Soviet Daughter: A Graphic Revolution

Julia Alexseyeva's graphic novel / memoir . biography is touching and moving. Following the death of her great-grandmother shortly after her 100th birthday (and the family member with whom Julia was closest) Julia discovered her memoir which make up the bulk of the graphic novel. Lola (Julia's great-grandmother) was truly a remarkable woman whose long life witnessed many of the seminal events of the 20th century. Interspersed throughout Lola's story, Julia tells some of her own providing a contrast with her experiences of youth. Really, its not the story of a single lifetime and of dramatic events, but rather of young women (then and now) finding their way in a rapidly changing world.The interludes of Julia's life makes the story telling a bit uneven - there is no real connection or clear transition for the jumps between the two. But Alexseyeva hits the nail on the head, I think, when she writes,"It is said that Lola's generation - called the G.I. generation - is closest to Generation Y ("millennials") in sentiment and personality. Nowhere was this more evident than in my four-generation family." Looking at the narrative like this, the leaps in time and between perspectives make a little more sense.The artwork is a bit unpolished, but it reflects, I think, the utilitarian urgency of the story, almost as if Alekseyeva has to get her (and Lola's) story out - perhaps part mourning and partially an act of confession. Either way, it works well with the narrative voice of the authors. And while _Soviet Daughter_ is really Lola's story (ending in 1956 with Khrushchev's "de-Stalinization" speech), I can't help but wish there was more: about the Brezhnev years, glasnost and Alexseyeva's childhood in the USSR before she and her family emigrated.Its a breezy read, with plenty of tragedy (as anyone familiar with 20th century Soviet history could tell you). But it is also a story of perseverance and above all, love and the deep connection between family.

We rarely get the opportunity for such a vivid and personal look into life in what was then the Soviet Union. The portrayal of the impact of culture and politics of the times on daily life shows how much we had in common with these people, though we were in intense conflict with their government. This is also a beautiful story of the love of a young woman for her great grandmother. The overarching narrative of reaching out across three generations was so hopeful and uplifting. This novel left me with images that will stay with me for a long time. I very highly recommend.

This graphic gem will be of interest to many people interested in graphic novels, history, issues related to heritage and identity, etc. Working from an unpublished memoir left behind by her great-grandmother, Alekseyeva brings her great-grandmother's story to life as she explores the life of one woman set against the backdrop of the twentieth century and all of its challenges and upheavals. In the "Interlude" sections, she works in details about her own life as a child immigrant dealing with anti-Semitism in the United States and the trauma of having been affected by radiation from Chernobyl. She shows the way in which she identifies with her great-grandmother and explores the bond between them -- often she was left with her great-grandmother for company because her mother and grandparents were working or going to school. This is a remarkable graphic work the builds upon a graphic foundation established by artists like Art Spiegelman, Joe Sacco, Rutu Modan and Alison Bechdel.

I loved this graphic-form memoir of two Russian-Jewish women who together survived and prevailed through the disastrous 20th century (and into the 21st) in the Soviet Union/ Russia and then in America. The memoirist, Julia, identifies with her great-grandmother Lola in a way that skips generations: they're venturesome, curious, and courageous, but the intervening generations of the family are cut from different cloth. Lola has undergone the most incredible deprivations in her long life. Julia, though safe from immediate persecution, faces a long and challenging adaptation to the new country she finds herself in from the age of 4. Her immediate family offers little support, but great-grandmother Lola understands and cherishes her great-granddaughter, helping her flourish on her road to self-discovery. The drawings are evocative and touching, the story is emotionally and historical powerful. Buy it!

An interesting little gem. An excellent read for those interested in seeing how the idealism of the past rears up again, every few generations.

When I received this book I could not help myself- I read the whole thing in one sitting. Touching and interesting, this book manages to weave the stories of Alekseyeva and her great grandmother seamlessly. The art is fantastic and adds so much to the stories being told. I would highly recommend this book.

The story is great - I like how the author counterposes her great-grandmother's story and her own. The amount of history sprinkled in (sometimes as asterisks that give background, like who the NKVD were).My issue lie with the book's presentation. The text is extremely small and even blurry at times. I don't need glasses, but jeez I had to strain my eyes to read it. This book should have been made bigger (literally, on larger paper) with the text blown up in **higher resolution**.Also, the glue on the binding isn't great and the first pages were a little loose.

It is worth reading but I kept wanting more depth, more detail. At times it is just an accounting of what happened and I was left wanting more. The art work is ok but not inspired. I got this because I heard an interview with the author on NPR. It sounded like it could be as good as Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, but it didn't deliver.Still, it's interesting enough to be worth spend the couple of hours it takes to read it.

Great little comic