Everybody loves Rosa

[bloodygranuaile]

My tendency to only read things for book clubs is beginning to negatively impact my desire to write thorough reviews of the books.

 

In January, my DSA chapter is having a discussion group for Kate Evans' acclaimed graphic novel biography, Red Rosa: A Graphic Biography of Rosa Luxemburg, about the Polish-German revolutionary feminist who also had a doctorate in economics, something which nobody had bothered to tell me. So I certainly learned a lot of cool stuff about Rosa Luxemburg, which is a plus. The book quotes extensively from her writings, as well as going over some rudimentary Marxist theory, like when teenage Rosa explains bits of Capital Volume I to her brothers. 

 

I have somewhat mixed feelings about the art style -- it's got a sort of loose-drawn quality that I'm not always the hugest fan of and that combines very interestingly with the general expressionist vibe that makes me not like it quite as much as I want to, because I want it to be more German Expressionist-y than it actually is. I don't know. I feel bad saying that because it's certainly well done and very expressive, but... I don't know. I am not great at appreciating graphic novels, frankly. Although I do appreciate that you can read them real fast, so this was a nice break between reading actual text-only theory and reading more actual text-only theory. 

 

One of my favorite bits was the note at the end about how Luxemburg's legacy has been constructed and reconstructed, and the way she's been claimed and disavowed and then claimed again by all the various sects of the Left. It is certainly illustrative of why we'll never win, at any rate. One of my other favorite bits was when she got a cat -- there are a number of moments like that included, that make her more relatable than such a superhumanly driven character might otherwise be. I think it'll prove to be a fun discussion -- and it'll be interesting to see who shows up, as there seems to be a good deal of interest in the event!