A Jewish cartoonist's story about his emigration from Belgium to Israel at the age of 20 and the culture shock he experienced over the intervening 40 years. It's a enthralling look into the everyday life of Israelis through an outsider's perspective. I love reading about other cultures. Seeing Israel through a cartoonist's stories and art was interesting.

WOW! What a comic strip!

This is the biography of the author, Michel Kichka, who was a Jew born in Belgium. Who stepped his feet on the hot soil of Tel Aviv one summer in 1969,and fell in love with the country. He then moved there once he finished his formal years, and so the story goes.

Set on the 70's when kids nowadays don't know nothing about, the struggle, the life in Israel that is so untouchable to most of us, is kinda fascinate me. But to be honest, this comic is not what I expected to spend my leisure time on. It's not that easy to digest, and you must know Israel's history to be able to discern some scenes.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with the ARC.

I love graphic memoirs and Falafel with Hot Sauce by Michel Kichka is a perfect example of a well drawn memoir. Interesting and thought provoking, I finished this book in a single sitting.

I have never heard of this author before but I will definitely check him out more now.

A very effective pictorial autobiography – a form graphic novels do immensely well, given the right talent and subjects – of a Belgian lad who made his home where his spirit said it was, in the Holy Land of Israel. It starts with BJs and other initiations on kibbutzes, and soon progresses to a young family that is subject to so many wars and militarised problems it's little wonder the couple become politicised. She takes up the placard and the linked arm, he takes up the pen and builds from the drawing board up. I didn't know his work, but I saw here how his loaded, snappy, political comics must have been a success. The style – the colouring and the line work – is a little more rough and ready than fully polished, and only a man like this could get away with drawing such noses on such faces, but the full intent of the book is achieved. We don't know if he ever got the taste for the titular foodstuff, but he certainly grew roots in Israel, and however bad it gets, there should always be ice cream on offer. A really pleasant, but emotion-laden, book – at least four stars.

I seem to be stumbling on some weighty graphic novels of late. This is no exception. I had not heard of the author before or seen his work. I just noticed it was based in a time and place that I had little to no knowledge of and I set out to rectify that.

I liked the art of the book, the emotions of the characters from weariness to anger - everything was described without actually saying the words. It spans the life of Michel Kichka from when he first went to Israel and almost to the present time. It covers a lot of ground, with a lot of emotions and upheaval within the pages. I was only jarred by the constant back and forth of the timeline. In some places, I enjoyed the effect and not so much in the others. I was already trying to absorb a lot and would have loved it if had been broken into chapters and the chronology varied within that or overall kept to a steady change to time. This is his life, and he goes through a lot to get to the point he has, and the panels shine that message through.

He witnesses many political changes, and his growing family also contributes to the country that he chooses to move to and settle in. It is not for light reading but quite an interesting one and taught me a few things. It had me thinking about parts of the world that I do not regularly get a chance to ever consider. I highly recommend this to anyone who is okay with reading this format and is interested in looking at life in Israel in the past few decades.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my reading experience.

A very engaging read.The author shares with us his love for Israel.He shares with us the reason he left Belgium to settle here.Wonderful drawings an engaging look at the country the people the food.#netgalley#europecomics

A Wide Ranging Memoir

This is Michel Kichka's memoir of his life in Israel, from his arrival there at the age of twenty up to the present - a span of over 40 momentous years. It is a personal tale, a cultural tale, and a history, and shifts subtly during the course of the telling.

For me, the first two-thirds of the book were the most interesting. It is filled with optimism, incident, and ground level insight about Israel and Israeli culture. There is humor and joy, but it is tinged by a slight air of wistfulness, since we know that time will bring great changes to Israeli society. By the final third we learn a great deal about Kichka's professional life and less and less about his personal life or about day to day life in Israel. This part is overtly political, at least in that we share Kichka's disappointment in the rightward drift of Israeli politics. His love of his country is never diminished, but his hope and optimism seem to fade.

But of course that's all part of the big picture, and Kichka is honest and direct in his telling. You will learn more about Israel's history and society than you might have thought possible, and meet a generous and thoughtful tale teller, (and a range of fascinating and colorful characters), along the way. An excellent find.

(Please note that I had a chance to read a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the

This graphic novel is a memoir which tells the story of cartoonist and comic book author Michel Kichka. Born and brought up in Belgium Michel moved to Israel at 20 and made a life there. Now forty five (thereabouts) years later Michel tells us the story of his life in Israel and his activities as a peace advocate.

It is well drawn and brightly coloured and it is also informative because it tells us about life in Israel through all the joys and pains of living there.

It is also a story about family and about love. Love of country, family, neighbour and peace.

I thought it was a bit too wordy for me in places but I don't think it could be done any other way. It is a truly fascinating story and well worth reading.

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thanks SO MUCH to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
This started out pretty good--but I loved where it took me! The author moved to Israel as a young man and chronicles his life there in t his graphic memoir--following his life there, his service to Israel, marriage, parenting his sons through their defense service, emphasizing throughout his commitment to peace, and ending with a lovely discussion of the friends he has made through an international group of political cartoonists for peace. This is a little gem and will beautifully repay the time one spends on it.

Falafel with Hot Sauce by Script and art by Michel Kichka I really enjoyed this book. It had everything in it, it was colourful throughout with a great story from a political cartoonist by Michel Kichka he bought us a brilliant, informative and uplifting story of his life and love affair with Israel the land he was inspired to move to and live there from the age of twenty.
Michel found it a culture shock at first with all the customs Israel had to the mandatory military service etc. it tells us a story from his art school to human tragedies, He shows us through his cartoon script which is very detailed and colourful throughout. You will also find out about his life as an artist and in more detail, his family who just wanted peace. Michel was Belgian Jew turned Israeli, living in the beautiful and troubled city of Jerusalem.

Thank you to Netgalley for a his e-book/comic ARC to read and review.

Having discovered the magic of graphic memoirs a few years ago, the premise of Falafel With Hot Sauce swept me up immediately. I have read and heard stories from friends about their personal trips to Israel as teens, and how some made the aliyah to immigrate and live there. I wouldn't say that this story is as gripping as I first thought, but I appreciated seeing the author's view, especially as he grew into his craft. As a Navy Veteran in the United States, I can only imagine the trepidation of not only being conscripted yourself, but having to watch your children go through the same process. I appreciate the values that Michel and his wife instill upon their children in showing that there is a way to peace, even if the start is cartooning with what other people consider the opposition.

This book was recommended to me as an ARC on NetGalley.

The author of Second Generation is back with another autobiographical graphic novel, this time detailing his love affair with the land of Israel and why he chose to leave his native Belgium to relocate to the middle East. He also explains why and how he became a political cartoonist, what he thinks of the current state of politics in his area, and what it was living through several wars, both major and minor.

Thanks for allowing me to read this book, but sorry it is impossible to read on my screen. My eyes are hurting now and my head is not happy. I can either decide on tiny font that is unreadable, or enlarge it to a decent size and have it broken and blurry.
But the book itself, from what I read (40 pages before it was just too much) was great. I really liked reading it and it was very interesting. I would love to get this book when it is out in paperback/hardcover.

This is a fine book and I’m indebted once more to the scope of publisher Europe Comics for producing a great graphic novel and NetGalley for providing me with an early opportunity to read it.
“From Michel Kichka, comes the autobiographical story of his relationship with Israel, the country he chose to hitch his destiny to in 1974, at the age of 20.
An insight into over 40 years of adult life spent in Jerusalem, told through the people he’s met and the political events he’s experienced, this is the story of a life in a land of conflict - a life, that while complex, was one he chose.”
So the commentary at the end of the book records.

Read it and you’ll see this does not really reflect the struggle he faced; his character and his ability to reach beyond religion and race to make friends and embrace all people with his love of cartoon drawing and political satire.
I was fortunate to visit Israel in 1979 and the experiences Michel related in his early days trying to be accepted in the land were telling and interesting to read and reflect upon.
I recommend this comic book without any reservation it is about a man who speaks a universal language through his art and experiences.
It shares a lifetime of struggle and the political fallout of a country that initially fought to survive but later just went to war in a more conventional way.
Some of the atrocities that have been committed were also a struggle to read. While he isn’t keeping score he clearly calls out violence and illustrates this wonderfully in his critique of a cartoon depicting a bomb falling on a child.
It gives some historical context to the conflicts in the Middle East. At a time of a recent attack in New Jersey and anti-Semitic concerns raised in the December 2019 U.K. general election brought a balance perspective on things.
There is great humour throughout “They say the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years to get to the Promised Land......And we came to the Promised Land to go wander in the desert.”
Kichka’s humility is also a stand out quality here and, all in all makes for a brilliant piece of wonderful drawings and cartoons supported by memories and the talented people he’s met in his life.