One of the new features on the blog for 2013 will be monthly book picks, and for the kickoff, I have Goliath by Tom Gauld, a graphic novel version of the familiar Bible story.
You probably remember Goliath as the fearsome giant, right? He terrorized the Israelites until David finally vanquished the terrible enemy, at least that’s how the original version of the story goes. In Gauld’s retelling, Goliath is a gentle soul who works an admin position in the army. He’s big, all right. A real giant, but he’s hardly the great enemy we expect.
One day he is reassigned from the desk to the front lines and given a script to read with the challenge we know from the Bible. Goliath is reluctant, but he is assured that it is a war of words, that he’ll be fine.
The result is a heartbreaking look at war that reminds us that our enemies are human too. The book is short, but it is quite powerful. You can see a seven page preview on BoingBoing.
Recommended for anyone interested in alternate versions of old stories, as you know I do. Including teens, according to School Library Journal.
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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Book reviewed from library copy.
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