Like my recent Storytime, our Graphic Novel book club also branched into Italian territory with this interesting sort-of-biographical graphic story by the Italian artist Gipi. Sadly, neither the content nor the execution were a hit with our particular group, but the topic did spark interesting discussions about wayward teen boys and gangs.
Notes for a War Story (Originally Appunti per una storia di guerra)
Gipi
ISBN: 9781596433038
Read February 1, 2016
Follows three village boys of undetermined nationality who are impacted by a raging unspecific war that leaves their towns and villages randomly bombed into oblivion. The narrator is the "outsider" Giuliano, accompanied by the naive foster boy Christian, and led by Stephano, "little killer," the de-facto ringleader of the group. The trio (mainly due to Stephano's bravado and bluster) are quickly taken under the wing of a criminal mob and used as low-level thugs, enforcers, and collection agents in the city, basking in their "luck" at finding a job that pays good money and makes them respected. All this ends when the gang leader decides that becoming "patriots" and "freedom fighters" means essentially living the same violent criminal life, but being celebrated for it. On the day they are assigned assault rifles and sent off to actually fight in the war, Giuliano flees, and the story ends with a somewhat shaky coda of a documentary filmmaker interviewing the now grown man about his past experiences and his current sadness at not seeing his friends since that day.
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