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Marx: A Tale Of Neglect
Onrie Kompan always knew his grandfather, Marx Melnik (1923-2011) to be a man of high intellect who was respected and loved by everyone. He led an incredible yet very difficult life. Now as Marx's final days approach, Onrie must embark on the difficult task of unraveling his grandfather's dark past before his story is lost forever. MARX is the epic and inspiring story of a Russian Jewish man, born during the rise of the Soviet Union, thrust into war against Nazi Germany and persecuted by his own government. A man who miraculously survived events that claimed the lives of millions.
160 pages, Paperback
First published November 20, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 27, 2019
I already liked Onrie Kompan's stuff--his graphic novels about Joseon Dynasty Korea are beautiful and tell an exciting story--but I wasn't sure about this one. This is a personal story, about his grandfather from Russia, and it's not my normal kind of reading. But Onrie is also a very good salesman, and he convinced me at the convention that I wanted this, too.
He was right.
This is biography, but partly autobiography. It tells the story of his grandfather's life in the Soviet Union before WWII, including his childhood, the part he played in the war, his years in the gulag, his relationships and return to normal life after that, and his final months, but it is mixed with the author's conversations and interviews with him and his grandmother during the last period of the old man's life, some of it in the hospital, some at home. This device grounds the story for me, helping me travel from 21st Century America to 20th Century communist Russia. It's the author's journey, when he learned how life was for his grandfather and how he became the man he was, and it's our journey, as well.
It's a tough story, and raw; his grandfather is an intelligent, educated man, but hard, a man with a past, a survivor who shows little affection or sentiment, and he lays it out straight without flinching, with all the angry words and hurtful decisions and unhappy moments. Marx and the other characters--people from real life--are more genuine because of it, and our affection and sympathy for them emerges from that. If you know the story of the coarse and difficult old man, you don't just forgive him; you understand him.
Well done to the author. This is not a book I would naturally choose, but it proved to be something valuable, something I could appreciate--a graphic novel as instructive as it was entertaining.
He was right.
This is biography, but partly autobiography. It tells the story of his grandfather's life in the Soviet Union before WWII, including his childhood, the part he played in the war, his years in the gulag, his relationships and return to normal life after that, and his final months, but it is mixed with the author's conversations and interviews with him and his grandmother during the last period of the old man's life, some of it in the hospital, some at home. This device grounds the story for me, helping me travel from 21st Century America to 20th Century communist Russia. It's the author's journey, when he learned how life was for his grandfather and how he became the man he was, and it's our journey, as well.
It's a tough story, and raw; his grandfather is an intelligent, educated man, but hard, a man with a past, a survivor who shows little affection or sentiment, and he lays it out straight without flinching, with all the angry words and hurtful decisions and unhappy moments. Marx and the other characters--people from real life--are more genuine because of it, and our affection and sympathy for them emerges from that. If you know the story of the coarse and difficult old man, you don't just forgive him; you understand him.
Well done to the author. This is not a book I would naturally choose, but it proved to be something valuable, something I could appreciate--a graphic novel as instructive as it was entertaining.
December 8, 2019
I picked this book up at New York Comic Con 2018 after meeting Onrie the year before and purchasing several books from him in his Yi Soon Shin series, which I enjoyed tremendously. Onrie informed me that this was a story about his grandfather and he hoped I liked it. I finally had the chance to pick it up today, and I have to say, I loved it. Marx's story is certainly one that has to be told. From his beginnings in the Soviet Union to his last moments with his grandson, the strong, unique person that Marx was shows through in Onrie's writing. Marx: A Tale of Neglect is a true love letter from grandson to grandfather that demonstrates true admiration and pride in everything the man accomplished. Definitely worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews