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iffer's review against another edition
3.0
From a historical perspective, both of the history of World War II, and the progression of graphic storytelling, as well as as a wrenching autobiography Barefoot Gen, is indispensable. The last pages of Barefoot Gen, Vol. 1 are hard to read, and I'm amazed at Nakazawa's resilience as a human being, ability to find hope in the future, and courage in sharing his story, which needed (and needs) to be told.
However, it's difficult for me to rate my reading experience as a contemporary reader since political opinions have shifted over the decades, and manga writing and drawing has progressed since the time that Barefoot Gen was published. In a way that made me uncomfortable, Barefoot Gen read like my elementary textbook, which is to say that the anti-war sentiments expressed felt overly palatable for an American and British audience. Art Spiegelman mentions this in his Introduction (which is better than any review that I could write, so you should really read *that*), writing that "by locating the casues ofo the bombings exclusively i nthe evils of Japanese militaristic nationalism rather than in the Realpolitik of Western racism and cold-war power-jockeying, Nakazawa may make the work a little too pleasurable for American and British readers," and I agree. It is also feasible that one of the reasons for such great appeal of Barefoot Gen in in the 1970s were that these sentiments paralleled the thoughts and feelings of Americans during and shortly after the US presence in Vietnam, most notably the idea that young boys were being thrown at the frontlines when rich men were lining their pockets and getting fat while others were experiencing hardship.
Part of the problem is that Barefoot Gen is, literally and figuratively, drawn with broad strokes, in part to provide comic relief and pacing to a set of stories that could easily become unbearably bleak. At least for my preferences, though, Barefoot Gen often falls, due to some combination of simple writing, bubbly drawing, and comic relief, just short of what it needs to be to achieve maximum emotional impact and levity.
However, it's difficult for me to rate my reading experience as a contemporary reader since political opinions have shifted over the decades, and manga writing and drawing has progressed since the time that Barefoot Gen was published. In a way that made me uncomfortable, Barefoot Gen read like my elementary textbook, which is to say that the anti-war sentiments expressed felt overly palatable for an American and British audience. Art Spiegelman mentions this in his Introduction (which is better than any review that I could write, so you should really read *that*), writing that "by locating the casues ofo the bombings exclusively i nthe evils of Japanese militaristic nationalism rather than in the Realpolitik of Western racism and cold-war power-jockeying, Nakazawa may make the work a little too pleasurable for American and British readers," and I agree. It is also feasible that one of the reasons for such great appeal of Barefoot Gen in in the 1970s were that these sentiments paralleled the thoughts and feelings of Americans during and shortly after the US presence in Vietnam, most notably the idea that young boys were being thrown at the frontlines when rich men were lining their pockets and getting fat while others were experiencing hardship.
Part of the problem is that Barefoot Gen is, literally and figuratively, drawn with broad strokes, in part to provide comic relief and pacing to a set of stories that could easily become unbearably bleak. At least for my preferences, though, Barefoot Gen often falls, due to some combination of simple writing, bubbly drawing, and comic relief, just short of what it needs to be to achieve maximum emotional impact and levity.
giorgina_serron's review against another edition
5.0
Se nota que es un relato dolido y descarnado de los días previos y meses posteriores a la detonación de 'Little boy' sobre la ciudad de Hiroshima en 1945.
Gen Nakaoka es la personificación de Nakazawa, el autor, dentro del manga. La cruda realidad se verá acompañada por la naturaleza del ser humano, cruel, luchando por sobrevivir, y también veremos las distintas acciones que tomarán los individuos a la hora de sobrevivir o proteger a Japón con fervor.
Nakazawa narran de manera vívida devastación y el dolor que que se encontró a su paso, pero mostrando a su vez, las pequeñas luces de esperanza que pueblan la experiencia humana.
Debo destacar que pasé por todas las emociones habidas y por haber mientras leía estas 700 páginas. Tuve pesadillas cuando terminé de leerlo y me acosté a dormir.
Tal vez teman darle una oportunidad por su tamaño pero les puedo asegurar que se lee en horas, es super entretenido y el hecho de que sea tan simple hace que llegue directamente a quién lo lea.
Gen Nakaoka es la personificación de Nakazawa, el autor, dentro del manga. La cruda realidad se verá acompañada por la naturaleza del ser humano, cruel, luchando por sobrevivir, y también veremos las distintas acciones que tomarán los individuos a la hora de sobrevivir o proteger a Japón con fervor.
Nakazawa narran de manera vívida devastación y el dolor que que se encontró a su paso, pero mostrando a su vez, las pequeñas luces de esperanza que pueblan la experiencia humana.
Debo destacar que pasé por todas las emociones habidas y por haber mientras leía estas 700 páginas. Tuve pesadillas cuando terminé de leerlo y me acosté a dormir.
Tal vez teman darle una oportunidad por su tamaño pero les puedo asegurar que se lee en horas, es super entretenido y el hecho de que sea tan simple hace que llegue directamente a quién lo lea.
zoet's review against another edition
4.0
Read this for grad JPT manga course. It's incredibly sad. War is pointless, people. I just want to voice that into the universe.
nukie19's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality and Pregnancy
toloveisdestroy's review against another edition
3.0
An extremely graphic and heartfelt experience of what it was like living through the horrifying bombings in Hiroshima. I highly recommend this for 17+.
estherbismarck's review against another edition
5.0
https://sustherlibros.wordpress.com/2018/01/13/resena-de-pies-descalzos-de-keiji-nakazawa/
bluenicorn's review against another edition
3.0
I read this about 7 years ago, and thought it was 'alright.' Now I re-read it and almost cried. It's poignant and reads true. Not an easy read, but there are some moments of light-hearted humor; and for a work that shows the worst of humanity, it also shows the best.
aartzer's review against another edition
5.0
Wow this just breaks my heart. The scene where the bomb was dropped? So sad..