Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Malka is a divorced mom of two, nearly broke, and about to get evicted. Her son chooses to move out and live with his dad, and for some reason, she feels entitled to be invited on a family trip to Poland undertaken by her uncle and cousins because she is the self-anointed family historian.
The graphic novel Chasing Echoes by Dan Goldman and George Schall (artist) focuses on a big Polish-American family taking a vacation to Europe, with the ultimate goal of tracking down their grandfather’s home that he had to abandon during the Holocaust. However, unfortunately, except for the name of the town, nobody has a concrete clue on locating the house or a family-owned mill that was built by their ancestors.
What I enjoyed about Chasing Echoes is the chaotic energy of the big family traveling around in a minibus, bickering, gossiping, eating, and having fun together. However, since the book is only 152 pages long, it’s hard to keep track of the uncles, aunts, and cousins making their way through the book. Malka manages to be the only memorable character in the graphic novel because almost everybody in the family bitches about her being a hopeless case. One cousin, who flies in from Jerusalem for the trip, is the only person who looks forward to Malka’s company.
The artwork by George Schall in Chasing Echoes is not a big highlight of the graphic novel, but it engagingly brings to life the road trip Malka’s dysfunctional family goes on. From visiting Holocaust museums, encountering anti-Semitic symbols, to attending a fun musical concert, the family goes on a rollercoaster ride of emotions in Poland. The story also includes some flashback scenes of World War II with Malka’s grandfather to lend some retro nostalgia to the tale.
If you’re looking for some fictional stories about Jewish Americans trying to connect with their family roots and struggling to come to terms with the impact the Holocaust had on their past generations, this is an interesting read.
Rating: 3 on 5. ‘Chasing Echoes’ in also on Kindle Unlimited
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