Dreams in Thin Air

In 1997, Danish business student Nybrandt embarked on a journey to create a Tibetan national football team. The biggest impediment, of course, was the international recognition of China’s claim on the region. This graphic novel (originally crowdfunded) is Nybrandt’s own account of the challenge of getting Tibet’s team assembled, funded, trained, and—most importantly—allowed to play an international match against Greenland. Mikkelsen’s simple, beautiful illustrations help break down a complex, often political story into something very easy to understand. But that’s also to the book’s detriment, as it shorts the contributions of the numerous people who helped realize the dream, becoming something of a heroic white savior story. It’s told strictly through Nybrandt’s point of view, so readers will understand what it means for him personally to see the Tibetans play against Greenland, but they’re never given access to what it means for the actual Tibetan players. (Mar.)