Joe Sacco

Comic strips reveal the lives of those living in the Muslim enclave of Gorazde during the Bosian war, describing how they survived Serbian attacks that left them without access to the outside world, electricity, or running water.

Safe Area Goražde

In late 1995 and early 1996, cartoonist/reporter Joe Sacco travelled four times to Gorazde, a UN-designated safe area during the Bosnian War, which had teetered on the brink of obliteration for three and a half years. Still surrounded by Bosnian Serb forces, the mainly Muslim people of Gorazde had endured heavy attacks and severe privation to hang on to their town while the rest of Eastern Bosnia was brutally 'cleansed' of its non-Serb population. But as much as SAFE AREA GORAZDE is an account of a terrible siege, it presents a snapshot of people who were slowly letting themselves believe that a war was ending and that they had survived. Since it was first published in 2000, SAFE AREA GORAZDE has been recognized as one of the absolute classics of graphic non-fiction. We are delighted to publish it in the UK for the first time, to stand beside Joe Sacco's other books on the Cape list - PALESTINE, THE FIXER and NOTES FROM A DEFEATIST.

Nora 

Amazing and important book, you can really feel the passion that Sacco has for the people he is writing/drawing about. Be prepared to tear up over more than a few pages.

Hafsa

Before reading this book, all I knew about the Bosnian War was the siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre. After reading this book I still have limited knowledge of the war and a hazy understanding of the politics behind the war but what I do realise now is the extent of the suffering people went through and just how cruel people can be. The escalation of the war was an embarrassment for the UN and the international community, yet the Bosnian war is largely forgotten in history. As a result we are repeating the same mistakes in the current Middle Eastern crisis and we will keep repeating them until we don't reflect on our past.

When reading reports of war we put ourselves at a certain distance because the personal stories are often lost in the narrative and it doesn't affect us. In Joe Sacco's book there are plenty of stories; some are graphic and violent whilst others are more emotional and upsetting. The presentation of this book as a graphic novel puts a face to the stories and nothing is left to the imagination. The character of Joe Sacco mirrors how we as readers feel, he realises he has the privilege of leaving if the situation gets worse while we as readers can just put down the book whenever we feel overwhelmed, but the people who are living through it can only cling onto their hope for peace. As a result I found this very hard to read but at the same time I was left wishing the book did not end.

I think everyone should read this book at some point in their lives, not only because we need to remember the Bosnian War but also to understand the experience of war. Fortunately, Bosnia is now a peaceful country and has recovered from the war to a great extent but there are other people going through the same things the Bosnian people did and we must realise their struggle.

Safe Area Goražde

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