Alte Zachen: Old Things (Publishers Weekly Best Books 2022)

紐約不再是記憶中的模樣，一股疏離感使奶奶不禁抱怨連連。跟著祖孫倆的腳步橫跨紐約尋找晚餐食材，隨著場景變換，拼湊奶奶的回憶，一瞥她的童年與隱於城市中的成長點滴。跨越世代的圖像小說，透過孫子眼睛看到奶奶曾經擁有青澀過往。

This first graphic novel from Cicada follows 11-year-old Benji and his elderly grandmother, Bubbe Rosa, as they traverse Brooklyn and Manhattan, gathering the ingredients for a Friday night dinner. Bubbe's relationship with the city is complex - nothing is quite as she remembered it and she feels alienated and angry at the world around her. Benji, on the other hand, looks at the world, and his grandmother, with clear-eyed acceptance.

As they wander the city, we catch glimpses of Bubbe's childhood in Germany, her young adulthood in 1950s Brooklyn, and her relationships; first with a baker called Gershon, and later with successful Joe, Benji's grandfather. Gradually we piece together snippets of Bubbe's life, gaining an insight to some of the things that have formed her cantankerous personality. The journey culminates on the Lower East Side in a moving reunion between Rosa and Gershon, her first love.

As the sun sets, Benji and his Bubbe walk home over the Williamsburg Bridge to make dinner. This is a powerful, affecting and deceptively simple story of Jewish identity, of generational divides, of the surmountability of difference and of a restless city and its inhabitants.

Ziggy Hanaor is a publisher and writer. She is the author of Alex and Alex, Fly Flies and the Pocket Chaotic. This is her first graphic novel.
Benjamin Phillips works in various mediums, straddling the disciplines of illustration and fine art. From his studio in Hastings, Benjamin finds inspiration in human interaction, the humour and turmoil of everyday life and the joy of repetition. His clients include New York Times, Penguin Random House, Ebury Press and the British Council.