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sophia_sol) wrote2021-06-12 11:30 am
sophia_sol) wrote2021-06-12 11:30 am
Catherine's War, by Julia Billet
A graphic novel aimed at approximately a middle-grade crowd, this book tells the story of a Jewish teenager in WWII France who was a "hidden child" kept safe by being sheltered by various people. It's inspired in part by the author's mother's experiences as a hidden child herself.
Rachel Cohen is a thriving student at a really interesting and unusual school just outside of Paris. But when the teachers realise that she and other Jewish students are unsafe in occupied France, the students take on false, un-Jewish-sounding names (like the titular Catherine), and are sent elsewhere to go into hiding. Rachel loves photography, and the photography teacher at school lets her take a good-quality camera with her when she goes. She then spends the rest of the war documenting her experiences with her camera, as she moves from place to place and meets many people.
Apparently this book is based on a full-length novel the author wrote, but as far as I can tell only this graphic novel has been translated into English, so doing a comparison-read is not an option for me, alas. But it's an excellent book, and one that's well suited to the medium of graphic novel; the art really adds to the experience, especially since it's a story about a character who specifically is interested in documenting the visuals of the experiences she has. So I can see why this is the version of the story that was chosen to be translated!
Rachel Cohen is a thriving student at a really interesting and unusual school just outside of Paris. But when the teachers realise that she and other Jewish students are unsafe in occupied France, the students take on false, un-Jewish-sounding names (like the titular Catherine), and are sent elsewhere to go into hiding. Rachel loves photography, and the photography teacher at school lets her take a good-quality camera with her when she goes. She then spends the rest of the war documenting her experiences with her camera, as she moves from place to place and meets many people.
Apparently this book is based on a full-length novel the author wrote, but as far as I can tell only this graphic novel has been translated into English, so doing a comparison-read is not an option for me, alas. But it's an excellent book, and one that's well suited to the medium of graphic novel; the art really adds to the experience, especially since it's a story about a character who specifically is interested in documenting the visuals of the experiences she has. So I can see why this is the version of the story that was chosen to be translated!