Abina Important Men
Book Review: Abina and the Important Men
Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History by historian Trevor R. Getz and illustrator Liz Clarke is a unique combination of educational storytelling and historical facts. Presented in an unconventional historical graphic "novel” formal, Abina and the Important Men is a fascinating multipart text containing a pictorial translation of an engrossing historical account, the primary transcript of that account, and various textbook-like supplements for understanding the history behind a long forgotten story. The purpose of the work can be interpreted as three-fold: sharing Abina’s personal story with the reader, shedding light on the typical work of a historian, and finally discussing historical context …show more content…
This is evident as Abina continually continues to change hands among the men that own her, including Yaw Awoah, Eddoo, and Tando. Abina’s gender also makes her prone to being enslaved as women were physically weaker, not educated, and were perceived as more submissive. Eddoo highlights Abina’s lack women’s rights when he exclaims, “No Tando…she will marry you because I tell her to do so.” Gender was also present in the colonial courtroom through paternalistic British attitudes and law system. According to Davis, “To be a member of the jury, you must speak English well, you must own land or have money, and above all you must a man.” Finally, gender was at the heart of Abina’s motives when she sought justice, as a huge motivator when she brought her case to court was to marry whomever she wanted to and to determine her own …show more content…
While it is understandable that the story itself is short due to the lack of primary sources regarding Abina’s story and that a major theme is that the oppressed typically do not have a voice, a weakness has to be that this story was based on a single account of a witness and the author made many speculations. Consequently, it would have been beneficial to the reader had the latter parts of the book which discussed the historical context, various interpretations, and majors themes was discussed earlier on in the novel, in order to prepare the reader for the historical context. Regardless, this graphic novel was a very good read and I would recommend this to others for its unconventional approach to storytelling and the unique story of
Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History by historian Trevor R. Getz and illustrator Liz Clarke is a unique combination of educational storytelling and historical facts. Presented in an unconventional historical graphic "novel” formal, Abina and the Important Men is a fascinating multipart text containing a pictorial translation of an engrossing historical account, the primary transcript of that account, and various textbook-like supplements for understanding the history behind a long forgotten story. The purpose of the work can be interpreted as three-fold: sharing Abina’s personal story with the reader, shedding light on the typical work of a historian, and finally discussing historical context …show more content…
This is evident as Abina continually continues to change hands among the men that own her, including Yaw Awoah, Eddoo, and Tando. Abina’s gender also makes her prone to being enslaved as women were physically weaker, not educated, and were perceived as more submissive. Eddoo highlights Abina’s lack women’s rights when he exclaims, “No Tando…she will marry you because I tell her to do so.” Gender was also present in the colonial courtroom through paternalistic British attitudes and law system. According to Davis, “To be a member of the jury, you must speak English well, you must own land or have money, and above all you must a man.” Finally, gender was at the heart of Abina’s motives when she sought justice, as a huge motivator when she brought her case to court was to marry whomever she wanted to and to determine her own …show more content…
While it is understandable that the story itself is short due to the lack of primary sources regarding Abina’s story and that a major theme is that the oppressed typically do not have a voice, a weakness has to be that this story was based on a single account of a witness and the author made many speculations. Consequently, it would have been beneficial to the reader had the latter parts of the book which discussed the historical context, various interpretations, and majors themes was discussed earlier on in the novel, in order to prepare the reader for the historical context. Regardless, this graphic novel was a very good read and I would recommend this to others for its unconventional approach to storytelling and the unique story of