[Ojay]

A Jew in the Communist Prague by Vittorio Giardino
Requirements: CBR Reader, 159 MB.
Overview: A brilliantly written graphic novel about the real human experience of liveing behind the iron curtain from one of Italy's leading comic artists. Harvey Award Winner '99.

"BEST COMICS OF '97! A powerful, moving chronicle of a Jewish boy coming of age in 1950's Communist Prague." by Publishers Weekly
"The poignant story is made more haunting by Giardino's meticulously detailed artwork." by The Washington Post
"A compelling story about anti-semitism." by Mike Sangiacomo-The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Potent and haunting." by Forward
"Unobtrusively masterly graphic novel" by Booklist
"Visually compelling and historically resonant, Giardino's full color narrative is evolving into a masterwork of its kind." by Kirkus Reviews
"Favorite Graphic Novel of the Year!" by Joe Szadkowski, The Washington Times

A Jew in the Communist Prague

Vittorio Giardino Story, Art
Joe Johnson Translator
Published by Casterman, Norma, Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing (NBM-USA), 1991-1998.


A Jew in Communist Prague is the title of a series of graphic novels created by Vittorio Giardino. They feature the main character Jonas Fink. They are published in the United States by NBM.

The third volume, Rebellion, won the 1999 Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material.




01. Loss of Innocence

In Czechoslovakia in 1950 a young boy and his father spy a cicada while on a picnic in the woods. The father notes that the insect doesn't trust humans: "They're not completely wrong. There are children who put them in cages. Then they stop singing and die very quickly. They can't stand to be locked up," he says. Two months later, without any warning and with precious little cause, the father is arrested for his supposed counterrevolutionary activities; in reality he is arrested because of the state's anti-Semitic resentment. Thus begins Vittorio Giardino's extraordinary masterpiece A Jew in Communist Prague. It is the story of Jonas Finkel, a boy who grows up all too soon; cares for his frantic, grieving mother; and fights off wave after wave of prejudice. There is sincerity in every one of Giardino's lines. He writes, "I spent hours trying to write down, in a few words, a simple and honest presentation of Jonas Finkel's story, but it just got increasingly difficult." The result of his careful work is well worth any reader's time.

02. Adolescence

The second volume of Italian master cartoonist Vittorio Giardino's powerful A Jew in Communist Prague finds the main character, Jonas Finkel, still patiently waiting for word on his father's imprisonment. After much ill luck at a variety of odd jobs, Jonas finds employment first as a working-class laborer and then at a bookstore, where he can again pursue his love of books (his education was previously stunted by the racially motivated actions of the state). The beauty of Adolescence--even more than Giardino's wonderfully realistic drawings--is in the relationships he reveals: Jonas's friendship with a kind, middle-aged drunk in the labor yards; the supportive fatherly role of the bookstore owner; and Jonas's awkward connection to a group of young radicals bent on reading anything and everything that the government bans. Giardino lays down slices of life like jewels along a dusty path.

03. Rebellion

In this third book in a series that begins with Loss of Innocence and continues with Adolescence (both NBM, 1997), Jonas tries to take action against the people oppressing him. He and his friends hide forbidden manuscripts for his employer the night before the bookseller is arrested. Jonas begins dating Tatiana, the daughter of a Russian attache to the Embassy. When her parents find out he is the son of an "enemy of the people," they forbid her to see him, but the young lovers arrange secret meetings. In the end, however, her parents take her back to Russia. Jonas also finds out that this father has been sentenced to 10 more years in prison, setting up the situation for the fourth (and possible final) book. The story is conveyed not only through words, but also through pictures, which create the world of Prague in the 1950s. Nuances of expression and body language add shades of meaning to the story, which is told solely through dialogue. Giardino manages to suggest characters' flaws and quirks using only pen and ink. From Tatiana's mother, sly and manipulative, to hard-drinking, practical Slovak, each character has a unique look and personality. Jonas's plight is real and dramatic without those who persecute him ever becoming caricatures of evil. They are simply people acting on their own motivation. A must for collections that own the first two books, and highly recommended elsewhere.



Captivating, a must-read, Reviewed by Raymond Wong, May 12, 2000.

When you first pick this book up, do not scoff at it simply because it is full of pictures. A Jew in Communist Prague is a fine example of what a graphic novel or any book should be modelled after. The story is a truly captivating tale, providing a down-to-level, human look into the life of Jonas Finkel and the brutish treatment of his family because they are Jewish. All of this is told wonderfully, as the writer displays his brilliance for storytelling, pacing, characterization, and dialogue. And complimenting this marvelous plot are the equally fantastic illustrations, which style manages to perfectly mesh with this story of social and political issues in Communist Czechoslovakia. This is a very intelligent read and is recommended for fans of all genres.

Wish it Were Longer!, Reviewed by A. Ross (Washington, DC). July 27, 2001.

This second installment of Italian cartoonist Giardino's graphic novel series about a Jewish boy growing up in Communist Prague finds Jonas Finkel unable to attend school due to his father's status as political prisoner. Forced to work, he toils as a laborer on a building site before falling in with Slavek, a fatalistic, drunken storytelling plumber. From this substitute father-figure, he moves on to work in a bookstore, where his love of books can be nourished, and where he meets a club of teenage intellectuals who meet in the park to read forbidden poetry and sing banned songs. Jonas's outsider status is highlighted by his awkward fumblings in trying to attract the attention of Tatiana, one of the intellectual girls. Interspersed with his is some of the political goings-on of the time, the death of Stalin, counter-revolutionary efforts by the secret police, and soforth. These feel rather forced and shoehorned in when contrasted with the simple tale of Jonas growing up without his father. Perhaps the effect is lessened when the series is read in its entirety, instead of in sparse 48-page installments. It'll be interested to see where it'll all lead. As to the art, the story is drawn in the lovely realistic style I tend to associate with European cartoonists, and colored with an appropriately subdued palate of greys and browns.

A Jew in Communist Prague- Vittorio Giardino, Reviewed by J. Stephen Bolhafner, Published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sunday, September 14, 1997.

Let me get my pet peeve out of the way first. This "graphic novel" is actually a first chapter of a longer work, and even if it were not, nothing 48 pages long has any right to the term "novel." However, "graphic novel" is the term the publishing industry uses for this type of material, so we're stuck with it.

That caveat aside, "A Jew in Communist Prague" by Vittorio Giardino (48 pages, NBM Publishing, $11.95, paper) is a good example of what can be accomplished with sequential art once we get over the expectation that comics are for superheroes and funny animals. There is nothing funny about this book. It is the story of a young boy, Jonas Finkel, growing up in communist Czechoslovakia. His father is arrested and disappears at the beginning of the book, and the lives of Jonas and his mother descend into a bureaucratic nightmare after that. Although the ostensible reason for their ostracism is their bourgeois background, the anti-Semitism Jonas runs into among his young friends is a clue to the feelings of their elders.

The story moves along with depressing firmness. Giardino's artwork is almost too beautiful for the grim tale he is telling. If there were more proof needed that the medium of comics can be utilized for realistic stories and serious art, here is one more example. I look forward to seeing the rest of this series.

Download Instructions:
http://www.gboxes.com/jr3jyc0ras58 -- A Jew in the Communist Prague 01 Loss of Innocence
http://www.gboxes.com/0e53ofieti2j -- A Jew in the Communist Prague 02 Adolescence
http://www.gboxes.com/b9ssqql4eiqc -- A Jew in the Communist Prague 03 Rebellion

Mirror:

http://novafile.com/wx9updn6brqe -- A Jew in the Communist Prague 01 Loss of Innocence
http://novafile.com/h8q76drpuxk2 -- A Jew in the Communist Prague 02 Adolescence
http://novafile.com/qtyl1nd6a083 -- A Jew in the Communist Prague 03 Rebellion

https://www.tusfiles.com/t7vxpy5vxht0 -- A Jew in the Communist Prague 01 Loss of Innocence
https://www.tusfiles.com/rstxtj1e9ia5 -- A Jew in the Communist Prague 02 Adolescence
https://www.tusfiles.com/kvwoutqq13t1 -- A Jew in the Communist Prague 03 Rebellion