Jonas Fink. Una Vida Interrumpida (A Jew in Communist Prague in the english translation) by Vittorio Giardino

Beautiful, amazing #graphicnovel . The life of a Jewish boy in post war Prague from childhood to his adulthood. Jonas’s life changes abruptly when his father is arrested for espionage and activities against the communist government. An obvious lie masking antisemitism. Unable to go to school (because he isn’t allowed by the government) he has to work to help his mother who is forced to work night turns in a factory. This unfair treatment and other discriminatory events affect Jonas’s personality and view of life. But there is always a spark of love for life every now and then as Jonas’s meets important people in his life. 

This graphic novel shows Giardino’s masterful ability to narrate stories, layered with human experiences and with well researched historical background. In fact, Giardino’s approach to including historical events is subtle but effective. Not only we follow the life of 3 dimensional characters but we learn about important events happening behind the iron curtain. 

The characters are flesh and bone. Jonas himself is great. His mother, Edith, who struggles to keep them alive, Slavek, a plumber, and Mr Pinkle, a bookstore owner. Both men employ Jonas at different stages in his life and represent in many ways the paternal figure Jonas didn’t have. Also a special mention to the Odradek group, Jonas’s friends from his adolescence, as they try to rebel against the communist restrictions of their times, reading “forbidden” books and singing “forbidden” songs. Literature and books play also an important role in the story, Jonas is an avid reader, he works in a book store and at points he writes poetry. There are quite a few literary references through out the book. Here a some of them: 

Mother - Maxim Gorky 

The Walk - Robert Walser 

Contemplation - Franz Kafka 

Darkness at noon - Arthur Koestler 

Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak 

Flowers of Evil - Charles Baudelaire 

Herzog - Saul Bellow 

De noche bajo el puente de piedra- Perutz By night under the stone bridge - Leo Perutz

A final comment on Giardino’s artwork. It isn’t spectacular, with perspectives or double-page spreads. It's simply beautiful. First the graphic narrative is easy to follow. The depiction of characters, their moods and particularly showing the pass of time. Giardino is brilliant at making his characters age. Jonas’s goes from 12 to 50 and we can see he is still Jonas. Edith’s change is superb, not only the effects of time are shown but the effects of having her husband in prison, being unable to communicate with him, being followed and spied and forced to work in jobs she wasn’t good at, having to support her son economically and emotionally. Simply, amazing art.