Thursday, January 26, 2017

Message to Adolf #1

Message to Adolf. Osamu Tezuka. Translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian. 1983/2012. Vertical. 648 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: This is the story of three men named Adolf.

Premise/plot: Message to Adolf is a massive two volume graphic novel set for the most part in Japan (and Germany) during the 1930's and 40's. The 'hero' is a Japanese reporter named Sohei Toge. After his brother is murdered by Nazis during the 1936 Olympic Games, he vows vengeance, to find the murderers and finish his brother's work. A political secret led to his brother's death, will it lead to his own?

My thoughts: This one was originally serialized in the early 80's. It has been newly translated into English and in book format. I found it very dramatic--a cliffhanger every chapter at least, dozens of close calls. The action follows several families connected in some way to Kobe, Japan. That is where two of the three Adolf's enter in. One Adolf (Kaufman ) has a German father and Japanese mother. He's best fiends with another boy, another Adolf. His family disapproves because Adolf Kamil is Jewish. There are several stories throughout, but essentially it is about the war and the choices one is forced to make.

I'm not sure how I feel about part one. Honestly, it kept me reading, but, it doesn't really have a proper ending. Will seek out the other volume.

© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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