I thought this book had such interesting design! Actual photographs by Iturbide paired with the story and drawings of those images in the graphic biography. This was an artist I didn't know about. It gave such insight into her life, inspiration, travels, mentors, and work. ( )

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book *

Isabel Quintero and Zeke Pena have come up with a clever application of the graphic novel form - an account of the life of Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide. Iturbide is known for her work capturing the lives of indigenous people, and also her empathy with birds.

This short book includes many reproductions of Iturbide's photos and sets out the circumstances in which some notable works were created, as well as exploring Graciela's philosophy and process. The book sticks to black-and-white, reflecting its subject's preferences. The illustrations are well done and evocative of the work that they celebrate, but the accompanying text gets a bit over the top at times. I'm afraid that I find the "Dear Reader" style clunky and twee.

I think, though, that my major quibble about this book is that I would have liked it to be longer and to go into more detail about Iturbide, who is a really fascinating subject. ( )

I loved reading this. The way Graciela was written is beautiful & intriguing. I studied photography & she was not brought to my attention before(one of her images is familiar), now I am going to find some if her collections to explore! ( )

From the non linear narrative to the wonderful meshing of Iturbide's mythologically significant images with the story, this book has a lot to offer. Challenging, even as its subject challenges. Beautiful, as her vision inspires. Disturbing, because death is disturbing, and so very present underneath the story. ( )

graphic biography of Mexican b/w photographer Graciela Iturbide (1942- ), known for her portraits of the Seri people in the Sonoran Desert and her photos of birds.

I liked this, but absorbed little of it; text is very lyrical/poetic, from the point of view of Iturbide. I might be interested in seeing more of her work (a smattering of which were reproduced here).

This book covers (with apologies for any inaccuracies, my own fault) :

Sonoran Desert (N. Mexico): The Seri people, 1979.
Mexico City, 1950s (where she grew up) and 1979
Juchitan (Oaxaca, Mexico) - Muxes (nonbinary gender)
Fiestas (location not given)
La Mizteca (La Matanza ritual, Mexico).
La Casa Azul, Coyoacan (Frida Kahlo's sealed off bathroom, preserved after her death)
Nepantla (East L.A. portraits) and Southern U.S. (landscapes)
India ( )