Barefoot Gen

80%

Apart from the repetition, this is high quality stuff indeed.

The characters are amply formed and the politics fully explained – even for the non Japanese; making the social milieu convincing and believable.

The hardships of living in a rapidly declining totalitarian and conformist state are detailed to build up a solid picture of why Japan began the Pacific War and why it – and all militaristic empires – ultimately failed.

Being told through the eyes of a child brilliantly highlights the emotional affect of the story of the atom bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945.


Article copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved. Frank TALKER is also the author of Sweaty Socks: A Treatise on the Inevitability of Toe Jam in Hot Weather (East Cheam Press: Groper Books, 1997) and is University of Bullshit Professor Emeritus of Madeupology.