Unterzakhn

Leela Corman’s Unterzakhn is a stark, emotionally charged graphic novel published by Schocken in 2012, telling the story of twin sisters growing up in the tenements of early 20th-century New York’s Lower East Side. Through their divergent paths—one drawn into the world of a burlesque dancer, the other into the underground of immigrant medicine—Corman explores themes of womanhood, survival, and the harsh realities of the Jewish immigrant experience. Though initially released as a single issue, the work stands as a powerful, self-contained narrative that has become a touchstone for its unflinching portrayal of history and the female body.