Demi, author and illustrator,
Gandhi.
McElderry Books, 2001

Demi tells the story of a deeply spiritual life in this beautiful book, and her approach highlights both the promise and the difficulties of its genre: picture-book biography. Intertwining rich illustration and concise, lyrical text, such a book brings its subject to life in a way that no ordinary prose biography can. On the other hand, working within the confines of a short text and with an audience of young readers in mind, a picture-book biography must simplify a complex adult life, and such simplification may be misleading.

Demi’s description of Gandhi’s spiritual life is inspiring. She begins with maps on the endpapers, locating the countries important to Gandhi’s story: Great Britain, where he was educated; South Africa, where he practiced law and became a social activist; India, the country of his birth, where he inspired a nonviolent struggle for national independence; and Pakistan, the Muslim nation created when India was divided at the end of British rule. Throughout the book, the author-artist works from the premise that she states in her author’s note: "Gandhi was someone who completely succeeded in living his life according to the way in which he believed life should be lived – filled with spiritual awareness, love, and peace."

The artwork is colored in intense hues – purple, red, green, pink, blue – with the striking addition of gold, which brings shine and luster to an array of objects, including textiles, spinning wheels, musical instruments, architectural details (including prison bars), vessels, fire. In using rich color, especially gold, in a book about a man who renounced worldly goods, the artist cleverly appropriates color to describe spiritual, rather than worldly, riches.

Fitting Gandhi’s complicated legacy into the pages of a picture book poses many challenges. Some of the pictures are difficult to understand, particularly images that depict civic strife and nonviolent resistance. For example, a stunning picture depicting the plight of refugees at the division of India and Pakistan is explained only in the most general terms in the text. Demi emphasizes Gandhi’s connection to his mother’s religious faith, Jainism. Her choice to leave out any reference to Hindu tradition allows her to emphasize her subject’s belief in "the brotherhood of people of all religions," but it is only partially accurate.

Demi’s text is sensitive to cultural differences, consonant with an emphasis on spiritual tradition: "When Gandhi was thirteen years old, he was married according to Jain tradition. His wife was Kasturbai Makanji, a beautiful thirteen-year-old girl who possessed qualities of patience, strength, and courage." Demi emphasizes how Gandhi’s spiritual life helped him cope with racism and develop as a leader. She describes his compassion for impoverished people and his spiritual practices, including meditation and study of the Bhagavad-Gita. One of the most affecting passages in this moving book is a list of the few objects Gandhi possessed at his death: "two spoons, two pots, three monkeys, three books, one pocket watch, one pair of eyeglasses, one tin bowl (a souvenir from prison), one desk set, two pairs of sandals," and a homespun cotton garment.

Susan Marie Swanson
Winter 2001-2002