Graphic Novel Review: I Escaped A Chinese Internment Camp

Published by: Insider

Written by: Zumrat Dawut, Anthony Del Col

Illustrated by: Fahmida Azim

ISBN: 9781988247960

Ages: 16+

Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for illustrated reporting, this non-fiction graphic novella is the true story of Zumrat Dawat, a Muslim woman who was living in China. Arrested and removed from her family just for being Muslim, she had to endure through 63 days in an internment camp. Forced through horrible living conditions, interrogation, torture, and eventually sterilization, Zumrat showed the power of perseverance as well as the strength of her faith, ultimately to be released back to her family.

After being released, Zumrat, with the encouragement of her husband, moved her family to America, where she was able to begin speaking out about the crimes being committed to her people, the Uyghur, in the Xinjiang Region of China. Even being threatened by the Chinese government, this brave woman never stopped speaking out on the issues.

The hardest thing about reading a graphic novel like this is that it is an issue still currently going on. There are an estimated one to three million Uyghurs still in these “reeducation centers” as you read this review. Combining that knowledge with a gritty visual style, this book should be required reading for students of the world.

Due to the graphic and intense nature of the content, this report is for mature readers.

ADAM FISHER, Reference Associate

Author
Recent Posts

Adam Fisher

Adam Fisher has worked for more than a decade at Lane Libraries in Fairfield, Ohio, where he is a Reference Associate. He creates and leads programming for all ages, manages the graphic novel, sci-fi/fantasy, and magazine collections at his branch, and has recently seen great success with his self-created Escape Room programs. He writes reviews for everything he reads and can be found on Goodreads @FisherAd80 and on Twitter @adamreadscomics.

Related