From the groundbreaking graphics journalist and author of Palestine, a revealing investigation of the deadly sectarian riots in 2013 Uttar Pradesh, India, and their urgent global significance today.

Compared to other episodes of lethal Indian communal violence, the clashes in Uttar Pradesh in 2013, the Muzaffarnagar Riot, were a relatively small-scale event. It had happened before and will probably happen again: Hindus and Muslims, armed with guns and swords, fueled by inflammatory rhetoric and a web of accusations, turn against each other. The truth fractures along religious lines, both before the riot and in its bloody aftermath.

Joe Sacco immerses himself in Uttar Pradesh, speaking to government officials, political leaders, village chiefs, and especially the victims, who were mostly landless peasants, aiming to understand this riot as a model of political violence. In the process, he examines the role of brutality in a democracy; the power of crowds, rather than leaders, to influence events; the clash of competing narratives; and the stories that perpetrators build to justify their involvement in violence.

Sacco has documented the urgent histories shaping our world, from the Great War to Gaza. Here, the award-winning cartoonist applies his impressive visual storytelling to a story specific to India but with implications and resonance for all of us.

PRAISE FOR JOE SACCO: 'One of the masters of his craft' New Statesman. 'A pioneer of the genre' TLS. 'Incredibly talented.' Independent. 'The undisputed master of his particular field of contemporary literature' Dazed & Confused. 'Sacco's brilliant, harrowing books on war reportage are powerful... He demonstrates how much crucial to our lives a book can contain' New York Times Book Review.

Pages: 144, Dimensions: 19.1x19.1cm