The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship

The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship by Deborah Willis 256 pages

Part of the NYU Series on Social & Cultural Analysis

This is one of those books that I knew I wanted to read just by seeing the cover. I admit that I was a little afraid at what graphic images it might contain, but I steeled myself and opened the cover.  Seeing as the subtitle I assumed it would filled with photos. There are a lot, around seventy I believe, but I somehow expected more. There are the standards that show up in any discussion of slavery, the South, the Civil War, and many other avenues (especially the one showing the crisscrossed scars on the back of “Whipped Peter”).

What I wasn’t prepared for was the large number of photographs of Black soldiers in uniform. At the time of the Civil War, “photography culture blossomed―marking the Civil War as the first conflict to be extensively documented through photographs.”  I couldn’t help but wonder how these men paid for their images to be reproduced. If it’s in this book, I missed it.

Another thing that I wasn’t prepared for was the way the book is put together. The text is mostly letters from the soldiers. Author “Willis not only dives into the lives of black Union soldiers, but also includes stories of other African Americans involved with the struggle―from left-behind family members to female spies. Willis thus compiles a captivating memoir of photographs and words and examines them together to address themes of love and longing; responsibility and fear; commitment and patriotism; and―most predominantly―African American resilience.” I did have trouble with the dialect, but that made it all the more real…it didn’t feel like a white woman was writing it.

Willis does an outstanding job in putting new faces to this age-old history. Therefore, The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

You Get What Anybody Gets - You Get A Lifetime

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast
228 pages

Whew. Where to begin...

If you have parents or guardians that you are close to, somewhere down the line, you have to start thinking about what to do when they get older. And even worse, what to do when they're about to die. It's not something many people want to talk about. I certainly am TERRIFIED of dying, so I can't even imagine what steps I'd have to take when my parents start to walk down that path.

This is different from someone dying suddenly in an accident or if they contract a disease that takes them from you without any warning. This is a story about dying of old age. It's not pretty. It's not easy. It's not cheap, and it's certainly not pleasant.

Roz Chast writes about her relationship with her ever aging parents as she is forced to move them out of their homes into assisted living. The physical strain that her mother and father go through isn't just taking a toll on them, but also Roz. Chast manages to write about this depressing subject in a way that can help you find humor and also understanding in that time of life. Some pages are absolutely silly and ridiculous: like the completely made-up stories her mother begins to tell as she becomes more senile. Others are heartbreaking: like when her mother loses control of her bowels. or her father falls and breaks his hip.

It's all in all, kind of a depressing comic. But what I enjoyed about it was the honesty of it. It was intense because it was something many of us will have to go through. It's a sad truth.

How I felt after reading Can We Talk About Something More Pleasant reminded me of how I felt after reading Daytripper by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon.

In Daytripper, at then end of every chapter, the main character dies. He dies at different points of his life and it makes the reader really appreciate the time they have. Because you never know when your last day will be. As someone who is really scared of death, reading these comics kind of make me feel better about it. Daytripper teaches you that without death, life wouldn't be as wonderful. And with Can We Talk About Something More Pleasant, I understand that I'm not the only one afraid. Death is a human condition.

Roz Chast is a fantastic creator, and I'm very glad I read this book. I feel like everyone should read this, no matter what kind of comics they tend to prefer. It offers a detailed (though depressing) insight into death and how people respond to it. It was so personal, but also felt incredibly relate-able. After reading this comic, I definitely want to talk about something more pleasant, though.

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"You get what anybody gets. You get a lifetime" - Neil Gaiman's 'Death' from The Sandman series