Graphic Novel Review: Pride of Baghdad

 

Pride of Baghdad is one of those graphic novels that I just "stumbled across" for lack of a better combination of words. Pride of Baghdad is based on the true events of a pride of lions that were released into the city from the Baghdad Zoo during the attack and subsequent invasion of U.S. forces. The graphic novel explains how the pride lived, how they escaped during the bombings and how they tried to survive on the streets of the city. 

While the graphic novel is a fictionalized account of the events that occurred, the dynamic between the members of the pride is not only very real but very interesting. Zill is the lion of the pride that has grown comfortable living a life in which everything is provided to him. For this reason, the old lioness, Safa, taunts him for being an incompetent protector. Safa has an ear that's missing a chunk and an eye that is scratched out, both of which occurred, because the male of her pride when she lived in the wild, was unable to protect her. Therefore, Safa likes the safety of the zoo and would never dream of leaving it. The third adult member of the pride is Noor, Zill's current mate and the mother of their cub, Ali. Noor is always trying to find ways to escape from the zoo, believing that the wild is where they belong. Due to her constant schemings, Safa strongly dislikes Noor and argues that Noor would never know how to survive in the wild after such a long time in a cage.

Book Review: Shanghai Girls

Shanghai Girls is one of those books that I added to my to-read list on Goodreads and then promptly forgot about it (probably because I have 300+ books on my to-read list. I work at a library ok? New books are always being added to the shelves and older books pass through my hands and I just can't help myself xD). Anyways, lucky for me, my older sister bought a copy of the book at a used book sale and told me that I should definitely read it. She dropped it off at my apartment and then proceeded to ask me everyday if I had started reading it yet. I had a stack of books from the library that I was trying to finish so it took me two weeks to get to it, but once I started reading, I flew through the book.

Shanghai Girls follows the story of Pearl and her younger sister May, two women living in 1930's Shanghai. As the daughters of the owner of a rickshaw business, they consider themselves to be very Westernized and well off. Ignoring the threats of an impending Japanese invasion, the girls continue to live their daily lives as if nothing could ever go wrong. All of this changes when their father admits that he lost his fortune and in order to keep their home, he has arranged marriages for both of them. These are not an ordinary arranged marriages as their father has decided to marry them to two American citizens. However, before all is said and done, Japanese troops begin to attack the outskirts of the city and both Pearl and May's worlds are further turned upside down with the start of the second Sino-Japanese war.