'The Wolves of La Louviere' by Balthazar Flore is a biographical graphic novel that follows a family in Belgium as they experience the war.

In 1940, the Nazis occupied Belgium in 18 days. In the town of La Louviere, life seems to carry on, but eventually there are noticeable signs. Father goes off to war, food is scarce, and the town has soldiers occupying. A teacher at the school, who seems to be ok with the Nazi occupation, has her own secrets to keep.

The story and art are so charming that it gives the story a disarming nature. This doesn't downplay the story, but rather it makes the survivors seem brave in the face of things. The book ends with some text and photos of the family.

I'm familiar with some of these events from an American or British perspective. I appreciated the story from people who happened to have to live in the midst of such a struggle.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I've read several WW II- themed graphic novels. Like this book, most portrayed the struggle ordinary people (rather than an army) as they fought to survive . Through visual storytelling, we engage with characters on a more personal and intimate level, simply because we can "see" them. Graphic novels put a picture to these events, This is a very effective way to depict the devastation and degradation of war. It becomes easy to slip into the shoes of children, especially, and witness the chaos and confusion of war from their perspective. The Wolves of La Louviere is a beautifully illustrated work, that drew me in and allowed me to share the women's efforts as they fought not only to physically survive Nazi occupation, and to do so without sacrificing hope and humanity.

I loved this graphic novel with its allusioray themes and historical bend. The art work and story are both top notch productions.

A beautifully illustrated account , largely based on real life people and events, that documents events of the second world war through the diaries of a teenage girl. Marcelle describes both the events of the war at large as well as how that impacts on conditions closer to home. It was interesting to see a story set in Belgium, in fact it is the first I've found. I particularly liked the focus on the day to day life of the townsfolk under the Occupation forces.

I was drawn to this comic book based on it's subject matter; the format of a graphic novel lends itself to this presentation. After a visit to Bruges late last year I got hold of Bastion Bruges: Occupied Bruges in the First World War and subsequently read it about the city's struggles against occupation so close to the Western Front. As with that more academic account "The Wolves of La Louviere looks at the civilian people during a time of German occupation from the build up to war and subsequent invasion. La Louviere is more central in Belgium south-west of Brussels and to the east of Mons. The older people remembered the 1914-18 war and had to endure further hardship.
This book follows a young family in the main and reflects all the events anyone would seek to celebrate but under siege of curfew and air-raids. La Louviere is a mix of industrial and semi rural lands. The family generally make do but struggle a long separation from the husband and father captured and interned by the Germans.
Brought up on 'Secret Army' and the later comedic tales of 'Allo 'Allo! it was good to read of a fiction based on and interwoven with true life stories from Belgium at this time.
I loved the differing understanding of events by the children at various ages and comprehension. I particularly liked the school teacher and her attempts to stay true to her ideals and beliefs. Some collaborated and embraced what appeared to be a permanent change at first; others stayed truer to their own traditions but everyone struggled along the way or faced consequences of their actions in the end.
I found it a deeply interesting and enjoyed the summary where fact and fiction merged.

In case you're thinking this would be a feel good story just because it's a grapic novel: It's not. It contains a realistic slice of life for living in wartime. That said, these stories do need to be told. There is more to the story of war than what happened on the battlefield; those who were left behind, and what's left to come home to are just as important. This was a wonderfully human story that left me thinking.

WWII in Belgium from a 15 years old girl point of view. The Resistance, the famine, the death.

Una graphic novel che ci illustra la seconda guerra mondiale in Belgio, dal punto di vista di una quindicenne. La Resistenza, la carestia e la morte.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

Normally I am really interested in books about WWII, but this one couldn't capture my attention. After 50-ish pages I started to notice my attention was wavering a lot (even more than I normally have while reading a book), and then some pages further I just scrolled to the end, then read a few random parts here and there.

The characters, yes, we eventually have two characters, were OK. Marcelle and the school teacher. Marcelle is a young school girl and we see how her life and her family is going when Belgium gets occupied, how her father was summoned away to fight in a war. We see some happy moments in between the horror of the war.
The school teacher. At first I didn't like her, but then she showed another side, I was horrified for what she went through, the things that happened to her and then how it all ended.

But for some reason it just didn't capture me. I am not even sure what. The topic was interesting, the art was good. I should like this one. But I couldn't. :(

The art was pretty good though.