![]()
Gen and his family of four siblings and parents live in Hiroshima, Japan during WWII. Times are very difficult — there is little to eat thanks to most of the food going to the war effort; neighbors report each other for speaking out against the war; and constraint air raids have everyone on edge. Gen’s brother Akira is evacuated with his school into the countryside while his father is hauled in and severely beaten for saying he doesn’t support the war. This causes the entire family to be branded as traitors and encourages the eldest son Koji to volunteer early for the pilot training force. Gen and Shinji constantly get into antics, which are usually pointless until their pregnant mother becomes ill, then the boys decide to use their skills to beg for change to help buy her nutritious food. Their days pass on while, looming in the background, American scientists inch closer to the atomic age.
The war brings out the violence in everyone, though some of that is heightened for slapstick moments to bring levity at times, but the result is mostly many moments of child abuse throughout masking the other traumas of wartime. This story shows a lot of terrors — how an entire populace are beguiled into believing a war is righteous, noble sacrifices lead to suicide, neighbors turn on each other, starvation, and many others.
Readers who begin with the author's note in the introduction will know this story is based on Nakazawa's on experiences in Hiroshima, and will also have some indication of what will happen to Gen's family with the bomb ultimately does drop. However, despite knowing ahead of time, and despite all of the horrors swirling around Gen, Nakazawa still manages to create a family of characters you hope will be spared. Thus, each page turn is agonizing as you wait for the explosion you know will come. It is masterfully done because all the while, these characters are mostly acting horribly to one another, but Nakazawa reminds us of our capacity for empathy by sparing no moment of brutality in depicting the nuclear horror that befalls everyone -- and reminding us that no human deserves that ever again. Barefoot Gen is an essential addition for any collection serving teen students with knowledge of the events of WWII. Sara's Rating: 10/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12 Publisher: Last Gasp Publication Date: October 15, 2016 ISBN: 9780867198317 (Paperback) Tags: Rating: 10/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Historical Fiction, War, Family
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About MeI've been reading manga and comicbooks for years. Now, I write reviews and other helpful things for School Librarians, teachers, parents, and students. Search this siteRatings, Audience, and Subject Tags
All
Archives
February 2025
|