Journal Entry 1 by greedyreader from Oakland, New Jersey USA on Friday, April 29, 2005

What a impactful book!

The author was 6 when the bomb dropped 1K away from his preschool. His father and two siblings were at home and crushed under their fallen house. The father and brother, who were not immediately crushed by the fallen house, were burned when the fire from the blast reached them. The mother, who was 8 months pregnant, witnessed this. She tried to get help but everyone was in a daze. The shock of what happened sent her into labor. She gave birth by the side the road. When Nakazawa made his way back to his house -- at 6!!! -- this is what he encountered. (The baby did not live long after the bombing.)

Nakazawa went on to be a cartoonist. In 1972, he decided to write an autobiographical account of surviving the atomic blast, originally called I Saw It. A year later he started the Gen series.

This book, the first in the series and reprinted in 2004 by LastGasp publishing (forward by Art Spiegelman), shows a chilling account of the events leading up to the bombing.

This family has a few more siblings than Nakazawa's. The oldest brother is sent to training school, another is sent to a work farm in the country, the youngest three are home with pregnant mom and anti-war father. The father's anti-war protests get the family in trouble with the town. Everyone in Japan is starving due to rationing, but this family is in even worse straights because people call the father a traitor. The only person who shows sympathy towards them is a Korean 'slave' (taken away from his homeland and made to work) named Mr. Pak. The kids taunt Mr. Pak, but Gen apologizes for this after Mr. Pak gives them some food.

The oldest brother signs up for the war because he wants to bring honor to his disgraced family. There are some poignant scenes where the father disowns his son, but then shows up at the train station shouting "Bonzai!"

The last few pages show what happened August 6, 1945 at 8:15 AM.

The first effort to translate Barefoot Gen into other languages came in 1976, when peace activists Masahiro Oshima and Yukio Aki walked across the United States as part of that year's Transcontinental Walk for Peace and Soacial Justice. Their fellow walkers frequently asked them about the bombing of Hiroshima and one of them happened to have a copy of Hadashi no Gen in his backpack. The Americans on the walk, astonished that an atomic bomb survivor had written about it in cartoon form, urged their friends to translate it into English. Upon returning to Japan, Oshima and Aki founded Project Gen, a non-profit, all-volunteer group of young Japanese and Americans living in Tokyo, to do just that. Project Gen went on to translate the first 4 volumes of Barefoot Gen into English.

It has been translated into many languages in the hope that humanity will never repeat the terrible tragedy of the atomic bombing.

Our prayer is that this book will contribute in some small way to the abolition of nuclear weapons before this new century is over.
 

Journal Entry 2 by greedyreader from Oakland, New Jersey USA on Friday, April 29, 2005

This is on a bookray to Germany!

Please read within one month and mail to the next person. Here is the ray order:

1. ekaterin4luv
2. campsy
3. rowlf
4. maresa
5. wasserseele
6. popitze
7. Hoelli-Harnsn
8. starfarer2000
9. sternschnuppe28
10. blups25
11. hellfinger
12. to be determined

 

Journal Entry 3 by ekaterin4luv from Nürnberg, Bayern Germany on Sunday, May 08, 2005

Thank you, greedyreader. I just got back from the international Meet-Up in Basel (Switzerland) and found this in my mailbox. :) 

Journal Entry 4 by ekaterin4luv from Nürnberg, Bayern Germany on Saturday, June 25, 2005

I realized that i was a teenager since I last read some comics. But Barefoot Gen is no Mickey Mouse or Asterix. Not everything is right with the world at the end of the book.
The story is painted in black strokes, the hardships of hunger and the cruelty of war, even before "the bomb". As this is part one in a series, this depicts Gen's life before and right when Little Boy exploded over Hiroshima in a very very moving way.

Barefoot Gen moves on to campsy. 

Journal Entry 5 by anonymous23 on Tuesday, June 28, 2005

The book just arrived. Thank you greedyreader and ekaterin4luv! 

Journal Entry 6 by anonymous23 on Monday, July 11, 2005

I finished the book yesterday and was very impressed. I read a lot of manga, also with serious topics, but I've never read a (semi-)biographical one. The abstract drawings together with the glaring realism of the story carry more weight to me than a simple text could have done.
When I was looking for another book in my sister's bookshelf two days ago I found a book about Hiroshima of John Hersey (in german). What a coincidence! I'm reading it right now and I think I'm going to make a BookRing of it on the 6th of August, the 60th anniversary of this terrible day.

I sent the book to rowlf today. 

Journal Entry 7 by Maresa from Bayreuth, Bayern Germany on Thursday, July 14, 2005

The book arrived today. Than k you very much, I'll hurry to read it ;-) 

Journal Entry 8 by Maresa from Bayreuth, Bayern Germany on Friday, July 15, 2005

And I'm ready. This was my first real Japanese comic book and I really... can I say enjoyed it? It was very moving, especially the last pages about the atomic bombing - althoug it was a comic I felt quite connected with Gen's family... Uh, what can I say now? Thank you very much for this ring, and I think I know what I wish for Christmas (I saw the first three volumes in German). I will send it to wasserseele next week ;-) 

Journal Entry 9 by Popitze from Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Monday, August 01, 2005

The book arrived a couple of days ago (we skipped Wasserseele for her being on holiday), but I have been sick, so I didn't manage to journalize (is that a word? I'm not quite sure...) earlier. Thanks so far, more when I finished the book.

03.Sept.05
What a sad and moving story! The fact that it's biographical makes it even worse. To tell the truth: I couldn't fight back the tears, especially at the very end of the book.
Thank you greedyreader for this touching read!

Will be sent to Wasserseele soon 

Journal Entry 10 by Wasserseele from Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz Germany on Saturday, September 10, 2005

The book arrived today. Thank you greedyreader and Popitze! 

Journal Entry 11 by Wasserseele from Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz Germany on Monday, May 01, 2006

As a start, I beg your pardon for keeping the book for such a long time. I started reading it over and over again, and for some reason couldn't get on with it. And I wanted absolutely to read it because I think it's an important book. Now I made it at last.

To be honest, it was a hard piece of work for me to get through this cartoon story. The style of drawing doesn't appeal much to me and Gen's family is irritating. I disgusted this constantly beating and bashing father fiercely - how can anyone be against war and fight so violent against his own children in the same time? I know that educational methods in Europe were alike in those days, but I really find it hard to look at.

So now that I've read it finally I'm glad I did and know what's it about, but I sure won't read it one more time.

Thanks a lot, greedyreader, for giving us the opportunity to get to know this cartoon story!

Barefoot Gen is on his way to Hoelli-Harnsn now. 

Journal Entry 12 by Hoelli-Harnsn from Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg Germany on Friday, March 02, 2007

Ooops, sorry for the late jounal entry.

Great story with great paintings about the last days of war and against any war. 

Journal Entry 13 by Hoelli-Harnsn at sent to fellow bookcrosser in Stuttgart, Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Monday, March 05, 2007

Released 5 yrs ago (3/5/2007 UTC) at sent to fellow bookcrosser in Stuttgart, Bookray -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

The book is on its way to starfarer2000. 

Journal Entry 14 by starfarer2000 from Hamburg, Hamburg Germany on Thursday, March 15, 2007

Thanks to greedyreader for this bookray! It is now a long on its way, but it still looks like new! I'm very curious about this cartoon story, have read the "Mouse"-books from Art Spiegelman, very impressive. More later.
Thanks Hoelli-Harnsn for sending me the book. :-)

Now I have read the book, a very impressive story. Unfortunately I have to say, that I don't like the style of drawing, but thats my personal feeling. I liked Art Spiegelman much more, so it was not so easy for me to read this comicbook. I would like to know more about Gen's story, but I don't like to read the next volume of this comic.
So thanks a lot for this bookring, I learned a lot of personal history of Japanese people in war times. I hope many people in the world will read this or likewise books about the war and THE BOMB! 

Journal Entry 15 by Sternschnuppe28 from Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz Germany on Friday, March 30, 2007

thanks for sending!

Book review (April 22, 2007):
I am actually not a passionate comic reader, but once in a while I like to read one. "Barefoot Gen" is a must read for everyone, who is interested in WWII and the situation in Japan just in summer 1945 before and after the atomic bombing. It draws a very plastic and deeply-moving picture of the life and hardship of the Japanese people at that time. To read and see the pictures about the atomic bombing in Hiroshima was almost not bearable. A very well-drawn anti-war comic.

Blups25 was just busy with other rings, so she asked me to skip her, and I forwarded the book to hellfinger in the meantime. 

Journal Entry 16 by AnonymousFinder on Thursday, April 12, 2007

The book arrived today. I'll read it during the next weeks.
Is there already a number 12 ??

CAUGHT IN BAD LAUTERBERG GERMANY 

Journal Entry 17 by hellfinger from Frankfurt am Main, Hessen Germany on Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The anonymous finder was me ;-) I got it on Thursday and finished it on Saturday. It's a realy nice book and shoud be read by more then 10 or 11 persons.

Oh man hab ich lange nichts mehr in englisch geschrieben. Entschuldigt die schlechte Ausdrucksweise. ;-) Fand das Buch sehr gut, hatte den Krieg noch nie aus der Sicht japanischer Bürger gesehen. Habe mir zwar vorgestellt, dass sie auch viel Leid ertragen mussten, aber dieser Nationalismus war mir nicht so bewusst.
Es wird deutlich gezeigt was Krieg den Menschen und Familien antut, auch wenn die Kämpfe noch nichtmal in unmittelbarer Nähe sind. Alleine die Probleme die die Familie bekomt weil sie den Krieg nicht unterstützen und versuchen irgendwie zu überleben.

Hoffentlich findet sich noch jemand der es lesen mag! 

Journal Entry 18 by Schneefee from Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Friday, May 18, 2007

took it from my packstation this morning.

Just in case the sheet inside gets lost:
more participants in this ray are
Lesenmachtfroh
blups25
Leseratte37 

Journal Entry 19 by Schneefee from Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Wednesday, May 30, 2007

a moving book, nevertheless digustingly violent and brutal - which makes it even more sad when you know all this was true.
I didn't like the drawing-style either, but that's just a matter of taste and it doesn't detract the impression this book leaves behind. I think that we're told too little about the Japanese participation in the war (at least I was), just that there was a bomb over Hiroshima and we better don't do that again. Many people died and many more suffered from the effects years and decades later. In fact, I was [i]surprised[/i] to read how bad it really was before the dropping of "Little Boy", and I was shocked to see what exactly was caused.
I definitely want to know what happened to Gen later, so I'll watch out for the following volumes. 

Journal Entry 20 by Lesenmachtfroh from Nürnberg, Bayern Germany on Saturday, July 07, 2007

This seems to be very different book from those I usually read. What made you send this ray to Germany, greedyreader? Thank you very much for it. 

Journal Entry 21 by Lesenmachtfroh from Nürnberg, Bayern Germany on Friday, July 20, 2007

I couldn'd stop reading this book. Many of the aspects were said by my prereaders. It's not a book to enjoy, but it's a book not to miss. I would like to know about the following volumes as well. Have you got hold of any Maresa?
Thank you greedyreader for starting this ring for Germany. 

Journal Entry 22 by Lesenmachtfroh at BookRing in -- Per Post geschickt/ Persönlich weitergegeben --, Bayern Germany on Saturday, July 21, 2007

Released 4 yrs ago (7/21/2007 UTC) at BookRing in -- Per Post geschickt/ Persönlich weitergegeben --, Bayern Germany

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Geht an Leseratte 37 

Journal Entry 23 by Leseratte37 from Eppelheim, Baden-Württemberg Germany on Monday, July 23, 2007

Came today with mail, thanks for sending this ray. Is now on my mtbr.