Rating: 
Summary: Wow
Review: Amazing. This may be the most powerful testament yet writtenabout the war in Bosnia. Gorazde was a "safe area" in easternBosnia, much like the ill-fated Srebrenica nearby. It was nearly -butnot quite- overrun by Serb forces, and Sacco's four visits to the townyielded up this amazing comic-style account of the war from thenarrow, pained perspective of a town under siege. The story fits withthe format so well because it's not a chronology (like Honig's'Srebrenica'), nor a political review of the disintegration ofYugoslavia, nor a journalist's travelogue. It's just a day-to-dayaccount -conversations with soldiers, teachers, teenage girls,refugees, with their friends and families- all the folks who madeup wartime Gorazde. They witnessed unspeakable brutalities, attackson civilians, burning of houses, murders, rapes, gratuitous violenceby wicked men. Cut off from the world they are bored, hungry for newsand diversion. Sacco details these scenes and their terrible effectson the otherwise normal people of a nondescript Balkan town. Theunforgettable man who made hours of home video of carnage and bodyparts, achieving almost sexual pleasure from watching it and screeningit for visitors; the girls in search of bluejeans and boyfriends; thesoldiers who just want to go back to the university. Sacco placesGorazde in its historical context by reviewing the broader war, eventsin Sarajevo and Srebrenica and Dayton. He points fingers, this is notan even-handed piece of jurisprudence, but a visit to one of the ringsof hell, whose inhabitants know precisely who is guilty for visitingthis carnage on innocents. They know, because they were all neighborsjust months before. Sacco's illustrations pack a punch. Readerswill by turns grow tense as a group walks all night in the snow forsupplies, as a handful of men hold off a Serb column supported bytanks. Or sad as young people describe their terrors in terms thatshow unmistakable signs of trauma and mental illness. Or smile asSacco's new friends show courage and humanity despite their suffering.These are enduring images. The book can be read in a few hours, andreaders will not be able to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: No easy answers, but a compelling narrative
Review: First off: this book is difficult to read. To be honest, I picked up this book as a fan of graphic novels, not because I had a burning desire to learn about the Balkans. But this book never reads like a history lesson, and it draws you back in even after you think you might be finished with it, because Sacco smartly kept the scale small--the story of one medium-sized Bosnian town. "Safe area"--a U.N. concept of a city that would be protected from war--is a sadly ironic title. The topic is huge: centuries-old ethnic conflict, generals, the U.N., Bill Clinton, personal stories and horrendous, Holocaust-like devastation. Where do you start? If you're Joe Sacco, you venture into Gorazde in a U.N. reporter's convoy, but when the rest of the media leaves, you sleep on a local's couch. You hear their dreams, sometimes silly, like of owning a new pair of American-made jeans. You intersperse the banality of daily life with sweeping days of horror and historical fact. You present -all- sides of the story, including the violence against Serbs (Orthodox Christians), but primarily, the unreal savagery of that group against Muslims and Bosnians (Roman Catholics). You become friends with the people you come to know year in and year out. You are awkward and uncomfortable about your perfect American-orthodonture teeth. You try to wrap your mind around how someone could shell a child, or rape a pregnant woman, or take a sniper post in the town he grew up in, against neighbors he knows. You leave the bigger questions--like why one religious group turns against others so quickly and with such hatred--unanswered. In your straightforward story, you counterbalance reams of U.S.-based, simplistic, propagandist reporting about violence-prone Muslims and peace-loving Christians. While reading this book, things would cross my mind: what would it be like to be in Gorazde and know that the U.N. "peacekeepers" left in the middle of the night? The ominous intent of that idea stays with me still. The images are incredibly disturbing, but not exploitive or disrespectful. He simply tells it like it was, and bears witness.
Rating:
Summary: Scary
Review: I bought this after reading a (very short) review in The Economist. I also ordered Palestine: A Nation Occupied at the same time. The progression in Sacco's work is incredible. The drawings in Palestine are a little TOO cartoonish but in this they are far more real. Both stories are in their own ways, equally horrific, from the everyday brutality of the occupied territories to the visceral horror of Bosnia and the struggles of its people to live some kind of life. His summary of the events in Bosnia is one of the clearest accounts I have read - from the viciousness of certain Serb leaders to the culpability of the UN - he explains exactly how so many lives were destroyed in such horrific ways. He is a marvelous talent and his genre is a wonderful way to present news and inform people about current events. However, the really scary thing is the fact that I want him to produce something else. I want to read his words and examine his pictures, even though I know a world where Sacco is an unemployed bum would be a far better place. But as long as human beings act in disgusting ways towards each other he'll have plenty of material.
Rating:
Summary: The brutality of Bosnia
Review: I have been to Bosnia many times in the past few years and have met many Bosnians. The stories I've heard from them are similar to the ones Sacco relates here. They make your spine tingle and your hair stand on end. These are decent people more like you and me than different from us. And they have endured unspeakable horror. Sacco's storytelling and his decision to use the medium of comic-style art make the war in Bosnia all too real. I actually had to put the book down more than once and walk away from it. Sacco will reach an audience that has yet to understand what happened in sad and wonderful Bosnia. He deserves our thanks.
Rating:
Summary: Graphical journalism on the war in Bosnia
Review: Joe Sacco has produced a gripping account of the war in Bosnia through the eyes of the people who lived it. He tells the story of Gorazde and by extraploation of the war in general by drawing up and commenting on personal encounters he has had during his stay in Bosnia. His account remains very much a journalist's account in remaining objective, regardless of a natural feeling of indignation for the atrocious crimes the people he interviews have suffered. He also displays appropriate criticism towards his own priviliged position as a UN protected journalist. The sometimes black humor in the book further helps to sharpen the focus on the situation. The drawing style, in pure Black-and-white, is detailed and dynamic. There is a clear Robert Crumb influence in how the characters are drawn, especially in how Sacco draws himself. As far as format and story-telling go, I think Art Spiegelman's Maus has been an undeniable influence. The visual story-telling through the changing layout of each page is very functional. It helps the book to deliver its viewpoint in a very compact and efficient way. All this of course is post-reading-analysis. I read the book cover to cover in one go. If I was teaching history to 16, 17-year olds, this would be a mandatory read on my reading list. I'm sure no one would complain. I bought this one together with 'Palestine', which is of the same high quality, and immediately put in an Amazon-alert to notify me when anything new from Joe Sacco comes out.
Rating:
Summary: truly original
Review: Joe Sacco is a rarity,a comics journalist. As in PALESTINE,Sacc uses the comic medium to give a long detailed report about a foregn land that he has visited. SAFE AREA GORAZDEfeels more true than any other reprt from the Balkans because Sacco is relentless in his search for some kind of understanding about the region without being simplistic about it. He is also a fine illustrator. This is the best graphic novel since MAUS and Sacco deserves all the praise attention and sales that he can get.
Rating:
Summary: even better than Palestine
Review: Sacco is great at comic-book journalism; he in fact has a degree in journalism and can really draw. It's a shame that this terrific book is so little known while its precursor Maus--which is similar only in basic format--was out winning awards and hitting the bestseller lists. Maus is subjective, culturally and racially biased, far too personal and badly written and drawn where Palestine and especially this book on Bosnia are objective, intelligent and well-drawn, but Maus came first (and also had the benefit of appealing to the prejudices of many book reviewers) and so still gets all the attention. Perhaps some readers were stung by the overhype that surrounded Maus and judge the infinitely better works of Sacco by it; if so that's a shame. Sacco succeeds where Maus failed, that is, everywhere.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and Shocking
Review: Sacco shows the human side of the Yugoslavian war through a brilliant and effective combination of prose and comic book illustration. Not only does he provide a history and time line of the conflict, but also what it meant to the people who lived through it - and those who didn't. Sacco portrays aspects of the war that the press seemed to miss. Shocking, but a must-read!
Rating:
Summary: Truly outstanding
Review: Someone once strongly recommended that I read this, although I have to admit I wasn't expecting much at first. I was really unsure how the Bosnian war could be rendered in comic strip fashion. However, "Safe Area Gorazde" is incredible: this is one of the best journalistic accounts to come out of the Bosnian war in any format. Sacco recounts the horrific war stories told to him by his friends and acquaintances in Bosnia with a great deal of honesty. He very effectively incorporates his own wit and the dry humor of the Bosnians into his narrative without turning it into a satire. I also like the fact that he was quite critical of the role of foreign reporters and correspondents (including himself) in Bosnia, i.e. their frequent insensitivity or their effective eavesdropping on the suffering of others. His illustrations also speak for themselves as he very accurately recreates the wartime destruction of property and the rag-tag appearance of the people; he has a unique talent for re-creating facial expressions that reflect a range of emotions. Hats off to Mr. Sacco, he deserves every praise for this informative and moving portrayal of wartime and immediate postwar Gorazde.
Rating: 
Summary: Safe Area Gorazde
Review: This is a comic book, entirely. There is no text (other than that in the text bubbles), no bibliography, no substantiation of the material presented, no analysis. The historical accuracy of the events presented has nothing to provide verification. If you're looking for a book to provide information regarding the war in Bosnia, this isn't it. If you use comic books as your basis for knowledge and understanding, this is probably a good book. If you can read above a 2nd grade level, this book is below you. Unfortunately, there were but two pages scanned to preview before purchase. Also unfortunately, it appears that the literary world is devoid of quality books regarding the war. If you're desparate for a deeper understanding of the war, this book will be a great disappointment.
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