Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samannci
If you feel like going on a visual journey, pick up this
book ASAP.
Dare to Disappoint takes us through a life journey of Ozge. It
is unique because it is a graphic autobiography. She starts off by giving us
the perspective of Turkish life as a child. Her awareness of society and its
political problems at a young age are impressive. For a graphic novel, it is
much more detailed than I expected.
The book covers topics of militarism, familial expectations,
fitting in, and finding your voice at a time when your voice is stifled by
society. Ozge faces the pressures of following what is expected of her, meaning
she must excel in school and become an engineer. If she fails to do this, she
will be nothing in society. The problem is, Ozge begins to hear her own voice
and it is telling her to take a different path. We learn a lesson on risk
taking here. I felt inspired through the illustrations in this novel. It was
like watching a movie of a person going through life, learning about the
society they live in and growing up the reject some of those
norms/expectations.
As someone who does not go out of their way to read graphic
novels, this book was amazing. Not because it was easy to read but because it
was able to portray various messages through illustration. The author did not
need extra words to convey emotions, worries, or thoughts they were having.
Especially given that it is autobiographical, it makes it reputable. These are
not just drawings an author thought of putting together, these are the
real-life experiences of Ozge Samanci portrayed through art and literature. It
is fun and quirky but goes into a serious tone as the author/main character is
overtly struggling with dynamics of Turkish society and her father.
Fun fact: Ozge Samanci lives in Chicago and is an assistant
professor at Northwestern
If you’re interested in learning more about Turkish history,
there is a whole section in the book on Ataturk: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ataturk_kemal.shtml
No comments:
Post a Comment