Mapping Transformative Spaces: Maps as a Tool for Understanding Rites of Passage in Flying Couch and How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less

Abstract

Maps feature prominently in Amy Kurzweil’s graphic novel Flying Couch and Sarah Glidden’s graphic novel How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less. Even though their texts address different topics, the two Jewish graphic novels make use of maps in similar ways. Both authors use maps to explore their own complex relationships with seminal topics in contemporary Jewish life. For Kurzweil, maps become a way for her to better understand the magnitude of her grandmother’s Holocaust experiences and to be better able to continue her legacy; for Glidden, maps become a way to concretize her shifting understanding of Israeli politics. I argue that maps play a seminal role in developing a more complex understanding of the events and challenges that shape each author’s life and experiences.