I am endlessly fascinated with graphic novel memoirs and I especially love the ones where children talk about their parents. This one was definitely worth the read as I'm always interested in how the parents' history effects the children.

I remember reading it around the same time I read Maus. The metaphor and the analogies are hard to ignore, gut-wrenching and often slow - in a good way. it definitely goes on my list of top graphic novels. It wasn't the easiest or the smoothest read, but it is an important book.

It is inevitable that this book will be compared to Maus. Kichka's father survived the Holocaust and this book explores how the author's youth was affected by this fact.

As a Jew, this was amazing to read. I love Holocaust fiction and was assigned to read this in school recently. I said I already had read it but have the pleasure of reading it again.

the archive date for this title was originally set as 'not set'. however,after some days when I returned to download this book.,it was already archived. If this book was made available to me in any way, I would still love to read and review it on my blog

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This was a great read. The illustrations were fab. This memoir is the story of how the author slowly gets his father to share his Holocaust story. The father, understandably, is resistant to reliving and sharing his experiences and would prefer to not relive these memories. The author's telling of his story and his father's story and who it impacts both generations -as well as the author's children and wife - make for a compelling read. I strongly recommend this book.

Excellently organized and entertaining. A real winner for the publisher and the reader.

A touching graphic memoir about the effects on the second generation of Holocaust survivors.

An insight to the impact of the holocaust on the psyche of the survivors and their second generation. Relevant and thought provoking!

This was excellent book. It is in the same vein as Maus, and just as excellent. The art was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it was honest and heartfelt. I would recommend this to anyone who is a enjoys reading about history and how it affects people and their families.

5 stars

This is the story of a son and father and how the lives of someone who wasn't even born when the Holocaust happened was affected. The story wasn't entirely linear, in that there wasn't always a natural progression in the story, moving here and there throughout the author's history. This made it feel more like someone telling a story, since people don't usually tell a story from A to B. They usually get sidetracked by something they've said or thought of while they are telling the story, so this felt natural.
I liked that no excuses were made, and that the author never tried to guess how his father felt about things. If he didn't know, he said that he didn't know. I also enjoyed the fact that what the author knew of what his father went through was portrayed through the eyes of a child at first, and then as he grew up, through the eyes of someone who understood the atrocities better. The drawings were simple and honest, with little flights of fancy, and they told the story well.

I enjoyed how Kichka explored his father's history in relation to the concentration camps. The progression of his history and his father's was intertwined and at times this did lead to messiness within the layout but the artwork did try to make it clearer. I had some familiarity with the history of the concentration camps but it was more personal and more interesting as Kichka made it about his father's experience there. I don't know if i would use this to introduce younger audiences to the holocaust and concentration camps but it has potential due to the visual element.

A graphic memoir of the effects of the holocaust on the psyche of the survivors and the following generation, this thoughtfully presented work brings to the surface the discussion that should never be forgotten about what man can do and should not ever be allowed to do again. With current world politics, a message that needs more airtime and discussion in families the world around. I brilliant reminder that Evil still survives in this world, and we should remain ready for it.

I so enjoy graphic memoirs. This one about the shadow that the Holocaust casts upon the generation born from its survivors. Tender, thoughtful and beautifully drawn.

Firstly, I'd like to say thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eCopy of this graphic novel in return for an unbiased review. This graphic novel based around the Jewish persecution in WWII is a little different from other novels on the subject, not only is the art within drawn in a more humorous manner than usual, but the perspective is from that of the victim's son. Second Generation tells the story of how Jews who suffered at the hands of the Nazis had an impact on their family around them once the nightmare of the concentration camps was far in their past. 

It was so interesting to read how Michel interpreted his fathers' experiences and how he felt alienated from his father due to his decision to withhold and disclose certain varying aspects of his life history, depending on the situation and the timing. It also affected what he and his siblings felt they could do in their childhoods, so not to affect their father. He mentions that he feels like he never had the chance to experience teenage angst because his fathers' opportunity was taken by the Nazis, and despite this being a small issue it really impacts an individuals childhood experience and how their personalities are shaped. There was, for someone who has no family history of being affected by the Nazis, a surprising amount of impact passed down the generations to those who weren't even born when the Nazis were in power. This was very sad but very interesting to learn about.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, and although I am biased as I have a fascination with anything based around WWII I genuinely think this will be a book enjoyed by a large number of people and one that should be promoted more. A five star read for me.

This graphic novel is a wonderful telling of the life of a second generation holocaust survivor. It follows the life and thoughts of Michel, the son of a camp survivor and details his own experiences of living with his dad and dealing with his fathers experiences of the camp.

I loved the honest nature of this story and how Michel felt throughout his childhood. I like the raw nature of how dealt with his fathers emotions in regard to the camp and how he coped with them as well as how they truly affected his relationship with his father.

The artwork is wonderful and really fits the story and style of story telling.

Second Generation is a unique and inspiring novel about the generation that came immediately after the Holocaust, and from Holocaust survivors. Vis-a-vis: second generation Holocaust survivors. Struggling to make their own lives and identity outside of the oppressive past of their parents, the children of the original survivors sometimes struggle with the enormity of their heritage. Particularly if their parent(s) do not or can not talk about their pasts. This, however, was not the case for Michel, our protagonist in this non-fiction narrative. Instead of retreating into himself, Michel's father refers frequently to his time in "the camps," the Nazis, Hitler, and his time on the Death March. And yet, young Michel is constantly confused as it seems that his father never sits him down to tell him the entire story. It is up to young Michel to scour the many books his father has collected on the Holocaust to search out the answers he's looking for and to put his own mind at peace. The hours of research backfire as poor Michel is plagued by nightmare after nightmare, those of which he cannot share with his father. Later on in his life, we also discover that anytime Michel is injured, sick, or experiences any hardship, his father immediately has to "one-up" him by comparing Michel's ailment to his time in Auschwitz. Michel is constantly living under the shadow of the Holocaust and his hero of a father who spends his time publishing his own memories, attending Holocaust remembrance ceremonies, sitting on tribunals, and taking students on tours of Auschwitz. The only time we see Michel come into himself is when he finally gets his own story down on paper and shares his own narrative with the world.

I found this story to be particularly unique as I have not encountered these types of tales before: those of the second generation. Indeed, before reading this story, I was unaware that the children born of the original survivors would feel the echoes of the trauma of the Holocaust so viscerally. Michel's tale is an incredibly important one and because he has decided to relay his story in the medium of a graphic novel, one that is accessible to a large audience. Further, his illustrations invoke a very real reaction from his audience. Michel invites his audience into his past visually and through his prose. The use of repeated questions that have no answer (or at least, no easy ones) communicates a frustration that the reader experiences along with Michel and clearly illustrates how lost Michel and other second generationists feel as they try and navigate their own experiences in the wake of the Holocaust. The work takes the audience on a healing journey with Michel, one that we are only too happy to take.

An important read for anyone studying the Holocaust and for anyone who thinks they know the whole story.

Interesting perspective of someone growing up as the son of a Holocaust survivor. So many heart-wrenching stories of this father. Both during the war, and the impact after the war. After the Holocaust. Evil survives in so many ways, even after it seems to be gone. Google “second generation syndrome”. The cartoon-y style might make such a difficult subject a bit easier to read; but it communicates the the pain and difficulty of living such a life. Well worth the time it takes to read it.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>

Second Generation is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Michel Kichka. It tells about not only the story of his dad, Henri, but also how the author and his siblings grew up with a parent who was a Holocaust survivor. The recollections of what happened to Michel's dad in this book are less vivid and haunting compared to the other books I've read before that tackles the same topic.

However, I found the ending a little bit odd and abrupt. Nonetheless, it's an entertaining graphic novel that will capture readers.

I hate to read anything about the Holocaust because it just really hurts my soul and makes me feel so sick, but this graphic novel offers a very unique point of view: it is the story of a man's holocaust journey as seen through the eyes of his son, a "second generation" holocaust survivor. That means the son was affected by The Shoa but in a roundabout way - the story deals with having to cope with a parent that has been traumatized beyond belief, and how that trauma was manifested in his children's upbringing. It's definitely worth a read.