"Paracuellos", by Carlos Gimenez, is one of the first books I got access to via Netgalley back in 2016 when it first came out in the English language. Unfortunately, the digital arc was very difficult to read on the computer so I gave up on it. It was still a book that interested me, so years later I looked for a paperback copy and I do not regret it for a second.

"Paracuellos" is an autobiographical graphic novel, told in multiple anecdotes, about childhood in the Social Aid "Homes", in Spain, during Franco's dictatorial regime. It was published in Spain in 1977, after Franco's death, when Spain was trying to forget its brutal history. I learned a lot by reading the Editor's Note and Afterword about Spain's history and the historical context in which the novel was published, so I highly recommend not skipping those because they are very informative. As for the graphic novel itself, it was heartbreaking. The abuse that the children grew up with in the homes is despicable, and it ranged from neglect to physical abuse, and even to sexual abuse. Gimenez's art style portrays the horror of the social homes very well. Despite this being a relatively short graphic novel, with more art than words, it took me a while to read because it was all too much to take in at times.

Gimenez's "Paracuellos" stands strong next to Satrapi's "Persepolis" and Speigelman's "Maus" as a piece of non-fiction that uses the graphic format to tell an important story. I highly recommend it! My only regret about it is that it took me four years to read it since its English publication, but, better late than never!

An important reminder of how the graphic novel format can be used to entrench the reader in serious, true narratives that can break your heart but still make you chuckle.