★ 02/16/2015
Witnessing the 9/11 attacks in New York City made author-illustrator Rehr wish “to better understand what drives people to become terrorists,” he explains in an afterword. In this he succeeds brilliantly, following Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip’s long journey toward the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand with penetrating sensitivity, without glorifying his deed. The tale begins in Bosnia, then a poverty-stricken region filled with despair. When Princip, at his brother’s dinner table, calls the fear of God a power wielded by the ruling class, his sister-in-law remonstrates. “Talking like that, you’ll end up in hell,” she says. “I’m a Bosnian Serb,” Princip retorts. “I already am.” In panels overhung with shadows, Rehr lays out the development of Princip’s ideological convictions and contrasts his life with sunny pictures of the Archduke’s. Not even a love affair—imagined with credible warmth and passion—turns Princip from his goal. Just as ably, Rehr follows the train of events that led to the Archduke’s vulnerability in Sarajevo. All of these threads combine to form a work of power and force, one that will stay with readers long after they finish it. Ages 13–up. (Apr.)
"[Rehr] succeeds brilliantly, following Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip's long journey toward the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand with penetrating sensitivity, without glorifying his deed....[A] work of power and force, one that will stay with readers long after they finish it."―starred, Publishers Weekly
03/15/2015
Like Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Gavrilo Princip was just short of 20 when he shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, in 1914. As this lightly fictionalized biography indicates, Princip and his collaborators had hoped to trigger a rebellion against Austro-Hungarian domination over Serbia and its Balkan neighbors but instead helped ignite a worldwide war taking 16 million lives. Rehr (Tribeca Sunset) did considerable research and successfully builds empathy for both Princip and the archduke, showing how upbringing, lifestyle, and social connections came to bear on their fateful choices. The somber art relies on a heavy, realistic inked line supplemented by dense cross-hatching, texturing, scratchboardlike techniques, and murky grays. Many drawings are clearly based on period photos, but unfortunately, there is no "further reading" section or list of major sources, and the two maps could have been more detailed and better labeled. VERDICT Princip's sad story finds solid realization here, and both teens and adults looking for historical materials will learn plenty about how chance and intent interact unpredictably in the lives of dedicated individuals working with what they believe are justifiable motives.—M.C.
02/01/2015
Gr 8 Up—In the words of Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck, turn of the century Eastern Europe was a powder keg simply waiting for the right spark to explode into what we now know as World War I. The nationalist, revolutionary, and terrorist, Gavrilo Princip, was just the man to set the fire that would ignite the keg. The assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the inciting factor that instigated what was one of the 20th century's bloodiest wars. But little is known about the motives behind the assassination. Here, Rehr imagines the circumstances leading up to the killing. Princip and his coconspirators were real people living in a desperate time. They yearned for a free Serbia, Bosnia, and Yugoslavia and were willing to do anything in order to achieve their dream. This intriguing and ultimately harrowing narrative humanizes a historic event. The author is able to breathe life into this confusing and conflict-filled portion of European history. The stark black-and-white artwork and theatrical art-filled splash pages transport readers to 19th-century Eastern Europe. VERDICT This fictionalized account based on historical fact is an excellent contribution to graphic novel collections.—Morgan Brickey, Marion County Public Library System, FL
2015-01-20
Graphic novelist Rehr offers a fictionalized biography of Gavrilo Princip, who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and started World War I. Whether it actively intends to or not, this book might end up reducing violence in the world, because it makes the life of a terrorist seem incredibly dull. As imagined in this book, revolutionaries spend their time lecturing one another on politics and arguing about strategy. Sample dialogue: "Courage as such doesn't exist. It's all a matter of pressures and rewards." Pages are filled with black-and-white illustrations that have the look of scratchboard, many spreads entirely wordless. This often has the effect of slowing the action down and drawing out an already-sluggish script. But the final scenes are surprisingly powerful. Rehr shows the entire war in a series of strange, fragmentary images: a sky filled with biplanes, an armless Jesus suspended against the cross in the ruins of a church, a crowd raising its hats into the air. In these moments, the stark illustrations become appropriately frightening. Elsewhere, the book is too dry and matter-of-fact for its own good, but maybe that's the point. Late in the book, Princip says, "No one person causes the wheel of history to turn. The war would've come anyway. Me…I just pulled the trigger!" Princip, in this contemplative version of history, isn't evil, and he isn't heroic. He's just a hapless man who fired a gun. (Graphic historical fiction. 12-18)
