Remember Us to Life
A Graphic Memoir
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WINNER OF THE NORDIC COUNCIL LITERATURE PRIZE o Available for the first time in English: a moving and masterful graphic memoir exploring one woman's search for identity as she slowly uncovers the truth of how her Jewish relatives "disappeared" during World War II.
Told through a genre-defying blend of illustrations, photography, and found objects, Remember Us to Life chronicles Joanna Rubin Dranger's investigation into her Jewish family's history, spanning time, space, and three continents in search of her lost relatives. As discolored photos are retrieved from half-forgotten moth-eaten boxes, Joanna discovers the startling modernity and vibrancy of the lives her family never spoke about--and the devastating violence that led to their senseless murders.
Carefully researched and expertly told, Remember Us to Life recounts Joanna's family's immigration from Poland and Russia to Sweden and Israel, where her relatives found work, marriage, and community, blissfully unaware of the horrors to come. Interweaving these anecdotes and stories are historical accounts of the persecution of Jewish people in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia prior to and during World War II, as well as the antisemitic policies and actions of the supposedly neutral government of Sweden, Joanna's home country. Joanna's unflinchingly brave and intimate portrayal of one of history's greatest tragedies will capture and break readers' hearts.
Following in the tradition of classics such as Art Spiegelman's Maus and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, Remember Us to Life is a thought-provoking exploration of grief, alienation, and reclamation of one's history.
About this Author
Joanna Rubin Dranger is an award-winning Swedish graphic novelist, illustrator, and animator. Her accolades include the Stora Svenska Illustrator Prize, the Swedish Series Academy's Adamson statuette, and the Nordic Council's Literature Prize. She was the first female professor of illustration at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts, and Design and lives in Stockholm with her husband and three children.
Reviews
"Joanna Rubin Dranger has created more than a book--she has created a compelling experience. With a poignant collage of drawings, photographs, and archival documents, she makes the story of the Holocaust and its aftermath movingly accessible to readers of all ages. This is an important addition to Holocaust literature--I couldn't put it down."--Esther Safran Foer, author of I Want You to Know We're Still Here
"This complex personal history is contextualized by the book's interrogation into Sweden's role in abetting the Holocaust. . . . The decades-old loss of family the author never knew feels palpable and immediate, and the lack of government action in the face of blatant evil is searing and prescient."--Library Journal
"A beautifully introspective account of a Jewish author learning about her roots--and a dark side of Swedish history."--Kirkus Reviews
"The storytelling unfolds in a collage of archival photos and documents, which helps anchor the evocative black-and-white drawings. . . . It's a weighty and well-constructed addition to the graphic literature of the Holocaust."--Publishers Weekly
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