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kikooux's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.5
hm_reads's review against another edition
4.0
interesting stories from the refugee crisis, in graphic novel form - everything feels very comfortably written
lburton's review against another edition
3.5
While there were parts of this that I found incredibly effective, overall it is a too much about the author/artist's own experience spending a few weekends volunteering in the Calais Jungle. It's extremely heavy handed with the message, and I would rather hear from the refugees themselves. Surely Evans could have assisted some of them in telling their own stories without portraying them as characters in her own.
sizrobe's review against another edition
5.0
Heartbreaking. The idea that some people portray these people as an "invading army" or parasites is even sadder. We blow up these people's homes and act shocked when they flee for their lives.
sjbshannon's review against another edition
5.0
A book that really shows that xenophobia/opposition to refugees is murder, that if your feminism doesn't care about refugees, it's just white supremacy and that if your Christianity doesn't care about refugees, it's just white supremacy.
A must read. The art is stunning and it's a good primer on the situation in Calais.
A must read. The art is stunning and it's a good primer on the situation in Calais.
bookwomble's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
marymeilton's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully illustrated and heartbreakingly honest, sprinkled throughout with moments of joy and love. This book is beyond powerful, it reminds you of the humanity at the heard of the refugee crisis.
olgasofia's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
4.0
I read this book in one sitting for an english lit class, not because I had to but because I simply couldn’t put it down due to all the feels I got whilst reading. It is a devastating account of the conditions in the Calais and Dunkirk refugee camps. It is also a collection of stories from these camps as well as Evans’ own story as a volunteer. The story is quite metaphor-heavy but not in a bad way. I’ve also seen a lot of people disliking Evans’ artstyle but I personally thought that her rather rough style of drawing goes really well with the subject matter and brings the story alive. I think Threads is a must read for anyone looking for an introduction to the horrible situation at Calais.
ejpass's review against another edition
5.0
5/5 stars
Recommended for people who like: nonfiction, politics, global events, history, memoir
I had to read this for class last fall and, having never been one to read graphic novels before, wasn't sure what to make of the assignment at first. Once I started reading, though, I found myself absorbed in the story and the art and was desperate to read the next part (the teacher uploaded the book one part at a time). I liked it so much I actually ended up analyzing it as my Final for the class.
Evans' book depicts the situation in the refugee camp in Calais, also known as The Jungle, on her visits there as an aid worker. The events she tells are true, but like many journalists, she changes the names of the people in her story and, due to the nature of drawing and painting as a medium, is also able to change the faces of the people to protect their identities. Evans manages to get at the stories of the people in The Jungle as well as the greater story of the refugee crisis and European immigration laws, which are far far more restrictive than I thought.
The art offers an interesting contrast, with many of the images depicting fences or smoke use the pattern of Calais lace, a rather delicate and beautiful art form, which starkly contrasts with the brutality and ugliness of the scenes and bridges the past with the present. The use of lace in these instances was, I think, brilliant and showed amazing attention to detail. A similar effect occurs when Evans overlays photos over the art in several scenes, depicting the actual representation of events side-by-side with the artistic rendering of them. I think the contrasts were extremely effective and did a good job of bringing around the fact that the story is real and that these things did happen, which can be easy to forget when everything is drawn and painted. The photo-art juxtaposition is actually a theme throughout the book, not just with the composition, with drawn photos and redrawn art and this repeated connection of photography = violence, art = joy, that makes sense in a refugee camp where a realistic image of someone can get them sent home or stuck in the country they're currently residing in, regardless of their final destination. Again, the way that Evans brings these ideas to the foreground while still being subtle is something I really enjoyed about the book.
I think the narrative arc of the book was also an interesting choice, since it is a memoir and not a series of interviews, and yet the stories of the refugees still make it into the book. The whole narration is told through storytelling of some kind. Evans telling her story, the refugees telling theirs, the news giving their story, and Tweets offering their version. I think it makes it more real, more human, in a way, than if it had been given in a more traditional memoir style. I didn't entirely like the parts where the author was at home, but I understand that those parts played the job of offering a contrast between Evans' home life and the home lives of the refugees we meet throughout the story.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed the book as well as the art. There are some difficult parts, obviously, since it deals with a heavy topic, but I think it's worth the read. I think the sheer irony of certain aspects of the story that Evans manages to point out is part heartbreaking part funny (in that way that's not really funny). I think the setting is just as important as the story itself and also holds its own irony, in a way, and not just because Calais used to be the main hub of a delicate art form.
Recommended for people who like: nonfiction, politics, global events, history, memoir
I had to read this for class last fall and, having never been one to read graphic novels before, wasn't sure what to make of the assignment at first. Once I started reading, though, I found myself absorbed in the story and the art and was desperate to read the next part (the teacher uploaded the book one part at a time). I liked it so much I actually ended up analyzing it as my Final for the class.
Evans' book depicts the situation in the refugee camp in Calais, also known as The Jungle, on her visits there as an aid worker. The events she tells are true, but like many journalists, she changes the names of the people in her story and, due to the nature of drawing and painting as a medium, is also able to change the faces of the people to protect their identities. Evans manages to get at the stories of the people in The Jungle as well as the greater story of the refugee crisis and European immigration laws, which are far far more restrictive than I thought.
The art offers an interesting contrast, with many of the images depicting fences or smoke use the pattern of Calais lace, a rather delicate and beautiful art form, which starkly contrasts with the brutality and ugliness of the scenes and bridges the past with the present. The use of lace in these instances was, I think, brilliant and showed amazing attention to detail. A similar effect occurs when Evans overlays photos over the art in several scenes, depicting the actual representation of events side-by-side with the artistic rendering of them. I think the contrasts were extremely effective and did a good job of bringing around the fact that the story is real and that these things did happen, which can be easy to forget when everything is drawn and painted. The photo-art juxtaposition is actually a theme throughout the book, not just with the composition, with drawn photos and redrawn art and this repeated connection of photography = violence, art = joy, that makes sense in a refugee camp where a realistic image of someone can get them sent home or stuck in the country they're currently residing in, regardless of their final destination. Again, the way that Evans brings these ideas to the foreground while still being subtle is something I really enjoyed about the book.
I think the narrative arc of the book was also an interesting choice, since it is a memoir and not a series of interviews, and yet the stories of the refugees still make it into the book. The whole narration is told through storytelling of some kind. Evans telling her story, the refugees telling theirs, the news giving their story, and Tweets offering their version. I think it makes it more real, more human, in a way, than if it had been given in a more traditional memoir style. I didn't entirely like the parts where the author was at home, but I understand that those parts played the job of offering a contrast between Evans' home life and the home lives of the refugees we meet throughout the story.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed the book as well as the art. There are some difficult parts, obviously, since it deals with a heavy topic, but I think it's worth the read. I think the sheer irony of certain aspects of the story that Evans manages to point out is part heartbreaking part funny (in that way that's not really funny). I think the setting is just as important as the story itself and also holds its own irony, in a way, and not just because Calais used to be the main hub of a delicate art form.