Hidden Jewish Lives
Hidden Jewish Lives
Joanna Rubin DrangerAward-winning graphic novelist Joanna Rubin Dranger follows up with a timely, brave telling of a previously untold Jewish experience
Following publication of her acclaimed self-biographical, documentary graphic novel Remember Us to Life, Joanna Rubin Dranger was overwhelmed with the response from readers all over Sweden.
When she started receiving letters from people sharing versions of the same story; how they were living their lives hiding their Jewish heritage, either by their own choice or by demand by someone in their immediate family, she was
soon compelled to gather these brave stories and bring their perspectives forth.
Through interviews with over 40 brave witnesses, most of them anonymous, Joanna portrays an untold side of Jewish life in Sweden. A young woman shares the story of how her grandfather erased every single trace of his background, so his family would be protected “in case it happens again”. Five interviews are illustrated and Joanna’s particular style adds a layer of urgency to the stories, and the secret form of otherness and the experience of moderating one’s existence will leave no one unaffected.
‘This combined research and book project has resulted in a beautiful work, which calls itself a documentary novel on the cover but is so much more.’ The Nordic Council Literature Prize 2023 motivation on Remember us to Life
