Cover Image: Tales from behind the Window

Tales from behind the Window

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Member Reviews

I am not sure how I feel about this graphic novel at first I loved it, but now I have mixed feelings. the illustrations were amazing and how the colors were selected. the idea that she is trying to show us the world from her grandmothers eyes in-which it was interesting. Living in a male dominated society and how the man’s word is the law since I come from a country with similar views or ideas it hit close to home. However I did not like how it focused mainly on the grandmothers POVs there wasn’t any mention of the brother who was a silent character.

The author does mention at the end of the comic that this is her (grandmother ) side of the story,how she did live a happy or a full life afterwards was an interesting thing to add at the end.

I’m not sure how I feel about it I liked and I didn’t at the same time I could connect with it /understand it ,but I didn’t like where she had to marry without her full consent and how the mother kind of insisted that she should not be alone and family is everything. How not being married in your 20s and how society views you as a spinster etc.

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Recommended: YUP
To anyone curious about life elsewhere, to anyone who's ever learned about their elder family member's lives and thought 'Who are you' or 'How did I never know about this,' to anyone looking for a short read with a lot of beauty and value

Thoughts:
Gorgeous illustrations to convey the story; they set the mood just right for what you’re reading. Great use of the space on the pages, too. It was key for me to remember that this was based on memories of the author’s grandmother, Sureyya, and not just a story that ends when you finish the book.

The art style: gorgeous, and cleverly worked to reflect the emotions of the moment. When the colors are full tinted over the images, it brings focus to the characters themselves as the ones defining the moment. Then we get the more fluid, multi-color moments when she’s on her own or with people she loves. I would love to have a physical copy of this, as reading it digitally just can’t do justice to the beautiful dual-page spreads. I would term it a minimal style, with the focus on the people.

The story: heartbreaking in it’s reality. It would have been sad to begin with, but getting to the photo of his grandmother at the end and remembering this isn’t just a story, this is someone’s actual life story, that was a powerful moment for me. This is the story for so many people.

Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for a free copy in exchange for a review!

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First and foremost, the illustrations in this book are beautiful. They tell such a touching story that almost no words are needed. The author is telling her grandmother’s story of her arranged marriage, a marriage that appears to have been a business deal more than anything. Through the grandmother’s story we meet her brother, who was in charge of her life until money exchanged hands and she became her husband’s property. We also hear the stories of the grandmother’s childhood friend, and also the grandmother’s mother. Through these three women we meet the men of Çarşamba and understand our own history. Women’s history. Even if you have no ancestors from Turkey, these stories are part of who we are now. This book tells a story that’s been told several times before, yet it still found a way to touch my heart.

Heartfelt thanks to NetGalley for allowing me a copy in exchange for an honest review. And thanks also to the author for sharing the stories of these women, and assuring we never forget.

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I'm trying to find the right words to describe this story, and the best I can come up with is it's heartbreakingly beautiful.

Tales from behind the Window brings us the story of the author's grandmother, as she narrated it herself. A story that comes to us from the depths of Anatolia, Tales from behind the Window is moving, beautiful, tender and heartbraking. A recommended read.

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Beautifully written and the illustration is set up perfectly to capture the story. I cried when the great grandmother was saying her goodbyes to Sureyya. It seemed liked they had a wonderful mother and daughter relationship. Even though I really enjoyed this story, I wish there was more details into Sureyya life after getting married.

Some questions that I had while reading:
1. Why is there no illustration of the brother?
2. Why wasn't much detail given about the husband?
3. Did the grandmother know what her son did?

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This graphic novel tells the true stories of three women from the author's family. Although this book is categorized as fiction, it is based on interviews have the author's grandmother.

This type of book is important because if we remember the past and the many injustices faced by women, we give them a voice. Those voices remind us of how far society has come and how far we still have to go.

Using the medium of a graphic novel, the author is able to convey emotions much more powerfully than if she had only described them in words.

The use of darker colors and austere illustrations, readers easily see the difference between the vibrant colors of the female illustrations and the grim male based illustrations. This is brilliantly rendered.

I rate TALES FROM BEHIND THE WINDOW as 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

*Thank you to #NetGalley and #EuropeComics for providing me with a free copy of this book.*

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Disclaimer: I received a digital copy via Netgalley

Kuntman’s wonderful and poignant graphic novel is an account of her grandmother’s life and the lives of other women in rural Anatolia.. The primary story if that of her grandmother and her marriage, but there are also two other tales about Kuntman’s great grandmother and a friend of her grandmother.

The stories detail the lives of women were option and control over one’s own fate was limited. Most of the action is interior. It isn’t a spy story, it isn’t a super hero story. It is a life story and the stakes are very real. The stories are moving and the simplicity and beauty of the illustrations fits perfectly.

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4.70 stars ⭐

"What good is holding onto memories if one has to leave them begind anyway?"

Damn I cried so hard reading this comic, it touched me in all the right places, it truly is a beautifully sad story, and I'm really sorry she actually went through this, there's still to this day women and children that are sold like cows...

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A beautiful graphic novel that was really enhanced by its strong narrative. I could not think of a single improvement while I was reading it.

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Thank you #NetGalley for the book #TalesFromBehindTheWindow I would have not come across this beautiful book if it wasn’t from here. Let’s talk about the 5 stars: The content is what matters the most when it comes to books for me. And it delivered! For a non-fiction, historical description it’s been done pretty amazingly. The art work is superb, the emotions depicted too clear, the dialogue/descriptions have been aptly put and concise. The book has been divided into two main sections telling in brief illustrations about the different lives of two women who faced the bitter truth of a patriarchal society of the past where they had no say; and another short section in between about the grandfather of the narrator. Even though it’s a solid star read for me considering it as a graphic format I would have loved it more if more details about the grandmother’s as well as the narrator’s lives were a bit elaborated. It’s one of the most satisfying reads ever! Who would have thought I would shed tissues of tears while staring at the sad eyes of a graphic book’s character?!

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The author interviewed her grandmother about her life in a village in northern Turkey. It is such a different life, a life dominated by men, telling her what she had to do, and who she had to marry.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Screen-Shot-2019-09-13-at-11.51.03-PM.png" alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5363" />

Beautifully illustrated, the collection tells of three women, her mother who lost her husband, of the despair of a childhood friend who is sold to a man much older than she, as well as her own story, of being given to a man she was not interested in.

Lyrical, soft, sad, and beautifully written.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

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This is an extraordinary book. The artwork is evocative and emotional. My best comparison is to Willow Tree angels which have no faces but are highly emotive. The artwork is the dominant part of the book. Many pages have no words. But it is no matter the story is full and rich and complete. I feel like I learned something, and I was enriched by this tribute to the author's grandmother. I will buy this one for my great-nephew.

I want to thank Netgalley, Edanur Kuntman and Europe Comics for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Tales From Behind The Window is a really short but powerful graphic novel, based on interviews Edanur Kuntman did with her grandmother. It tells the story of three women and how their lives were dictated by each of the patriarchal figures in their lives.

The art style was absolutely stunning and worked so incredibly well with the stories told. It managed to feel so sombre yet so hopeful at the same time, and that really helped it to make a huge impact on me emotionally for such a short book. I had to sit down in the quiet for a little bit afterwards just to digest everything.

Initially I thought that it occasionally went off on tangents that didn't need to be there, or included unnecessary information, but then I realised how appropriate that was. This is an old woman's story of her younger years, that is exactly how those stories are told. For me this tone was absolutely perfect and added to the authenticity of the graphic novel completely. 

There is a lot of things that happen and I do wish it had been a bit longer, really teased out all of the intricacies of each woman's stories. We do get moments to breathe throughout the book and they are well placed with beautiful art, but I think a few more would've really built up the emotion of the piece even more.

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A beautiful tribute to a grandmother told with obvious love and affection. The cover design is very powerful and is what made me want to read it. The illustrations within are exquisite. I actually wished the book was longer so I could learn more about the relationships in Kuntman’s family.

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Short but sweet. What a lovely way to keep the author' grandmother's story going.

This will be beautiful on paper, the artwork was perfect!

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I would be lying if I said this one didn’t make me cry. I couldn’t imagine living my life this way. But the stories are sweet. ❤️

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I loved the unique art in this book, and the story worked well too. A very beautiful assembly of picture and text.

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This story is heartbreaking but realistic. The author shares a brief stories her grandmother shared with her about her life and the lives of a couple other women. Taking place in Turkey, issues with oppression against women and them losing their identities is the main themes of this book. I like how at the end the author mentions how this is just her grandmother's viewpoint of her situation, not her grandfather's but voices the importance of her grandmother's words and her experiences. They are important and need to be heard.

The artwork and the flow was just beautiful and added to the overall reading experience. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in women's studies, diversity and gender inequalities in the world.

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Moving and beautifully illustrated graphic novel based on the author’s grandmother’s memories of what life was like for women growing up in rural Anatolia. Three women’s stories are told, illuminating the practice of selling daughters, forced marriages, and lost love. Highly recommended.

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I really liked this graphic novel. I'm not sure what age range it was targeting, but as a librarian, it is something I would suggest to middle school and high school aged kids. I kind of wish there had been more context/background information, like what country her village was in, the decade in which the story took place and etc.

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