Unterzakhn
- set item rating to 0.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 1 out of 5.
- set item rating to 1.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 2 out of 5.
- set item rating to 2.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 3 out of 5.
- set item rating to 3.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 4 out of 5.
- set item rating to 4.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 5 out of 5.
Add a Comment
Add Tags
Add More
Save to a List
-
Save to a Shared List
Print
Details
- Description
- Full Record
- Author Notes
- Contents
- Excerpts
- Reviews
- Summary
- A\\V Summary
- Preview
Searching for more content…
"A mesmerizing, heartbreaking graphic novel of immigrant life on New York's Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century, as seen through the eyes of twin sisters whose lives take radically and tragically different paths. For six-year-old Esther and Fanya, the teeming streets of New York's
… More »"A mesmerizing, heartbreaking graphic novel of immigrant life on New York's Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century, as seen through the eyes of twin sisters whose lives take radically and tragically different paths. For six-year-old Esther and Fanya, the teeming streets of New York's Lower East Side circa 1910 are both a fascinating playground and a place where life's lessons are learned quickly and often cruelly. In drawings that capture both the tumult and the telling details of that street life, Unterzakhn (Yiddish for 'Underthings') tells the story of these sisters: as wide-eyed little girls absorbing the sights and sounds of a neighborhood of struggling immigrants; as teenagers taking their own tentative steps into the wider world (Esther working for a woman who runs both a burlesque theater and a whorehouse, Fanya for an obstetrician who also performs illegal abortions); and, finally, as adults battling for their own piece of the 'golden land,' where the difference between just barely surviving and triumphantly succeeding involves, for each of them, painful decisions that will have unavoidably tragic repercussions" -- fromp ublisher's web site.
« Less
Community Activity
Find it at SPL
Loading...
Comment
Add a CommentCorman's absorbing book follows the lives of twin sisters Esther and Fanya, the children of Russian Jews, on the teeming streets of New York's Lower East Side. Beginning in 1909 when the six-year-old girls work alongside their seamstress mother, the tale follows each of their divergent lives. The young Fanya attracts the attention of the "lady-doctor" Bronia, who performs illegal abortions. Bronia teaches her how to read and mentors Fanya in the medical arts. Corman's evocative portrayal of health care for women in those pre-Roe v. Wade days effectively showcases why abortion must remain legal. Esther finds paying work for a woman who runs a burlesque theater and a whorehouse. While there, she learns about and eventually relies on her sexuality to find her place in society. Unterzakhn (Yiddish for "Underthings") follows the twins throughout their lives, chronicling their loves, successes, failures, and losses, while exploring the roles -- sexual, intellectual, familial -- of women. Corman produces an exceptional portrayal, deserving of much laudatory praise and acclaim, of immigrant and Jewish life on par with the works of Will Eisner and Art Spiegelman.
Beautiful stunning artwork and moving story. Loved it!
I just finished reading this and I loved it. How writes like this? Leela Corman, that's who! A story of two sisters growing up in lower Manhattan, which deals with family secrets, migration, prostitution, etc...