Vidal

Part Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, and Art Spiegelman’s Maus, Danila Botha’s powerful debut graphic novel, follows young Vidal who grows up in Tiberias (Ottoman Empire and then British Mandate Palestine) and moves to Paris to pursue his art and freedom and gets trapped there during World War II. Danila Botha traces the steps of Vidal’s life through Chagallian vignettes, from his Sephardic upbringing in Tiberias to studies in the Technion in Haifa, his artistic life in Paris, his work with the underground resistance, and his ultimate arrest and time in Auschwitz.

Poignantly capturing the Sephardic Jewish experience, and Like Vidal and his family, the author’s family were fifth generation Moroccan Jews who grew up speaking both Hebrew and Arabic and coexisting with their neighbours and friends.

A rich artistic and cultural experience, Vidal brings to light the untold stories of family, hope, freedom, and what their pursuit can cost. Vidal reminds us all that it’s possible for things to be different.

"Vidal is one of the most powerful, moving, and respectful holocaust / Shoah narratives that I’ve ever encountered. The voice is true, the imagery explodes with a kind of joy that would do justice to the incredible character that Botha portrays. It left me both shattered and elevated at the same time. Thank you for this work."

Ken Krimstein, author of When I Grow Up, The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt and Einstein in Kafkaland

Winner of the Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Graphic Literature

“Vidal by Danila Botha transcends classification. It is more than a graphic novel. It is a family story told with words and pictures underlined by the irony of being a fictionalized story. Call… Told in Vidal’s voice, the story feels intimate and immediate…The expressionistic paintings accompanying the text, reminiscent of Chagall, become part of the narrative itself, conveying emotions for colouring composition. The palette changes from warmth and hope to darkness and despair, mirroring adults journey through life. The artwork takes the form of journals, family albums, street posters and painted recollections Vidal, honours memory, and family and the experiences of Sephardic Jews through the story of one remarkable man.”

Canadian Jewish Literary Awards, Jury Citation

"Vidal is a vivid and moving portrait of one man’s irrepressible drive to revel in life, love, and art. Told in bold, beautiful paintings that evoke the lyrical spirit of Modernism and testify to a range of resonant emotions, Vidal immortalizes the richness of Sephardic life before WW2, the strength of Jewish resistance during the Shoah, and the enduring legacy of artistic survival."
Amy Kurzweil, author of Artificial: A Love Story and Flying Couch: A Graphic Memoir

How do you render a lost world, a story that has almost vanished into history? With realistic precision? Or impressionistically, with the bright colours of the imagination? Danila Botha’s Vidal does both, delivering a remarkable narrative with clear, matter-of-fact style and accompanying it with illustrations that are a vivid delight to the eye. It’s an impressive achievement.

Adam Sol, author of Broken Dawn Blessings

"Vidal is such a beautifully realized work…a narrative that encompasses the world at large with its immense joys and tragedy, all within the journey of one individual…the greatest strength is in its prose narrative followed closely by her passionate paintings… Vidal undoubtedly offers a wonderful window into history and a rich cultural experience...Botha is creating very compelling work, providing that valuable window of accessibility. It brings to life such subjects as Sephardic Jewish life and the Shoah in ways beyond words and, for that, it is essential. This is an important work any way you look at it."

Henry Chamberlain, Comics Grinder

“Visually lush with Expressionist artwork… the text is rich with cultural details illuminating the world of Vidal…A vivid portrait of a man who refuses to give up on life, even at its most harrowing. A beautifully illustrated work of historical fiction that’s as touching as it is delightful.”
Kirkus Reviews

“Mesmerizing, vividly illustrated and told story of a Sephardic Jew’s life, before and during the Holocaust, bookended with words from his still living daughters. Moving, disturbing, tender.”
Gary Barwin, author of The Comedian's Book of Death

Named One of 9 Illustrated Books to Read this Summer by CBC Books