In their new graphic memoir about her life growing up in Iraq, Brigitte Findakly and her husband Lewis Trondheim shed light on the interior lives of middle-class Iraqis under Saddam Hussein's rule in the mid-20th century. Poppies of Iraq does for 1970s Iraq what Persepolis did for 1970s Iran, putting a human face to stories … Continue reading Poppies of Iraq: A Review
As the world continues to mourn the untimely death of Star Wars actress and writer Carrie Fisher, fans --- myself included --- have clamored to read the books she left behind. Fisher's final memoir, The Princess Diarist recounts her affair with co-star Harrison Ford on the set of the first Star Wars film in 1976. … Continue reading The Princess Diarist: A Review
In her debut essay collection, You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain, 2 Dope Queens co-host Phoebe Robinson lays out everything that's on her mind, from how it feels to wear a natural hairstyle, to why Michael Fassbender will be the father of her future child. It's an eclectic … Continue reading You Can’t Touch My Hair: A Review
He was just like every other little boy in Pyongyang, taking taekwondo lessons and dreaming of becoming a general in Kim Il-sung's army. In Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea, DPRK-escapee Sungju Lee tells of his family's fall from grace, his life as an orphan on the … Continue reading Every Falling Star: A Review
In the early 2010s, Korean-American journalist Suki Kim taught English at North Korea's Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. In Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite, Kim recalls the events of those few months. The story is incredible. For more than 70 years, while its southern … Continue reading Without You, There Is No Us: A Review