Munnu: A Boy From Kashmir

Beautiful book with a moving story about Kashmir. A must read for those trying to understand a little bit more about the region.

Beautifully told story of Kashmir and the price that citizens pay for a conflict that they have no control of...I'd recommend this book to everybody who is even remotely interested in knowing about Kashmir... This is a fresh perspective and you can't help rooting for Munnu who is as real as the author himself.

This is a beautifully illustrated book, and very well written. I don't usually read comics or anything like that, but this book is much more than a "comic book". Great read, well crafted, illustrated, and written.

Incredible achievement!!

I just finished reading this book for the second time, and wow. "Munnu" is a book of actions, not words, but carries the reader through these actions with the curiosity and guilelessness of a child. I feel as though graphic novels often tell stories of regions from the outside looking in, but the protagonist in "Munnu" is on the inside, looking just slightly further beyond himself, to the everyday ways that the violence in Kashmir manifests. Seemingly ordinary details - such as the fact that Munnu's home is set back on the street, shrouded by trees - are implements for (sometimes at once) pain and victory for the young boy in this graphic novel. The rare flourishes that exist strictly to impress upon narrative land with even more poignancy as a result, such as when a man falls to the ground like a coat sliding off its hanger. The book explores with honesty the incommensurable space between a citizen and the broadcasts written about his hometown; the way violence on one's front door is both distilled and magnified in our news and in our nightmares.It's no secret that Kashmir is a "hot-button" issue in South Asia, and one where everyone is certain of his or her side. But this book transcends as it inoculates itself from "sides" and political posturing. It is not tragedy porn. It is not a call to arms. It is not a book seared in anger. Like Book One of Karl Ove Knausgaard's "My Struggle" series, it simply cracks wide open one single life, curiously turning the shards over in the author's hand. Kashmir and Srinagar, where the book is set, is entirely foreign to me, and this book is ungenerous with its explanations for several cultural elements (For example, salt tea? I'm baffled.) and so I often turned to google during my reading, but I preferred that, as it offered a more situated storyline, which never self-exoticizes. Even the book's chief conceit, that Kashmiri men and women are depicted as the endangered Hangul Deer while all others are presented as humans, is executed with such familiar tenderness that it doesn't come across as cheap.I won't reveal how this book develops or ends, but I will say the ending left me bewildered, melancholy, and slightly confused. When I closed the book I was reminded of the film director Sam Shepard, who said, “I hate endings. Just detest them. Beginnings are definitely the most exciting, middles are perplexing and endings are a disaster. The temptation towards resolution, towards wrapping up the package, seems to me a terrible trap. Why not be more honest with the moment? The most authentic endings are the ones which are already revolving towards another beginning."I hope to see "Munnu" on more bookshelves in America and look forward to reading Mr. Sajad's next work.

If you are interested in the Indian occupation of Kashmir--an unbiased version if it, this is the book for you.

The drawings are not as expressive as I'd hoped but the story is well presented, informative and moving. An important human testimony of a region we rarely hear about.The reason why Kashmiris are represented as deer is explained quite late in the story. For those like me who have very little knowledge of the Kashmir culture and history, it was a bit too long a wait.Overall, though, this book is lovely and I certainly am happy to have bought it and read it.

It's not often that I dread turning the last page of a book. I wish this one had a million more pages! *Everybody* needs to read this beautifully illustrated & heartbreaking masterpiece. Undoubtedly one of the best additions to my bookshelf and one that I will read over and over again.

Exceptionally brilliant work and a very touching tale of Kashmir - erstwhile paradise amidst clouds now in a deplorable state of affairs! The Indian 'Maus' can we say. Saw this graphic novel listed in 'Amazon Rising Stars' and thanks to Amazon for it's great 'lists' & recommendations, encountered such a marvellous real life based work. It's just a few month after ordering & reading "Our Moon Has Blood Clots: A Memoir of a Lost Home in Kashmir" by Rahul Pandita. Would recommend both books as a good read to know first person account of what's happening in the crownlands of what's called India today. Amongst some of the best Graphic novels is Maus, Palenstine & Munnu in that order & the flow sounds very similar though geographically separated and will fill any empathetic heart with profound sadness to horror at the plight of the suffering...Must read!

My first graphic novel experience and it was simply brethtaking .. The raw emotions and anger hidden behind the imagery and jokes is what makes this a must read .. An absolute eye opener and classic in Kashmir literature .. Some of the visuals are brilliant .. Heard its banned in open stores in India and can see why .. This one is a hard hitting take on Kashmir about the everyday life and gives a Kashmiris perception about the whole crisis .. Well done Malik Sajad aka Munnu

Munnu is the book that was much needed to enlighten people about the atrocities in Kashmir. You have to understand that this book is from the perspective of a particular man and in no way contains the whole story and unbiased research material about the incidents it covers. But as a story, it is one positive step towards introducing, understanding and acknowledging the condition of a state that is adjacent to multiple countries.One could not have asked for a better way to be put in the shoes of a native caught and growing up in conflict.Opinions will always differ about what is right and what is wrong. So go ahead, delve into Munnu's world, and make your own conclusions.