This is the first volume of 10 in the Barefoot Gen series of manga. Young Gen lives in Hiroshima in 1945, with his four siblings, father, and pregnant mother. This first volume concerns the months leading up to the bombing of August 6, and gives an insightful look into what it was like living in Japan during the war. Gen's family is taunted and ostracized for his father's outspoken opposition to the war and starvation is a daily reality; Nakazawa illustrates such scenes as a fight between Gen and his brother over a single grain of rice. Fans of Spiegelman's Maus might enjoy this book- it is non-fiction, concerns a grave historical period, and really tugs at the reader's emotions. Like watching Titanic, you start reading this book knowing that it can't end happily. The whole read is gripping, all the way through to the very chilling ending.
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