Wednesday, February 3, 2021

The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos

 

The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos had been on my reading wishlist for quite some time, so thought I'd go ahead and read it this year for Black History Month. 

The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos is semi-autobiographical and is written in the graphic novel style, which made for a very quick read. 

The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos is set in Houston, Texas during the 1960s. The primary focus of this book is that of two families (one white family and one black family) trying to deal with blatant racism during this time period. Additionally, the topics of the Vietnam war, the Civil Rights Movement, police brutality, and Martin Luther King's assassination are all touched upon topics presented in The Silence of Our Friends.

I feel like the themes and topics presented within The Silence of Our Friends were very important ones to write about and shed light upon, but I also felt that how the material in this book was presented was a bit disjointed at times. I simply wish there had been a smoother transition from one topic to another in certain areas of this book and/or more detail added about certain subject matters touched upon to make things more clear for readers.

I did love the artwork for The Silence of Our Friends. However, the text was sometimes sooooo small in certain sections of this book that it was difficult to read the text even with a magnifier.

My favorite quote from The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos is the following one:

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King, Jr.


Below is the summary for The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos from Goodreads:
A New York Times-bestselling graphic novel based on the true story of two families--one white and one black--who find common ground as the civil rights struggle heats up in Texas.

This semi-autobiographical tale is set in 1967. A white family from a notoriously racist neighborhood in the suburbs and a black family from its poorest ward cross Houston's color line, overcoming humiliation, degradation, and violence to win the freedom of five black college students unjustly charged with the murder of a policeman.

The Silence of Our Friends follows events through the point of view of young Mark Long, whose father is a reporter covering the story. Semi-fictionalized, this story has its roots solidly in very real events. With art from the brilliant Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole) bringing the tale to heart-wrenching life, The Silence of Our Friends is a new and important entry in the body of civil rights literature.

I am giving The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

2 comments:

  1. I had not heard of this one. I like the setting, Houston.

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    1. I wish I remember how i discovered this book. It was a good read for Black History Month for sure.

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