When the Wind Blows: The bestselling graphic novel for adults from the creator of The Snowman

Reviews

Strawberry

This book is certainly not for kids as the ending is not a cheerful and happy one. The pictures of this graphic novel are all very well drawn, and despite being just pictures on paper I am really impressed with the effect certain images have. I never saw When the Wind Blows on tv when it aired so I was keen to read this when I saw it at my local library.

However I really think everyone should read this book or see the dvd, just be prepared to cry or feel disconnected afterwards. The couple are a well meaning but not too knowledgeable pair and with little information on what to do during a nuclear attack they cope as best they can given their circumstances.

These images are so powerful and I really didn't think I could be so moved by a graphic novel. This graphic novel is so disturbing and powerful it leaves you feeling sad and chilled to your core.

Although this was set and written in the time of the cold war such nuclear threats are still around today and this book offers an important message to everyone. . 'I would recommend this book to anyone from teens and older, the sad story is just too much for children in my opinion. It's a bit of a spoiler here but I found this line Hilda says about the effects of the nuclear bomb particularly poignant: 'Well you can't see it and can't feel it, it can't be doing you any harm, can it?

They prepare for the fall out following government guidelines. I think anyone can imagine how the story pans out and that is not pleasant.

And then the bomb falls. I've not read many graphic novels and I did know the story of this before reading it, but still it left me feeling uncomfortable inside. Occasionally there is a double page image of one thing, such as a submarine near the beginning. This is a good thing, what happens to the couple is not wonderful, there is nothing happy or cheerful in a couple experiencing a nuclear bomb and the after effects of it.

Set during the cold war James and Hilda Bloggs hear news of an attack planned on Britain by the Russians. This story is so sad and yet it's so powerful because it shows the truth of what'll happen if nuclear weapons are ever used in this world. What is so moving about this story though is the couple's complete lack of knowledge, the two of them have no idea what is happening to them or everything around them, they cannot understand the effects of the fall out and the government advice was useless in educating them.