The editor's note that prefaces the galley copy of "Guantanamo Voices" claims the book does not justify or condemn the existence of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. But that's not true, it's a book designed to make you angry – quite rightly and quite well.

The choice of epigraphs – excerpts from the US Constitution and Geneva Conventions – immediately skewers the hypocrisy on which the camp was built and continues to be maintained. It's a story in which America is a champion of liberty, beacon of hope in one hand and sword of justice in the other. "Hey, what are you getting all up on us for? We're the good guys!"

What are frequently referred to as "American" values are in fact values shared by most of the Western world: they have democracy in Germany, you can get a fair trial in France, individual freedom is protected in Canada. So when America doesn't uphold hose values, it's not just failing to uphold its own high-minded ideals, it's using its position of cultural, economic and military dominance to excuse itself from the responsibilities it still claims to champion.

It's a book that makes you angry to remember there is no such thing as evil, but that there is a lot of motivated cruelty in the world. Motivated by fear, inadequacy and arrogance. It's doubtful anyone truly believes any of the men still held at the camp represents a significant threat to the United States, but plenty of people do have bases to motivate and faces to save.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

This deserves an award R I G H T N O W! what a powerful book goddamn. Made me reflect on things that I never thought about in the most especial way, and for that, thank you Sarah

What a powerful story. There are so many lies that have been told to us about GITMO and this little graphic novel attempts to dispell the myths and expose these secrets. Each chapter follows a different person affected by or how has experienced GITMO for themselves. These stories are heartbreaking and angry producing. When the haze of fear and revenge fades we all must look at our choices and determine whether or not we are proud of what we have done. GITMO will forever tarnish our history. No amount of scrubbing or polishing will erase the scar. Guantanamo Voices highlights the great need for us as a nation to stare into the eyes of our mistakes and take ownership of this shame. We must apologize for our misguided patriotism and fear. There is no way to heal the wounds we’ve inflicted on those detained there but we can learn from our mistakes and never repeat them. This is a must read for all.

This is the heaviest graphic novel I've ever read. I've always known that Gitmo was just one gigantic war crime, but the stories of those involved were shocking, i think this graphic novel attempts to bring to light some of the stories that people need to know.

Sarah Mirk and the various artists who worked on this did a fantastic job. The art was good and the stories ranged from intriguing to horrifying and it captured my interest right away.

I think this should be required reading in high schools and even in college because I never knew a lot of this stuff. Even some of the facts like there are 40 inmates still there was completely new to me.

I'm glad I read this and I'll recommend this to anyone willing to read it.

Guantanamo Voices is a compelling graphic novel that deserves a place in the graphic novel pantheon near March and Maus. Ten separate individuals are interviewed about their experiences at or related to Guantanamo, and each interview is illustrated by a different artist. To me, it seemed like a risky choice, but the artists and Mirk have worked to make the book a cohesive story, and instead of being choppy the differences simply highlight what is unique and personal about each narrator. Interviewees range from former prisoners, to military members stationed at the base in support and legal roles, to lawyers who are working on behalf of those who were and, in some cases still are, held in the prison without any formal charges.

I highly recommend it, and think that it’s a necessary reminder of one of the truths behind the curtain of American exceptionalism so often touted by politicians.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

A beautifully illustrated, bright and illuminating history of this nation's present illness. Mirk writes with authority and empathy, a story that urgently needs to be told about an aspect of recent history that has purposely been kept in shadow.

This book was really interesting. The different viewpoints of the people featured and their different roles, made this a fascinating but also chilling read. There are parts of this book that I would consider using with children, however this is very much a book for adults.

I read this using the Netgalley app and found that the text, because it is a scanned image, was quite difficult to read at times. Zooming in just made it blurry and some of the passages were on a background colour too similar to the text. If I hadn't been so engaged with the book, this may have caused me to give up. Keep going though, as it is very much worth it.

really enjoyed this book, the illustrations and depictions of the people in the stories perfectly. I was initially drawn to the book because of its unique content being about a unique topic, but the additions of the illustrations brought a new aspect to the stories. I even read some of the information included in the beginning of the book to my young cousins and they were entranced by the topic and wanted to learn more. Highly recommend reading this book an will be buying a coy copy at its release.

This graphic novel was an absolute 5 star read. Drawn from the author's interviews with a variety of different people involved with Guantanamo Bay, including former prisoners, legal representatives, military personnel and others, these narratives then were story boarded and illustrated into graphic novel form by a number of different artists. This amazing book was frequently touching and horrifying, making me cry more than once during it's 200 pages.

Describing itself as 'an antidote to forgetting', Guantanamo Voices is such an important read; reminding us that, although it is no longer reported in the mainstream media, the detentions continue, indefinitely. Even now, the sheer immorality of the camp's legal position should be more widely known.

I loved Guantanamo Voices and cannot wait to recommend it to everyone I know.

This graphic novel should 100% be required reading in middle or high schools, especially for American schools. Guantanamo Bay feels like a myth or a legend to those of my generation because of the amount of mystery and lying involved in it. I learned a lot that the media never covered, either due to lack of permissions or due to not risking the publication, and the youth of this country deserve to know the truths hidden in the Bay as well.

I read about a third of the book before having to, unfortunately, give up on it. The eBook version that is provided is nearly impossible to read without severe eye-strain. The font is minuscule and blurry and there's no way to zoom in either. I was looking forward to this but the reading experience made it very, very difficult.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me a fee copy in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this! This is such an important read because of everything that happened in Quantanamo. I think this is definitely a new favourite of mine. Even though I thought the art work wasn't really my style it didn't bother me with the story because the story was so captivating that it was so easily readable. Not in a way of no event happening but in a way of the way the comic it written.

I would love to read more about Quantanamo and and everything that happened there. Since a comic can never tell the whole story and I am now motivated to learn more about it. I can't wait.

Definitely recommend.

I couldn’t read it. It needs to be reworked in order to be read on a tablet. In the very beginning there was white font on a color that straight up obscured the font. I really hope this gets fixed before publication.

This is a fascinating graphic novel that tackles an ambitious and challenging topic: Guantanamo. Sarah Mirk writes about taking a tour of Guantanamo as a writer, and learning about the harsh realities, she takes us through the history of the military base and detention centre, and shares the stories of actual prisoners and folks who have tried to help detainees. It’s eye opening and very emotional. One note: anyone who received an ARC received this graphic Novel in black and white. I found it hard to read and also capture what the finished product will look like, but I think once it’s in full colour it will really add to the reader experience. I did find I struggled with the lack of colour. Can’t wait to get my hands on a hard copy!

Quick read, beautiful illustrations - read like a comic book, at times a little hard on the eyes going back and forth between the two fonts. Otherwise amazing numbers and things I never knew about Guantanamo. It is pretty freaky to think of how much this is kept a secret. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for the advance copy*

At the end of his presidency a young student asked Obama about his regrets. Obama immediately responded that he wished he had closed Guantanamo Bay on the first day of his presidency and that the "path of least resistance" is what led to it remaining open. Prior to reading this, that summed up my feelings on Guantanamo. Information about what was happening there was never really public and we were all made to think that the most dangerous terrorists in the world were being held their for our safety.

This was an eye opening book. Sarah Mirk shows us Guantanamo Bay through the eyes of former prosecutors, military personnel, and prisoners. It's heart breaking and will rightfully make you angry about the US legal system and government and military readership. If you are unaware of what has been happening at Guantanamo, this is a great introduction.

My only complaints are that I wish it was longer and had more interviews. It was fascinating.

(Note for the publisher: This was nearly impossible to read on the Kindle app (iPhone and iPad). I had to zoom in on every page and it was really blurry. I may have to read it again because I found that glitch to be really distracting/nausea inducing.)

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Sarah Mink's graphic novel depicting the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay completely captivated me from the first page. Each story told was thought-provoking and poignant. I loved the different illustration styles and each story felt they were told separately. The comic strip style format makes this important subject easily accessible for a range of ages. Although each story was short, each one was incredibly informative and made an impact. This book is powerful and I thought about it long after I had finished it. Would highly recommend this book.
Trigger warnings: Torture, Violence.

This is an absolutely phenomenal graphic novel. It tells the real-life stories of the people working and living in the prison at Guantanamo.

I learned about Guantanamo during my MA in Politics in 2012-16 and was instantly reminded of the camps that Nazi Germany operated during WWII. History repeats itself time upon time, as we watch certain religious, ethnic and racial groups profiled and their lives made a living hell. Today, Islamophobia is on the rise and it is something we each have a responsibility to squash within our communities. Guantanamo was established upon - and is maintained by - racism and Islamophobia.

When I read They Called Us Enemy by George Takei earlier this year, I was outraged about the way Japanese people living in America were treated during the Second World War. The truth is that the same, if not worse, is happening today.

The US and UK Government created a war with an ideology (the War on Terror) in order to invade countries in the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region, demonise an entire religion and systematically oppress and undermine their existence in the UK, US and (latterly) European countries. It is terrifying to watch history repeat itself in this way.

Guantanamo prison serves as a constant, physical reminder of the racism inherent in the US Government's policies and practices. To place it offshore was, simply put, an easy way to avoid abiding by US constitutional law. However, it was also a way for the US to dial down anti-Guantanamo activism. Had the prison been located on US soil, I (possibly naively) think more US citizens would be closely monitoring its activities and participating in active protests against its existence. As horrifying as it is, the phrase "out of sight, out of mind" comes to mind.

Guantanamo Voices gives space for the stories of the people who lived and worked in the prison to be heard. For the prisoners who have been deeply dehumanised by US and UK media, Guantanamo Voices stands strong as a force of humanity and a rallying cry for the abolishment of the use of the base at Guantanamo as a site of imprisonment.

I hope their cry is heard and answered.

I think every American citizen should read this book. Every single one. Each individual has a duty to learn about what's going on in that offshore prison: about the way that the prisoners were captured, the US-sanctioned torture (paid for with their taxes), the illegal detainment of hundreds of people, the role of the military in upholding the prison and the continued imprisonment of people who have been deemed to pose no threat to the United States of America.

It is a deeply unsettling read, as it should be, but I have put some content warnings below. The torture scenes were extremely upsetting for me to read, as a strong human right advocate, but I'm glad that the brutality of what happens in the prison is not neglected from this narrative.

I cannot recommend Guantanamo Voices highly enough!


Content warnings: torture, nudity, war, violence, guns.

I couldn’t really get into the story because it was so hard to read. Usually I get graphic novels as a pdf so I can zoom into it but that’s not possible on the kindle app. For that reason it was hard to identify what the text said. On top of that the art style didn’t have a good quality either. So unfortunately I dnfed it.

3.5 stars

As the realm of the comic book platform continues to expand, it is exciting to see works like this one emerge. The graphic memoir is becoming more prolific in literary circles, so the time for a work is hard-hitting journalism exposing a contemporary issue seems to be upon us. The work is impactful and highly detailed. Likewise with the artistry.

It is disheartening to learn what has occurred with the prisoners and policies since 2001 and continues to occur through multiple administration changes. I am concerned that the target audience for graphic novels is too young for readers to remember Gitmo in the news, so the shock value could be lost on them. I can only hope that with exposure will come an opportunity for change. This work could be a tool in that conversation.