Barefoot Gen

Now here is the true genius of the form realised. Keiji Nakazawa's 4 book series tells the story of the A-bomb atrocity in Hiroshima from a little boy's perspective, complete with all the horrors and emotion possible in a comic book. The black and white images of the aftermath are distrubing and compelling. The book is a type of traditional manga and has been translated from the original Japanese, which seems to add credence to the form since manga is a definite Japanese style.

Historical writing appeals to me. The graphic form of telling history especially in this case, really hits home because of the personalities of the characters. Words alone don't get the whole story, although it takes a strong artist to convey the feelings of the people well. I became more and more sympathetic to Gen and his family as I read, hoping that things would work out for the characters, but knowing that most of them would die from injuries, radiation sickness, starvation and whatnot.

It is good to learn about culture from new viewpoints, so I feel that it is important to read books like Gen, although I don't know that there are many this good. Nakazawa often refers to his family's political stance on the roots of Japanese imperialism. They felt that the war was a creation of Japanese business men who cared nothing of the damage it would do, and only of their own profit.

CMB