David Alexander Robertson

I probably picked the right time in my life to read the graphic novel 7 Generations by David Alexander Robertson.

Like the main character Edwin I also feel very much lost and haunted by despair.

I think the graphic novel takes this to a melodramatic level by having the main character try to commit suicide. I guess just being really bummed out isn't as dramatic.

The author seems to use this as a plot device to get into the retelling of the character's ancestors. This is a part of Edwin's culture and the search for his identity.

This is something I can also identify with.

I'm a Mennonite. We were kicked off our land in Europe in the 19th century and forced to move because we wouldn't fight in any wars.

I have also lost my language and much of my culture. When I was a child my father used to speak in German with his dad, but sadly none of this got passed on to me.

Before Canada decided to become multicultural it used to be a melting pot. Much of my culture was wiped out by it.

The biggest thing I took out of our class discussion with the author was that I agree with his claim that the graphic novel could be an excellent tool for teaching children.

As he stated during his presentation, if you presented a child with a textbook and a comic book and asked them to say which one they would rather learn from, that most children would say the comic book.

This book is able to tell the story a lot faster than other formats. I'm not a big reader. Having been an English major in university and having had to have read some really long dry material (but not Milton, I liked Milton) has turned me against reading.

When my friends say they prefer the book I tell them I'd rather see the movie. Having pictures just adds more detail to flesh out the story. I like that I can finish the whole thing in one sitting as opposed to drawing out the process over a couple of weeks when I usually have to read a book.

I do not think it's journalism. If journalism on TV is a news broadcast, than I think this book would be one of those after school specials that try too hard to teach a lesson. Don't get me wrong, I like what it's trying to do but some of the elements, like the suicide, just seem a little bit too melodramatic.

Compared with the earlier work by Jim Blanchard about Winnipeg during the Great War, I would say that Blanchard sticks to the facts while Robertson uses them to create fiction.

Robertson is more of a storyteller, but Blanchard is more of a journalist.

In terms of storytelling and being a journalist, Nahlah Ayed has Robertson beat hands down.