Belonging

Starred review from August 1, 2018
A graphic artist of German descent tries to come to terms with her family's history before she was born.Not only was Krug too young to have memories of the Nazi era, but her parents weren't born until 1946. Yet she feels drawn to what happened before, a legacy that amounts to a search for identity, a pilgrimage to the homeland that risks guilt and shame. Neither of her parents seems to know much about their familial Nazi ties or to be inquisitive about learning more. Her father's brother had died as a teenage Nazi soldier, and their sister and her father had since been estranged. Her maternal grandfather had also served with the Nazis, and the level of his support remained something of a mystery. Krug felt blood ties to her ancestors but had no idea how deeply (or not) they had been entangled. She also felt stigmatized by the common stereotype of her as a German and what this seemed to reflect about her emotions, personality, and overall identity. The narrative is a deeply personal--and deeply moving--dive into national legacy and family history, with more text than most graphic novels and a graphic presentation that mixes documentary photographs, illustrations, and memories that predate the author's birth. Her obsession takes her from her home in Brooklyn, where she lives with her Jewish husband, to the Germany where her parents were born and raised, in search of documents and testimony. As she gets closer to something that feels like truth, she writes, "I feel a sudden pain, shallow but sharp and all-consuming as a paper cut, because even inherited memory hurts." Krug's efforts reunite a family and return to her a lost legacy.As multilayered as memory, the book intertwines text, photo, graphic art, and thematic complexity into a revelation almost as powerful for readers as it must have been for the author.

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September 1, 2018

Krug (Kamikaze) examines her past, present, and future as a German in this exquisitely illustrated and hand-lettered graphic novel. Being German has always connected Krug to the horrors of the Nazi reign of her home country, and throughout her childhood she wrestled with understanding her family's involvement in the war. Here she details conversations with her parents, long-lost and distant relatives, as well as her trip back to Germany, where she attempts to make sense of historical records, memories, and intense emotional responses as she learns the answers to questions she's been struggling with since coming to live in America 20 years ago. Photographs, letters, drawings, and thrift-store finds are included as touchstones for readers as they travel along with Krug on her journey. The entire story is tied in to the idea of heimat, the German word for the place that first forms us, and Krug's quest to determine what that means for herself and her family. VERDICT A touching story of questioning the unquestionable and finding yourself in the process. Recommended for teens and adults as well as those interested in a highly visual family examination across generations. [See Prepub Alert, 4/30/18.]--Traci Glass, Multnomah Cty. Lib., Portland, OR

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