A Bag of Marbles by Joseph JoffoIllustrator: Vincent Bailly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
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Source: Netgalley for an honest review
In 1941 in occupied Paris, brothers Maurice and Joseph play a last game of marbles before running home to their father's barbershop. This is the day that will change their lives forever. With the German occupation threatening their family's safety, the boys' parents decide Maurice and Joseph must disguise themselves and flee to their older brothers in the free zone. Surviving the long journey will take every scrap of ingenuity and courage they can muster. If they hope to elude the Nazis, they must never, under any circumstances, admit to being Jewish.
The boys travel by train, ferry, and on foot, facing threats from strangers and receiving help from unexpected quarters. Along the way they must adapt to the unfamiliar world beyond their city and find a way to be true to themselves even as they conceal their identities.
Based on an autobiographical novel by Joseph Joffo and adapted with the author's input, this true story offers a harrowing but inspiring glimpse of a childhood cut short.
The boys travel by train, ferry, and on foot, facing threats from strangers and receiving help from unexpected quarters. Along the way they must adapt to the unfamiliar world beyond their city and find a way to be true to themselves even as they conceal their identities.
Based on an autobiographical novel by Joseph Joffo and adapted with the author's input, this true story offers a harrowing but inspiring glimpse of a childhood cut short.
The story begins showing two brothers enjoying just being kids playing marbles. These children lead a normal life until his father sends them to a trip away from Paris, the only place they have known. The father asks them to travel by themselves into the free zone to protect them from the Nazi invasion. During this trip, the children get to know people who help them get to their destination. On this trip, the kids manage to stay one step ahead of the Nazi army by the ingenuity that characterizes them and the kindness of people thye find. Eventually, every member of the family travels while facing difficult situations. This is a story of survival and effort to find a safe place.
This comic is inspired by the story of Joseph Joffo. The tone of the comic is generally suitable for the situations presented. I find contradictory the reactions the characters show while experiencing stressful situations. They show no fear or intense reaction.
The comic kept me constantly reading. Even once I finished, the story remained on my mind.
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It sounds like a cute graphic novel but I usually like the ones I read to be heavy on fantasy or creeptasticness
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