3.5⭐️

Unterzakhn by Leela Corman is a moving story that revolves around themes of social class, inequality, generational trauma, social convention and morality, family sisterhood and survival.

The narrative follows identical twins Esther and Fanya, daughters of Jewish immigrants, as they navigate their way through life – their childhood in the tenements of New York’s Lower East Side (circa 1910), the people they meet and the choices they make that lead them in different directions and how their paths cross over the years. The narrative also features a past timeline featuring their father and the events that led to his emigrating from his homeland.

There is a lot about this novel that is praiseworthy – notably, the sense of time and place beautifully captured and presented through the author’s remarkable artwork and how the author addressed several social and feminist themes from the era (many of which remain relevant in the present day). However, what keeps me from giving this a higher rating is that I found the narrative a tad uneven and thought that much of the story was lost in the time jumps. Though Esther’s storyline is well developed, we do not get to know Fanya as well as we do Esther. I also felt that the storyline revolving around their father could have been explored further. However, the supporting characters were well thought out and the narrative did flow well despite the tad disjointed/ abrupt nature of the story. I was invested in the sisters’ respective journeys and was immersed in the story from the very first page and finished it in one sitting.

I chose to pick up this graphic novel after reading Leela Corman’s Victory Parade, which I loved. Though I did not find this novel as well-crafted or intense as Victory Parade, overall, I did find it to be an emotionally impactful read. ( )

Review also found on my blog! :)

This book was 100% not on my TBR, but like usual, seeing an attractive cover at the library is totally irresistible for me. When I read the blurb, I was drawn into wanting to read this even further: it sounded like a story of an interesting slice of history told through the eyes of strong female leads – much like another favorite graphic novel of mine, Persepolis. So, I decided to give Unterzakhn a shot. What I found was a promising story that didn't totally live up to my expectations.

Unterzakhn covers an aspect history which I frankly don't know much about: the beginnings of the Lower East Side of New York. Traditionally a place for immigrants and later the working class, the people here lived a tough life, yet created a hub of culture unlike anywhere in America. We follow twins Fanya and Esther through their lives, exploring the different paths they take and how the cultural climate around them shapes their choices. This entire concept really pulled me in, but in some ways I was left wanting more. 

For instance, the focus of the plot ends up not being on what it was like living as a Jewish immigrant in New York, but on strong feminist subjects instead. Fanya ends up working for a woman who performs illegal abortions and other basic gynecological work as well. Famya quickly learns who crappy it is for women in her era, who basically get married then become "birthing cows" (the author's words) for their husbands. This was a pretty radical take on marriage in my opinion, but the fact that women had no options (not even condoms or birth control) was definitely an interesting subject to read about. Esther, on the other hand, starts working at a brothel. At first she serves drinks and food to clients, then gradually ends up being a prostitute herself. With Esther's story, themes of sexual freedom are explored during a time when extramarital sex basically made you a social outcast. While I found these themes really important and I think they should be explored more, however, I was curious to read more about life as an immigrant, rather than just reading about life as a woman at the turn of the century. The immigrant aspect of the story is definitely put on the back burner for most of the book, and comes up almost as an afterthought throughout.

The biggest issue I had with this story was the way the narrative is handled. The narrative is very nonlinear, and so choppy in some parts that I had a hard time following what is going on. Something will be happening over four sets of panels, then the next will be a completely different occurrence, then the next set would go back to the first occurrence. Some aspects of the narrative were also not explained very well, so the reader is left to kind of guess or assume what is going on. Honestly, this book is a great example of how sometimes there can be too much showing, and not enough telling. Tying things back to the subject matter, the narrative seemed to be very brief about the important issues it was addressing. In some ways, it felt really rushed – like I was being given a "taste" of these issues, and left wanting them to be explored more.

Finally, I found the ending to be rather abrupt and unimpressive. Without spoiling anything, the ending basically gives the two girls very ironic conclusions to their stories. I think perhaps it was a message about how life doesn't take the turns you expect it to? But I'm still not sure. I just didn't feel like the use of irony in this instance worked very well. Moreover, the author just simply didn't wrap up the story in a very satisfying way. I may have appreciated the irony more if the ending was a little more conclusive. 

Despite what I disliked, I actually enjoyed the artwork, and thought the Corman's style worked really well with the story. The author has a really clean use of line, and utilized texture in really interesting ways. The work is purely in black and white, which works really well with some of the darker, grittier scenes. The art really reminded me of the style you see in Persepolis.

Overall this book was a fairly interesting diversion from my studying for finals. I did expect a lot more out of it – I know graphic novels aren't supposed to be super long, but this story could have definitely been more fleshed out. Would I recommend it? I think if you want a good introduction to feminist issues women dealt with at the beginning of the 20th century, do read it. If you're looking for a good peek into life as a Jewish immigrant, I would read something else. In the end, I gave this book three stars. 

Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ( )

...and once again the blurb is just kind of bizarre -- related to the book, but not accurate. Anyway. Love the artistic style, love the Yiddish throughout, love the storytelling. It's a little bit one note, in that it feels like all the stories are about sex in one way or another -- the filter each character is seen through, almost, but it's hard to put down, and it paints a vivid picture of turn of the century New York. ( )

Oh! I loved this tale of Jewish twin sisters whose lives take divergent paths--one becomes a dancer and prostitute, the other a protégé of an OBGYN who performs illegal abortions. The stark black and white was just perfect for the turn-of-the-century New York setting, and the use of Yiddish really puts you right into their community. This is SO SAD but SO GOOD. ( )

graphic novel. twin girls growing up in an immigrant family in the Lower East Side of NY. Tragic, painful treatment of girls and women ( )