Tunnels

When so many people Israelis and Palestinians want a piece of the land, things are bound to end with an explosion. Yet despite underlining petty and self-interested motives on all sides, [the book] portrays its characters in a sympathetic light: Can readers really quarrel with a woman s quest to reclaim her father s heritage, or over a Palestinian s negative attitude toward Israelis after witnessing the treatment of his people by the IDF?...Tunnels is a great triumph. Tablet. An adventure story that dives deep into the world of Israeli archaeology, gets its hands dirty digging for lost treasures, plunges into the intrigues and rivalries of academia, and collides head-on with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Haaretz. Rutu Modan has written and drawn a true adventure story for the modern age, where a classic quest for precious antiquities is complicated by human relationships and real-world politics. Vivid characters vie for control, events take unexpectedly hilarious turns, farce folds in on itself, and a cow jumps over the moon. The most fun I've had reading a graphic novel in years. Jason Lutes, Cartoonist of Berlin. Through exuberant wit, wisdom and genuinely cinematic verve, Modan s Middle-Eastern intrigue grabs us from the very first panel and never lets go. A colorful cast of passionate, exasperating and eccentric characters, all flawed yet somehow loveable, enliven Tunnels riotous plot. With constantly surprising twists and turns, Modan packs a great deal into this slyly subversive, highly entertaining story a rancorous family, the mis/uses of archaeology and the mythical past, messianic zealots, human greed, and the tempest of current Israeli-Palestinian relations and yet it all brilliantly succeeds, with dollops of rich human comedy leavening her very serious themes. The most deliriously inventive and daring graphic novel in recent memory, Tunnels triumphs as the perfect adventure story for thinking adults. Ranen Omer-Sherman, Professor of English and JHFE Endowed Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Louisville. Tunnels is an incisive dig into contemporary Israeli life. It's rich with human foibles, critical of how both religion and archeological claims shape life along the separation wall, and also an adventure story. Rutu Modan is a gifted storyteller, full of life and humour. Nicole Krauss, author of To Be a Man. The very best kind of satire Modan embraces political absurdity, subverting ridiculous aspects of faith and fanaticism while never devolving to mockery." Publishers Weekly, Starred Review