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I remember Beirut

I remember Beirut is a black and white graphic memoir by Zeina Abirachid published by Graphic Universe in 2014. This short memoir tells the story of the author’s own experiences back in Beirut, Lebanon at the peak of the Civil War.

Abirachid was born in Beirut in 1981 amidst the conflicts taking place in a small country as Lebanon. The country was faced with a type of conflict that originated from divisions in religion and political structures of the country that advocated Abirachid to share her reminiscences. I remember Beirut is a non-fiction memoir that takes places on Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast. Similarly, Zeina Abirachid also published another graphic novel prior to I remember Beirut called A Game for Swallows (2012) where she also narrated a single night that she spent with her brother waiting for her parents to arrive home. I remember Beirut is, in a sense, a continuation of this graphic novel. It includes similar themes of religion and family that can be found in her previous work. However, Abirachid’s strategy of applying these themes in the story is a lot grander, deeper, and much more layered in I remember Beirut.

Reception

Zeina Abirachid is a Lebanese graphic novelist who mostly works with autobiographical narratives. She is a successful artist and author in her domain and creates intriguing stories inspired from her life. Abirachid has similarly acquired great success with her graphic novels surrounding Lebanese Civil War. Thanks to their neat details as well as rich emotional content, Abirachid has managed to make her voice sound. Conversely, the novel has also been criticized by educators and readers particularly in that the order of the speech balloons are not always well-defined.

Overview

Abirachid starts her memoir by providing a brief background on the Lebanese Civil War. The ongoing conflicts in Lebanon spread around various neighborhoods in Beirut that include both Christian and Muslim communities. There happens to be a huge gap in between the ideologies of both communities. Christians seek to preserve their ties with the West while an alliance of Muslims wishes to avoid such influence within Lebanon. While this is the case in 1980s' Lebanon, both communities enter in the fight to protect their territory, thus, their ideologies. What is more, a concrete border called the Green line that does not only divide the West and the East but also both religions has been established. This quartier is also known as “No Man’s Land” since there are barely any residents dare to step in. Subsequently, the Green line stays as a symbolic figure in Lebanese history. Abirachid was born in the midst of these extremism and the core of her work is based on this traditional yet complex narrative. Abirachid aims to convey her messages through a set of childhood memories and a great deal of information that is embedded in detail. The audience is introduced to these memories with the repetitive phrase “I remember” for most of the time. However, what makes this artwork more interesting is the way it’s been narrated through the eyes of a child. Plot SummaryI remember Beirut starts with a brief introduction that gives information about the time and the place that Abirachid was born - 1981, Beirut, near the Green line. From this point on, the graphic memoir consists of a juxtaposition of memory fragments of Abirachid’s childhood. The anxiety and hassle are shown in every section of the memoir. For example, she mentions how there was always a bag prepared and the times she had to move all around in Lebanon with her family. Another memory talks about her dad listening to the music out loud to suppress the noise of the bombings that spread around their house. At first glance, the reader is grasped by these seemingly simple stories. However, upon reflection, one could see that these are innocent memories of a child that is surrendered by fear. Almost every memory refers to a different aspect of what it is to live at the heart of a war zone. Each memory builds up and leads the young Abirachid to her adulthood. As a kid who grew up in such a place, Abirachid accomplishes to bring the reader into her story and enables them to empathize with those who go through exceptional times.

Style

I remember Beirut is one of the very few comic books that are rare in their way of visualizing complex and unusual narratives. In Abirachid’s case, the challenging times Lebanon had gone through are depicted through a family in between the crisis with simple yet powerful visuals. At a blink of an eye, the memoir seems like it aims to reach out younger generations. However, the content of the memoir is a lot more transmitting and overwhelming. There is a particular intention in terms of the length of the memories. Each of the memories are left as brief as possible so that readers don’t get lost in the complexity of the emotions of the characters. By doing so, Abirachid also let the readers access numerous memories in a short read. Taken altogether, this variety of memories build a distinct sense of time, place and sentiment. Additionally, Abirachid frequently uses flashbacks and applies juxtapositions that help shape a whole story. This also allows readers not to lose their attention and follow the story until the end. In addition to this aspect, the choice of language and its poetic essence makes the reading easy and captivating. Furthermore, there are many depictions of the sound of the objects that are placed in the narrative. For example, the reader is even able to hear the traffic jam and one of Abirachid’s favorite artists and her song “Ayyam El Loulou”. Such visuals are powerful in their way of interacting with the reader and let them hear the story. In a sense, it is a strategy to place the reader at the heart of where and when the memoirs take place and create a more real-like experience.

Page Layout

Zeina Abirachid’s I remember Beirut has also attained a great deal of praises in terms of its treatment of the layout. The entire novel consists of black and white illustrations that already give a sense of the past and the times of despair. There are no clear and regular patterns that continue throughout the graphic novel. Rather, Abirachid applies various layouts that change from one to the other which gives it an inventive look. Such application makes each page rather compelling to read and examine. Everything seems to be left comparatively straightforward and simple. In this way, they all function in coherence and subsequently, create a delicate balance between image and the way the story is told. However, there are still many details that are embedded in this simplicity. For example, it is quite hard to disregard the somewhat traditional exotic patterns that belong to eastern culture. Overall, it can be said that Abirachid’s style benefits from the beauty of eastern tradition and the decorative ornamentation that helps give a sense of time and place. Such style results in building up a supportive and gripping tale. It is also worth mentioning that some pages are created with thinner lines compared to the rest of the novel. These sceneries form more of a dream world rather than a flashback. They are also darker in appearance and ambiguous. Here, it almost feels like the audience is in the head of the author which is rather mysterious. One other eye-catching feature of the graphic novel is the few empty pages some of which are black and some of which are white. These intentional breaks done by the author create sort of a reading pace for the readers. It also seems to give the impact of melancholy and invites readers to take the time to reflect upon what they have read. This uncommon yet successful application contributes to the overall tone of the graphic novel. Zeina Abirachid’s talents to convey her messages through panels and to build form and purpose in the page is also masterfully shown. When there is a detail that needs to be focused on, the illustrations and the layout of the page accordingly change. The visuals that depict everyday scenes throughout the novel suddenly take the form of abstract drawings – whether those be Kit-Kats covered with foil or the sound that cassette tapes make or Florence Griffith Joyner’s nails at the Olympic Games or the way paper boats are folded and many more. All these supposed details contribute to create a sense of setting and interaction with the characters who gradually change as the plot develops towards the end of the book. I remember Beirut is also a graphic novel that challenges the reader in many ways such as emotionally, rationally and so on. The targeted audience initially is not easily able to emphasize with the characters themselves since there is never a precise depiction of who they are. Even if the protagonists are made to seem originally warm-hearted and therefore display very typical personalities, the textual layering in addition to abundant visuals present in this work makes it difficult to understand what is behind the scenes.

Final Notes

Towards the end of the book, Zeina Abirached presents scenes of life after war through discussing the topics of freedom and peace. She answers the questions of what mattered afterwards and what did not as much, as well as what changed for her as a grown-up woman who now looks back at the time. The graphic novel, in general, does not dive into any political issues or connotations. Instead, the readers are awarded with the opportunity to observe Abirachid’s experiences through her young and innocent mentality. Given the circumstances, it still happens to be one of the most intriguing parts of this novel. I remember Beirut offers a great opportunity for children at Abirachid’s age in the novel to comprehend what it is to survive in a war zone. However, this graphic novel is clearly not only for children. It targets a lot wider audience that will come up with numerous interpretations. Although Abirachid is just a child telling the reader her heart-warming and often entertaining memories, they might as well be her heartbreaks that distinguish those moments from the rest. Therefore, having analyzed a bunch of elements featured in this graphic novel, it could be concluded that the simple illustrations and captivating visual style are as much powerful as the message that is intended to be conveyed.