Barefoot Gen- Keiji Nakazawa

Well, I said that I have been making an effort to shake things up a bit in my reading and this week is no exception. Barefoot Gen, or "Hadashi no Gen" in Japanese, is a comic strip based on the author's own experience of the Hiroshima bombing in the closing months of the Second World War 1945. In volume one, the story follows the boy protagonist Gen's life before the bombing, depicting the harsh conditions of war in Japan,and the hardships faced by poorer families who objected to a war started by the rich.

Even though I am half Japanese, this was the first time I have ever read manga and it was an experience I was totally unprepared for. This volume is just over 200 pages long but is readable on a two hour commute. The illustrations are unapologetically graphic, and I actually felt quite self conscious on the train reading a book with cartoon pictures of atomic bomb victims walking down streets with skin peeling from their bodies and of small children burning to death. The little old lady sitting next to me looked particularly startled. This book is not designed for readers to enjoy in the sense of that fuzzy feeling you get from reading comedies or romance novels. Nakazawa reminds the reader to make no mistake, there is nothing comfortable when it comes to war.

Using such a popular Japanese medium as manga to present such a horrific episode of history is an inspired choice. A young boy's experience of war is recounted in a way that the author himself would have avidly read as a child. The writer doesn't shy away from the reality of what happened to him and hundreds of thousands of others. He doesn't "disney-fy" the bombing of Hiroshima to make it more palatable for his readers. The glorious image of war that was fed to numerous populations during the 1940's is unceremoniously ripped apart in blunt black and white picture form. Although I am not used to reading comic strips, it was very easy to get used to because I wasn't distracted by overly elaborate illustrations or text. The reader is encouraged to focus on the story Nakazawa was trying to tell, the simplicity of the work allows it to perform the job he intended it to.

A new challenge when reading shouldn't be restricted to the subject matter, and can come in all forms. It was painful to read Barefoot Gen and yet I am already clicking to buy the second volume on Amazon as I write this. I would recommend this to someone who would like to learn about the human cost of Hiroshima. The manga form is very convenient and addictive, I nearly missed my stop on the train because I was so involved in the story. Don't be fooled by its convenience, the complete set is just over 2000 pages long so it is an investment of your time, and nothing could be more worth it.

Verdict: Please don't give this to young children in their first foray into manga. For someone looking  for an alternative way to become immersed in history. This will shock, awe and draw you in completely.