Özge Samancı

Ozge Samanci's graphic novel memoir tells the story of her growing up, going to school, and deciding what she wanted to do with her life.

This was such a fun to read! I enjoyed the collage drawings, using stamps and repeating certain pieces of images throughout. I rooted for Ozge as she navigates her own ambitions of doing well in school like her sister, and struggles to gain her father's approval. The details of Turkish history and current events as they impacted Ozge and her family rounded out the story well. An enjoyable coming-of-age and finding-one's-way story.… (mer)

Özge Samancı was born in 1975 in Izmir, Turkey. Her memoir begins with her six-year-old self using binoculars to see her sister waving from school across the street. "School," Özge says, "was the place where you could wave to your mother and your sister, who were watching you with binoculars. I wanted to be on the other side of the binoculars." Her whole childhood was spent thus, trying to keep up with her smart and accomplished sister, who always seemed one step ahead, and to be in the limelight of her parent's approval. Always slightly off-kilter from the expectations of her family, teachers, and Ataturk (whose hagiographic presence in Turkey during the '80s was ubiquitous), Özge struggled to find her own path and dare to disappoint these expectations.

The tone of the book, as well as the drawings, are funny and sweetly expressive. I was reminded of [Ramona the Brave], but life in Turkey was not as saccharine as American suburbia. I learned a bit about Turkey's ban on imports, educational practices, and political tensions, but without any explicit lessons. [Dare to Disappoint] was a fun book to read, and I enjoyed following Özge into college. She is currently an artist and assistant professor at Northwestern University in Chicago.… (mer)

Probably one of the most beautiful graphic novels I've ever seen--not that it's over-the-top like the Book of Kells or something, but because the artwork isn't bound by panels, is primarily black and white except for occasional splashes of color, and, mostly, because of Samanci's collage-like pages, which incorporate (images of) real objects and papers. It's also, of course, a fascinating account of life in Turkey and its education system. And Samanci's struggle to please her parents and find a dream to pursue are so relatable to me. I'm so happy that she found a career that (I hope) she enjoys, and a little bit jealous that she did find it in the end.

I'll be keeping and treasuring this one.… (mer)