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Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
New York : Pantheon Books, c2004.
Pages
44
Description
For Art Spiegelman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Maus, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were both highly personal and intensely political. In the Shadow of No Towers, his first new book of comics since the groundbreaking Maus, is a masterful and moving account of the events and aftermath of that tragic day. Spiegelman and his family bore witness to the attacks in their lower Manhattan neighborhood: his teenage daughter had started school directly below the towers days earlier, and they had lived in the area for years. But the horrors they survived that morning were only the beginning for Spiegelman, as his anguish was quickly displaced by fury at the U.S. government, which shamelessly co-opted the events for its own preconceived agenda. He responded in the way he knows best. In an oversized, two-page-spread format that echoes the scale of the earliest newspaper comics (which Spiegelman says brought him solace after the attacks), he relates his experience of the national tragedy in drawings and text that convey-with his singular artistry and his characteristic provocation, outrage, and wit-the unfathomable enormity of the event itself, the obvious and insidious effects it had on his life, and the extraordinary, often hidden changes that have been enacted in the name of post-9/11 national security and that have begun to undermine the very foundation of American democracy.… (more)
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2004
Physical description
44 p.; 14.57 inches
ISBN
0375423079 / 9780375423079
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User reviews
LibraryThing member sara_k
I broke into the other book I was reading when In the Shadow of No Towers arrived in the mail. This book of only 42 pages, including 10 double page comix style, took me two hours to read. After each page I had to take a break...go do some dishes or make a cup of tea.
I've talked about my
In The Shadow of No Towers deals not only with the actual happenings of 9/11/2001 but with the domino effect of discrimination, Homeland Security, laws, paranoia, and politics that followed. The pressure to either appear extra-patriotic or seem a traitor was something I remember well and still feel on occasion.
I haven't read a wide range of Art Spiegelman's work; I've only read Maus I and II but they are masterpieces. They, like In The Shadow of No Towers, are intensely personal yet speak globally. They also speak specifically about Spiegelman's parents experiences in Auschwitz but the story is applicable to prejudice, hatred, and genocide worldwide.
I think this book is not one to recommend. If asked, then I would talk about it and recommend it (and would certainly lend it) but readiness is something personal that I could not gauge for someone else.
I've talked about my
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experiences on 9/11/2001 many times. The first few monthes every get together seemed to make its way to what happened and what we did and what we saw. I was living in Maryland, just inside the Beltway, and my family and friends in DC and Virginia, well, we all were horrified and scared, and grieving. I had friends who were in Manhattan that day and their focus on detail of what they did helped distance the horror and yet made it even more clear. There were also the media reports of what happened; tv and radio reports in first and 3rd voice giving details and emotions. It all trickled away with followup stories on "where are they now" and the stories aren't told much anymore except on the anniversaries or when the gathering is the first since the attacks. In the Shadow of No Towers is that person-to-person telling of sequence and feeling magnified by Art Spiegelman's graphics. In The Shadow of No Towers deals not only with the actual happenings of 9/11/2001 but with the domino effect of discrimination, Homeland Security, laws, paranoia, and politics that followed. The pressure to either appear extra-patriotic or seem a traitor was something I remember well and still feel on occasion.
I haven't read a wide range of Art Spiegelman's work; I've only read Maus I and II but they are masterpieces. They, like In The Shadow of No Towers, are intensely personal yet speak globally. They also speak specifically about Spiegelman's parents experiences in Auschwitz but the story is applicable to prejudice, hatred, and genocide worldwide.
I think this book is not one to recommend. If asked, then I would talk about it and recommend it (and would certainly lend it) but readiness is something personal that I could not gauge for someone else.
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LibraryThing member rores28
This highly underrated work, by the acclaimed author of Maus, can easily be written off as a shallow account of september 11th donning an strange end-cap on comics history. To conceive it as such ignores many of the formal and structural elements Spiegelman employs to add density to what is
The size and weight (literal) of this book were no accident. Reading it on my pillow I felt engulfed by it and my arms quickly tired under its mass. Beyond this obvious structural metaphor the book itself is divided into two parts each prefaced by a substantial text introduction.
The first part is a frenetic comic manifestation of the September 11th events as well as the emotional bedlam with which they endued the author. **Spoiler** These pages are peppered with what appear to be non-sequitir shifts in imagery that only become meaningful when one reads the second half of the book **Spoiler Over**
The second half of the book, upon an uncritical reading, seems to be nothing more than a tangentially relevant history of the comic medium. In fact every obscure comic that Spiegelman digs up is apposite not just to the events themselves and his experience of them, **Spoiler** but the imagery resonates directly with the the non-sequitirs from the first half of the book. I find it interesting to that in order to read the second half of the book you must turn it on its side (as if the book itself has fallen over).
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otherwise a relatively short text.The size and weight (literal) of this book were no accident. Reading it on my pillow I felt engulfed by it and my arms quickly tired under its mass. Beyond this obvious structural metaphor the book itself is divided into two parts each prefaced by a substantial text introduction.
The first part is a frenetic comic manifestation of the September 11th events as well as the emotional bedlam with which they endued the author. **Spoiler** These pages are peppered with what appear to be non-sequitir shifts in imagery that only become meaningful when one reads the second half of the book **Spoiler Over**
The second half of the book, upon an uncritical reading, seems to be nothing more than a tangentially relevant history of the comic medium. In fact every obscure comic that Spiegelman digs up is apposite not just to the events themselves and his experience of them, **Spoiler** but the imagery resonates directly with the the non-sequitirs from the first half of the book. I find it interesting to that in order to read the second half of the book you must turn it on its side (as if the book itself has fallen over).
Show Less
LibraryThing member Crowyhead
Art Spiegelman uses his considerable talent to illustrate the fear and confusion of September 11, 2001 -- and of the months following, when he (like many other Americans) felt the Bush administration had hijacked the tragedy. The second half showcases the weird and political world of early
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full-page newspaper comics, his model for his own works in this book. An excellent, important book that moved me to tears. Show Less
LibraryThing member melissarecords
Stunning graphics. The drawings of the towers about to collapse are chilling and brilliant. I was completely "there" in the midst of the happenings when the author was describing the events of 9-11. Awesome rendering and storytelling. But the loving tributes to old-time comic strips, while nice,
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seem to be completely extraneous to the story and make the whole thing feel disjointed and unsatisfactory. Read the first part, but the second part is optional. Show Less
LibraryThing member Niecierpek
This is Art Spiegelman's personal account of 9/11. He lives and works a few blocks from the site where the World Trade Center used to stand. He recounts the day's events as they unfolded: finding and collecting his family, breaking-down and crying when he knew his children were safe, and then
The first half of the book is a graphic novel/comic which narrates his frantic experiences and reflections on the day and the days immediately following the event. It's also, most apparently, his political stand.
The second part of the book is his looking for inspiration, solace, political stands and historical wisdom in the cartoons and cartoonists' messages from the beginning of the century.
I liked the first part of the book. I think Spiegelman expressed well the havoc, anxiety, and confusion of 9/11 and the disgust at how it was politically hijacked by the Bush administration. And the second part? I don't know. I am not a fan of comics, or cartoons, so I don't think I could appreciate either the mastery of the form or the ingenuity of the message of those older examples, even though some of it was very good. Hence the rating.
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coping with the aftermath.The first half of the book is a graphic novel/comic which narrates his frantic experiences and reflections on the day and the days immediately following the event. It's also, most apparently, his political stand.
The second part of the book is his looking for inspiration, solace, political stands and historical wisdom in the cartoons and cartoonists' messages from the beginning of the century.
I liked the first part of the book. I think Spiegelman expressed well the havoc, anxiety, and confusion of 9/11 and the disgust at how it was politically hijacked by the Bush administration. And the second part? I don't know. I am not a fan of comics, or cartoons, so I don't think I could appreciate either the mastery of the form or the ingenuity of the message of those older examples, even though some of it was very good. Hence the rating.
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LibraryThing member Gerrit
Highly therapeutic writing, but nonetheless impressive on all levels.
LibraryThing member ragwaine
Can't remember much about this one, just that it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be.
LibraryThing member Inconspicuous
Good book, but by the end his point kind of turns into mush - which I guess was kind of the point. He uses classic cartoon characters to make his point, as he returns to a form he feels comfortable and safe in post-9-11, a move that is akin to the return to classical art after WW1 by such
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experimental artists as Picasso and other Modernists. Show Less
LibraryThing member 06nwingert
Art Spiegelman's beautifully- crafted graphic novel, In the Shadow of No Towers is the political, social and emotional response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Each page is layered with meaning, showing the full scope and depth of the attacks. I can't give this book enough praise.
LibraryThing member MeditationesMartini
Spiegelman's thoughts on the World Trade Center attacks and their aftermath don't amount to a whole huge much, actually, but I can relate to the need to make the massive fear and PTSD mean something as opposed to just being carried around with you like an imaginary war. And he reprints some lovely
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old comics pages from the early 20th century--Katzenjammer Kids, Foxy Grampa, Little Nemo, etc. Again, you could ask why, but they're fun to look at. Show Less
LibraryThing member questbird
Art Spielgelman was living in New York near the twin towers on Setember 11 2001. His daughter was attending school right next to them when they fell. This small collection of double-paged full-colour comics documents Spielgelman's response to the shock of the event, and to political events in the
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USA subsequent to it. It provides some insights into the feelings of New Yorkers at the time. Spiegelman himself writes that he was shocked back into writing comics and smoking, The attack filled him with fear and paranoia. He was angered by the politics of terrorism. He also realised that he loved his city and wouldn't leave it. I found this to be an interesting but strange book, each double spread physically huge but the book itself not long enough for the topic. Show Less
LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran
In the Shadow of No Towers is divided into two sections. The first is the complete serialization of Art Spiegelman's work "In the Shadow of No Towers," written in response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Spiegelman lives in New York City, and his daughter
Experiments in Reading
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was attending school not far from the towers, so he was understandably deeply affected by the events. Each page is done in a large-page format, and the style of each page consists of a rather eclectic collage of original and inspired strips. The work was so controversial at the time of its creation that Spiegelman found it difficult to publish in the United States, so it primarily appeared in European newspapers. The second section of the book looks at the political history of early newspaper comics, the source of much of the inspiration of "In the Shadow of No Towers." Overall, the book and the graphic art is a very effective medium for expressing the author's struggle with the events surrounding September 11. Experiments in Reading
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