidéos ou pas, car ce n'est pas là le focus principal du récit. J'ai beaucoup aimé.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why does every millennial think we want to read their life story. And to mix it in with stories from the war just feels like it diminished the war story. And the lack of a coherent back and forth between the stories made it harder. Comparing the struggles of creating a video to escaping a war torn country seems the height of self centeredness to me.

[Stephan Brusche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellently drawn in calm confident lines with the perfect amount of detail to really support the story. The story itself is impressive, touching and highlights an important part of history. Knocked off one star, because the number of characters combined with the different timelines and time jumps (and skipping certain details until the very end of the book) made it a bit confusing at times.

[Maria Almaguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three generations of a Jewish family's history, from Europe to North America, to Europe again. The author is the creator of the video game Prince of Persia and other successful games. What is so unique about this graphic memoir is that several generations of the men in this family kept journals of their family's history, a true legacy. The story is told in multiple generations/times in history, but is pretty easy to follow and the artwork is told in muted colors of grey and green. A little long but engrossing just the same.

[Patrick Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calling it now, this might just be my Book of the Year. It’s a moving intergenerational memoir of Jordan, Franz, and Adolf Mechner, showing the hardships they endure and the surprising ways their lives connect. I’ve already considered Mechner a bit of a Renaissance man; this just confirms it. Easiest five stars I’ve given in months.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid four stars! The intergenerational stories were interesting, and it’s a gift that Mechner’s father and grandfather chronicled their life experiences in such detail. My only complaint is that it was sometimes hard to follow the thread among the timelines, despite the color coding. However, definitely worth the read!

[Natasha den Dekker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was brilliant. I love graphic novels like this where we get to see the visual memoir alongside the written history.

Not quite as visceral as Maus but carrying all the bathos of what it was like for families impacted across generations by both the Great War and WWII. The games design lens was interesting but tbh at its heart it's a story about family and history and making the best of the circumstances you're given. Easier to digest than deLisle but hard to keep track of all the names sometimes!

Strongly recommend if you enjoyed Maus, Persopolis or displacement

[McKenzy Hupke · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars! I adore intergenerational stories within memoirs/biographies and this one just felt so well done especially in a graphic novel!

[M.A. Dubbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading Replay because I was curious to see how three generations of family stories would link together. I'm a big fan of non-fiction graphic novels especially exploring the world wars. However, this was a slog to get through. I found the grandfather's and father's stories the most interesting, exploring how they survived and escaped during WWII but everything would come to a grinding halt during the author's sections. The switching between story lines was at times confusing and other times very self-indulgent. The story of the author creating Prince of Persia should have been its own separate graphic novel and would have been interesting in its own right. The author's comparison of his own, at times, self-induced problems came across as more navel-gazing and, honestly, oblivious to his privilege. The author is moping about his place on a beach in France, while his second wife is at their New York summer home. Both the author and his second wife come across as unlikable which really prevents me from rooting for their relationship and I'm not sure what this added to the overall narrative.

[Erikka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very long, very rambling, very jumpy, and very disorganized. I can’t imagine it was easy to try to combine three men’s stories into one, and occasionally they do overlap in very pleasing ways, but overall I just found this strangely self-gratifying. it almost felt like he wanted to toot his own horn a little bit, which I guess is expected in a memoir. Maybe it’s because he just seems like an unappealing person. I found myself looking for the opportunities to read more about his father and grandfather.

[Mattie Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the game Prince of Persia (Macintosh 1992 version) and it was one of the first games that really hooked me. I even used to watch my older brother play it all the time and still have fond memories when I think of this game series.

I enjoyed this book and got it from the library to check out. I recently discovered that I had bought and read Templar and loved that a few years ago. After a recent finish of reading The Count of Monte Cristo, I wanted to find a good GN adaptation and saw one was coming out. Upon further investigation, realized he also wrote Templar. And then discovering he created Prince of Persia. A man of many talents!

Now, how about the book at hand?

Art 5/5
I was shocked at how great the art was. I really enjoyed how much detail went into the book. I don’t know to what extent Mechner really has done for drawing, but this was very impressive. A lot of love went into making this so detailed.

Most pages consisted of 6 equal panels but every once in a while you’d get a couple wide 1x2 or 2x2 mini splash and they were effective.

Lettering / Coloring 5/5
Clumping these together since it was Mechner’s hand here. The various fonts used for typewriter was a nice touch, the general handwriting was great as well. No issues at all.

The coloring was great. It set the tone and helped differentiate between the three story lines (which was confusing / jumpy).

Story 3/5
The story solid. The general idea behind the book seemed to be lofty and I was unsure how this book would exactly play out. It felt a lot like Maus but with an even extra layer underneath it with the story of WW1.

Mechner’s story about the making of Prince of Persia was great. I feel the current timeline with family had a point and was necessary but I can’t say that I was all that interested. It felt like it wasn’t really meant for me but for his kids (they are the dedicated in the book after all).

Execution 3/5
The biggest issue, and it starts almost immediately, is the jumping not seamlessly between the three different story timelines. The first was very confusing because it wasn’t done with any real delineation. A chapter could have jumped 3-6 times in any random order and from one panel to the next. I feel there was a better way to do this. Not saying I know how, but I know a jarring feeling when it hits me.

Lofty goals here, so the execution was essential but missed the mark.

Overall 4/5
I think this is a fair rating. There is a lot to like here, even if the execution wasn’t completely nailed, it was fairly lofty to start though. I look forward to read more by Mechner.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Replay" is a graphic novel about the Jewish Mechner family. Originally from a Romanian village, which due to border shifts once also became Austrian and is currently even Ukrainian, the great-grandfather ended up in Vienna. Following two World Wars, they fled to the United States via France. This book tells the story of three generations; these storylines are told interchangeably. The distinction is clear through the use of different color palettes.

The book is written and illustrated by Jordan Mechner. I first saw that name when I bought my first computer as a thirteen-year-old and was lent a game by my then brother-in-law, called "Prince of Persia". In addition to being an illustrator/cartoonist, Jordan Mechner is a game developer. "Prince of Persia" has had many incarnations over the years, and even a film adaptation.

Of course, these games are also discussed in the story about his life, but the emphasis of the book is definitely on the wars and family ties. It is also a very candid story, because Mechner gives us insight into his family life and his relationships. Personally, I would have liked to see a bit more about his game "The Last Express", a thriller set on the Orient Express on the eve of the First World War, because it has more historical value than a fictional Persian prince.

But it is mainly about a family that is torn apart over time and by all kinds of circumstances. Jordan's father is my favorite "character", if you can call him that, who as a little boy ended up with family in France without his parents while his own father traveled on to Cuba, and who as an adult still wanted to maintain the Jewish traditions in his family.

"Replay" is highly recommended for anyone interested in war stories, and even for those who don't want to know anything about computer games.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid of the ’80’s, I grew up on the Apple ][. I played Karateka and Prince of Persia, not fully grasping at the time just how advanced or forward thinking the games truly were. Karateka brought the idea of story and rotoscoped character motion to video games. I didn’t know the person behind the games beyond the name that flashed on the splash screen.

A friend of mine told me about the author’s works, including his development journals and the graphic novel discussed here. It isn’t focused on games and computers, though it does provide a backdrop. The core is how three generations of his family dealt with the events of WW1, WW2 and growing up in modern times. The author uses a different color for each era, making it easy to keep up with the flipping back and forth between time lines.

The author has a rich family history to tap into. It is tragic and hopeful. We get to see the events proceeding to WW2 from the eyes of a Jewish family, running away from ever encroaching Nazies. There is a lot of luck involved, they being the fortunate ones. Many others in the extended family were not so lucky. It is painful to know the fates of them.

The author lays bare a lot of his family history, including his own. Two marriages, two kids, obsessive to tell more of the Prince of Persia story. He makes points of pride, regrets and challenges as he attempts to hold his own family together while making a video game. It is this vulnerability that gives the book its weight and power. Amazing story telling.

[Daniel Jonsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

From what the author told about Replay, I was expecting something quite different. To me the most interesting part about these stories is the tale about how Prince of Persia was made, apparently a passion project made by just one guy. But there are just tidbits in this book about that, the vast majority is a historical account of Mechner’s various relatives. Some of it might be interesting to someone, but I found it very hard to follow because of all the names and the constant switching between the timeperiods. I also found it a little bit shallow, it’s mostly ”this person did that”, we don’t really get to know any of these people. It would’ve been better to tell the stories in chronological order, and do a deep-dive on selected parts.

Despite the struggles of the author’s relatives because of the nazi persecution, I find it that the people in this account are so privileged, making it hard to relate to. It’s important to recognize your privileges. Not everyone can have a house in LA, New York and rent an apartment in France, at the same time. Many people can only dream about even having a house period, and probably do.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent graphic memoir of 3+ generations of one family.

In 1914, a Jewish teenager from Vienna enlists to fight in WWI. As he eventually starts his own family, trouble again brews in Europe.

In 1938, a father is in Havana, having fled the war, and awaits his family. His seven-year-old son is still stuck behind Nazi lines in France with his aunt as they move from town to town to escape detection.

In 2015, the creator of the video game Prince of Persia moves his family to France while trying to compile the journals of his great-grandfather's time in Europe and Cuba, while also dealing with his father's aging across the ocean in the U.S.

The memoir weaves between these times artfully, occasionally stopping in other decades, to tell the story of a resilient family over the course of a century as they move full circle, once again to return to Vienna.

The height of threads was a poignant moment of Passover happening in three different timelines--with all three looking toward a time of peace and togetherness.

I found this very enjoyable and one of my favorite graphic works.

[Abigail Pankau · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this graphic novel memoir, Mechner recounts his struggles to keep his family together when he moved to France to work on a new video game. During this time he reminisces of the games he made previously, especially Prince of Persia. But he also weaves in stories of the struggles his father and grandfather had as Jews living in Europe. He includes his father’s stories of fleeing from Austria to France as a child during WWII, and stories from his grandfather’s memoir which details memories of fleeing the Germans in WWII and fighting for Austria in the Great War.

This graphic novel memoir has lots of amazing and heart-breaking stories. The individual stories are great, but it struggles in other ways. It is very jumpy back and forth through stories and timelines, and so the overarching narrative of families struggling to stay together isn’t very clear. I do like the use of color to try to differentiate between the different timelines, but it’s still confusing. 3 stars for jumpiness, but rounded up to 4 stars because the stories are just astounding.

[Guillermo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jordan Mechner es el autor de un videojuego clásico: 'Prince of Persia', que diseñó siendo apenas un adolescente para ordenadores de 8 bits. Esperaba, por tanto, encontrarme con la biografía del programador entremezclada con la historia de su propia familia, que sabía que tendría interés porque habían sido judíos que lograron escapar del Holocausto.

Mechner es un gran narrador y, por lo que veo, un excelente dibujante. La historia de su familia (que se remonta a su abuelo, que luchó en la Primera Guerra Mundial) es treméndamente interesante y la manera en que la narra, mezclando presente con pasado de todos sus protagonistas, resulta absorbente. He disfrutado la novela gráfica y creo que es muy recomendable.

¿Cuál fue mi problema? Que yo esperaba más de desarrollo de videojuegos (concretamente del Prince of Persia) y menos de historia familiar. Con lo cual a mí, personalmente, no me aportó lo que esperaba. Culpa mía, por supuesto, porque en la portada o su publicidad no hay nada que conlleve a engaño.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Replay is an excellent combined memoir, offering fascinating looks at the upheaval of World Wars I and II on a family. Mechner compares his father and grandfather's experiences with his own as he struggles to develop a new video game and keep his family together after a move to France. It goes without saying that Mechner's woes are small potatoes compared to his father's and grandfather's, but I was nonetheless consistently engaged by the sections of the memoir that showed Mechner's modern life. Maybe it was just nice having a breather from families being torn apart by war?

To some degree, Replay is also a biography of the book itself (a conceit I love) because it shows the process of Mechner pulling together the information for the book. It's the kind of read that makes you want to interview your grandparents and pull up Ancestry.com. And Mechner's artwork is smooth and clear, never distracting from the fascinating story being told. I've loved Mechner's Prince of Persia games, but this memoir shows Mechner can stretch outside his comfort zone.

[Mark Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I known Jordan for more than 30 years and worked long-hours close by him for about six of those years, first programming The Last Express in the mid-90s and then producing the documentary Chavez Ravine in the mid-2000s.

So I knew some of these stories but was still floored by how beautiful this book is. I read the book cover-to-cover twice. It is funny, poignant, thoughtful, and beautifully drawn. I read a lot of novels but very few graphic ones or comic books, but this experience has made me want to read many more. I also think it does a brilliant job of capturing the 20th century in the best possible way, through detailed, small, personal anecdotes. Replay reminded me of Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy - Fall of Giants, Winter of the World, and Edge of Eternity - which are some of my favorite books from one of my favorite authors.

[Terrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this graphic novel. The author was the original creator of Prince of Persia (one of the few video games I experienced growing up in a no-TV, no-video-game household). This book combines his story of moving to Paris for a reboot of the game (shades of Tomorrrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow) with his family story: father and grandfather who escaped Vienna during World War II; grandfather who fought in Russia and Italy during WWI. His family was very lucky and prescient; although the Holocaust clearly is alluded to and exists at the edges of the story it is nowhere near as harrowing as, say, Maus (which one of my daughters just read for school. I thought it was thought-provoking and well told.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

One frequent refrain in memoirs is how the past affects the present. “Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family” by Joran Mechner (First Second) shows the importance of relating stories from the past in order for the current generation to understand the history of their family. The graphic memoir offers three different stories: the first and most interesting is a record put together by the author/artist’s grandfather about his life in Austria, first his service in the army during World War I and then his escape from Europe, although Mechner’s father was, at first, left behind in Paris when his father moved to Cuba.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...

[Niina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olipas tässä kiehtova mille feuille -sarjakuva, jonka aikakerroksissa olivat niin ensimmäinen kuin toinenkin maailmansota, 80-luku ja ensimmäisen Prince of Persia pelin tekeminen sekä uusimmassa kerroksessa vuodet 2015-18. Jokainen aikakerros on oman värisensä, vanhin mustavalkoinen punaisella tehostevärillä, keskivaihe sininen ja tuorein keltainen - jo pelkästä väristä siis tietää, mihin ajanjaksoon mikäkin ruutu kuuluu.

Toisin kuin näissä holokaustin sotamuistelmissa yleensä, tässä punaisena lankana toimivat perhe, mutta myös tietokonepelien tekeminen, joka oli todella kiehtova näkökulma - olihan se vienyt ison osan Jordan Mechnerin elämästä. Kannattaa kyllä lukea, vaikka mistään kevyimmästä päästä olekaan.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot to appreciate here. I remember playing a demo of Prince of Persia on my dad’s Mac when I was a kid. At some point I stumbled into Mechner’s “The Making of Prince of Persia” journal, which I’ve only read parts of…

This was an obvious labor of love. As someone who appreciates family history, journaling, drawing, simplicity, and attention to detail, this inspired me quite a bit. Some of the wordless frames that accompany the drama of life that Mechner lays out hit me in a pretty profound way.

[Kerowyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bon si j'ai trouvé l'idée bonne, et certains éléments intéressants. Je dois dire que ça a été souvent confus pour moi. Les changements de temporalités ont beau être de differentes couleurs, ce n'était pas toujours évident. Régulièrement je me disais "mais qui parle ?"
Je trouve que ce format, allant de l'un à l'autre comme ça n'est pas maîtrisé. J'ai manqué d'intérêts. J'aurai préféré plus de prise sur les récits. Un peu par ci par là, ça ne me plaît pas du tout.

[SheMac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author does an amazing job telling three stories: that of his grandfather who was born in the Austria-Hungarian empire, served in WW I and was then forced to flee to the Americas on the eve of war. The author's father, as a small child, flees with his father but endures several years of separation while hiding in Vichy France. Finally the author tells his own story of falling in love with game design while managing his own tumultuous personal life. An enjoyable read.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is messy, hard to follow but it aches with the trauma of a family's past and the author's expectations for himself. The interspersing of the generational narrative is uniquely suited for the graphic novel and is made all the more convoluted. But that complexity has a beauty in its wistfulness for a past that no longer exists. One can't help but read this and see the ghosts in Mechner's own life that have haunted relationships, career choices and so much more.