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Rosh (Off GR duty for a fortnight!)'s Reviews > Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 1 - The Birth of Humankind
Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 1 - The Birth of Humankind
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I had read and reviewed the original Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind long back. But a recent query in a Facebook group on whether this graphic version was suitable for a 12 year old got me thinking if I could share this book with my teenager, so I pushed this up right to the top of my TBR. If you want my opinion on the content of the original nonfiction work, please click HERE. This review is only about the graphic version, whether it does justice to the original, and its suitability for younger readers.
It is not an easy job to take a nonfiction tome such as Sapiens and adapt it to a graphic version. So I must appreciate the efforts of the author, the storyboard artists, illustrators and editors who would have worked on this graphic version. They have done a fabulous job.
๐๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ท๐๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น?
Sapiens, if you remember, had four sections: The Cognitive Revolution, The Agricultural Revolution, The Unification of Humankind, and The Scientific Revolution. This first graphic volume covers the first section of the cognitive revolution.
To make the topic transit successfully from text to graphic, many interesting characters have been added to the narration. This serves the purpose aptly as the storyline doesn't become monotonous or too intense for younger readers.
The book does its best to be inclusive with characters from various backgrounds, including a saree-clad Professor Saraswati who is next only to Harari himself in terms of character scope. Even keeping aside any personal national pride, I loved the portrayal of her character. She rocked the cool grandma approach, and younger Indians will definitely bond with her character.
๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ "๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐"?
Well yes, the book is heavy for a graphic novel, but considering what Sapiens was, this is perfect for those who want an insight into it without struggling through the intense content. Especially for those who aren't too crazy about nonfiction, this graphic novel will be a great way to know Harari's theories.
At the same time, seeing his theories visually makes them all the more concrete in your head, and you might tend to forget that all his theories are heavily reliant on his assumptions. Adult readers might be able to filter out the chaff from the wheat; youngsters might take his version as an accurate representation of the past. So the content is still relevant, but to be taken with a pinch of salt, just like in the original book.
๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐น๐น๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐?
The illustrations are A-grade, no doubts about that. I never thought an intense book such as Sapiens could be represented so interactively. But mainly because of the rich variety of characters, the illustrations add a pizzazz to the book.
Overall, I think I enjoyed this book even more than Sapiens primarily because of the illustrations and characters. To visualise the original content in this graphic version was a thrilling experience, and to do so along with Professor Saraswati was simply enthralling!
๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ:
1. One of the characters talks of people sleeping around, adultery, and gossip about crushes in front of Harari's young niece in a couple of the story panels.
2. There is nudity in the illustrations. Nothing vulgar. Just that in a couple of panels, the pubic area of human males and females is depicted. There are some panels with breasts shown.
These two points aren't to drive you away from sharing the book with your children, but just so that you can make an informed decision of when you want to share it with them.
๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐บ๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป?
Whether to share it with your children or not is an individual choice, and there's no right or wrong age for this. After all, these decisions can't be standardised and depend on the age, reading level, comprehension level, and exposure of the kids to such topics. But I hope this post has made things a bit easier for you in taking that decision.
**
Join me on the Facebook group, , for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.
It is not an easy job to take a nonfiction tome such as Sapiens and adapt it to a graphic version. So I must appreciate the efforts of the author, the storyboard artists, illustrators and editors who would have worked on this graphic version. They have done a fabulous job.
๐๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ท๐๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น?
Sapiens, if you remember, had four sections: The Cognitive Revolution, The Agricultural Revolution, The Unification of Humankind, and The Scientific Revolution. This first graphic volume covers the first section of the cognitive revolution.
To make the topic transit successfully from text to graphic, many interesting characters have been added to the narration. This serves the purpose aptly as the storyline doesn't become monotonous or too intense for younger readers.
The book does its best to be inclusive with characters from various backgrounds, including a saree-clad Professor Saraswati who is next only to Harari himself in terms of character scope. Even keeping aside any personal national pride, I loved the portrayal of her character. She rocked the cool grandma approach, and younger Indians will definitely bond with her character.
๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ "๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐"?
Well yes, the book is heavy for a graphic novel, but considering what Sapiens was, this is perfect for those who want an insight into it without struggling through the intense content. Especially for those who aren't too crazy about nonfiction, this graphic novel will be a great way to know Harari's theories.
At the same time, seeing his theories visually makes them all the more concrete in your head, and you might tend to forget that all his theories are heavily reliant on his assumptions. Adult readers might be able to filter out the chaff from the wheat; youngsters might take his version as an accurate representation of the past. So the content is still relevant, but to be taken with a pinch of salt, just like in the original book.
๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐น๐น๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐?
The illustrations are A-grade, no doubts about that. I never thought an intense book such as Sapiens could be represented so interactively. But mainly because of the rich variety of characters, the illustrations add a pizzazz to the book.
Overall, I think I enjoyed this book even more than Sapiens primarily because of the illustrations and characters. To visualise the original content in this graphic version was a thrilling experience, and to do so along with Professor Saraswati was simply enthralling!
๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ:
1. One of the characters talks of people sleeping around, adultery, and gossip about crushes in front of Harari's young niece in a couple of the story panels.
2. There is nudity in the illustrations. Nothing vulgar. Just that in a couple of panels, the pubic area of human males and females is depicted. There are some panels with breasts shown.
These two points aren't to drive you away from sharing the book with your children, but just so that you can make an informed decision of when you want to share it with them.
๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐บ๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป?
Whether to share it with your children or not is an individual choice, and there's no right or wrong age for this. After all, these decisions can't be standardised and depend on the age, reading level, comprehension level, and exposure of the kids to such topics. But I hope this post has made things a bit easier for you in taking that decision.
**
Join me on the Facebook group, , for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.
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Reading Progress
December 5, 2020
–
Started Reading
December 5, 2020
– Shelved
December 8, 2020
–
Finished Reading
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
graphic-novel
May 15, 2024
– Shelved as:
3-75-stars
Comments Showing 1-4 of 4 (4 new)
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message 1:
by
Thibault
(new)
Jun 14, 2023 09:42AM
Trying to capture the history of human creation in graphic novel form sounds quite daunting. But it seems like this one did a great job at that. Love the idea of the cool grandma approach. Good review, Rosh.
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Thibault wrote: "Trying to capture the history of human creation in graphic novel form sounds quite daunting. But it seems like this one did a great job at that. Love the idea of the cool grandma approach. Good rev..."I guess it was somewhat easier as the author had his own original work as a reference point. But the grandma character was a fab addition. I liked this much better than 'Sapiens'. Thanks, Thibault. :)
Wonderful and informative review, Rosh!! ๐ I am not familiar with either of the Sapiens books, so I am very curious now.
Rachel wrote: "Wonderful and informative review, Rosh!! ๐ I am not familiar with either of the Sapiens books, so I am very curious now."Thanks, Rachel! ๐ The book was quite a hit with the nonfiction crowd, though it was just about good for me. If you like nonfiction, it will offer so some great insights. :)
