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80th out of 564 books
—
1,398 voters
When the Wind Blows
Raymond Briggs's comic cartoon book depicts the effects of a nuclear attack on an elderly couple, in his usual humorous, yet macabre way.
Paperback, 48 pages
Published
February 2nd 1988
by Penguin Books
(first published 1982)
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If you're like me, guys, sometimes you're like, "Curse you sun! Curse you daisies! Curse you smiling faces! I need something that's going to make me feel like curling up in a ball of woe, drowning in my own tears! I demand BITTER IRONIC SORROW!"
This is a total lie, of course. If I never had to read a sad book again, it would be too soon.
But for people who are like this, I recommend When the Wind Blows.
Jim and Hilda, an adorably batty British couple, learn (from their public library!) that nucle...more
This is a total lie, of course. If I never had to read a sad book again, it would be too soon.
But for people who are like this, I recommend When the Wind Blows.
Jim and Hilda, an adorably batty British couple, learn (from their public library!) that nucle...more
3 likes · like · see review
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Jan 08, 2013
^
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
All citizens & politicians
A graphic and desperately poignant tale; which importantly bears periodic re-reading.
A retired working-class couple, James and his wife Hilda (affectionately referred to as ducks/ dear / dearest) respond to the threat (later proved) of a nuclear bomb strike.
James reads in his broadsheet newspaper and hears on the radio of the ‘deteriorating international situation,’ expressed in a typical political vagueness of speech. Thankfully he has picked up a leaflet in his local public library entitled...more
A retired working-class couple, James and his wife Hilda (affectionately referred to as ducks/ dear / dearest) respond to the threat (later proved) of a nuclear bomb strike.
James reads in his broadsheet newspaper and hears on the radio of the ‘deteriorating international situation,’ expressed in a typical political vagueness of speech. Thankfully he has picked up a leaflet in his local public library entitled...more
2 likes · like · see review
I first encountered When the Wind Blows when my high school social studies teacher showed the film version to class. It's a great nuclear apocalypse movie, far more effective than melodramas like On the Beach or The Day After. (Has a great score, too, with music by Roger Waters, David Bowie, Paul Hardcastle and Genesis.) Sadly it's never been released on home video in the US. The original comic it's based upon, however, is.
The story concerns an elderly British couple, the Bloggses, the sort of s...more
The story concerns an elderly British couple, the Bloggses, the sort of s...more
Reason for Reading: I was posting a review on another site when this book was recommended for me. I'd never heard of it before but since I love apocalyptic books and Brigg's Snowman is a treasured favourite I knew I had to read it..
The only reason this book doesn't get a full five star rating from me is that it does show it's age and is a product of its times. This is a sad, despairing, dark book lightened with black humour. It packs quite the punch and at the time it was written during the Cold...more
The only reason this book doesn't get a full five star rating from me is that it does show it's age and is a product of its times. This is a sad, despairing, dark book lightened with black humour. It packs quite the punch and at the time it was written during the Cold...more
Illustrated in a comic book format, which shouldn’t work with this type of story but does do so well. A graphic novel that depicts the horrors of nuclear war; sometimes a difficult, moving and poignant read, it tells the story of Jim and Hilda Bloggs who are a retired and thoroughly English couple (previously seen in Gentleman Jim by Briggs), that face the situation of a nuclear attack on English shores. When Jim hears on the radio the three-day warning he sets about making a homemade shelter, w...more
2 likes · like · see review
The creator of The Snowman brings us this short graphic novel account of a retired British couple preparing for the apocalypse. Jim has picked up a brochure from the public library on how best to build and stock a shelter, and immediately sets about doing so. His wife is either long-suffering or equally dim; I'm pretty sure it's the latter. Anyway, Jim paints over the windows and builds a makeshift shelter using the doors, as per the library brochure, and together he and his wife stock food in t...more
Inspired by a few recent raves over on LibraryThing, I ordered this from the library. Had never heard of it.
The Day After gave me nightmares in junior high and the Berlin Wall came down during college, so this story was a chilly blast from the past. It's an equally vivid portrait of the British character of a certain era.
Although surprisingly short (40 pages), the story is quite dense with many small panels and takes longer to read than expected, although still just one sitting.
Suspense is built...more
The Day After gave me nightmares in junior high and the Berlin Wall came down during college, so this story was a chilly blast from the past. It's an equally vivid portrait of the British character of a certain era.
Although surprisingly short (40 pages), the story is quite dense with many small panels and takes longer to read than expected, although still just one sitting.
Suspense is built...more
I picked this up as im going through a graphic novel phase. Not knowing anything about this book other than The Snowman was also written by Raymond Briggs.
A short picture book based on the 80's threat of a nuclear bomb falling (but one here does)over Britain. The Thatcher era.
The two main protagonist Jim and Hilda are both quite igronant about the oncoming war but Hilda more so than Jim. This adds a charm to the book.
Written in simple language where the characters often use the incorrect words i...more
A short picture book based on the 80's threat of a nuclear bomb falling (but one here does)over Britain. The Thatcher era.
The two main protagonist Jim and Hilda are both quite igronant about the oncoming war but Hilda more so than Jim. This adds a charm to the book.
Written in simple language where the characters often use the incorrect words i...more
This is possibly the most disturbing book I've ever picked up. The format alone, jarring with the subject matter, sets ones teeth on edge... there's something wholly discomfiting about the illustrated evolution of the round and homely forms of an late-middle-aged couple as they undergo the effects of radiation poisoning. The isolation and naiveté of Hilda and Jimmy Bloggs, their ability to do exactly the wrong thing despite their best intentions, is as appalling as it is compelling to the reader...more
When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs is an interesting and unique style of a book. It is formatted as a comic about an elderly couple who are trying to survive the nuclear holocaust. I think this book would be good for kids in middle school rather than young kids in elementary school due to the fact that it may be hard for young students to follow this book. However, I think middle school aged students would enjoy this book because of its different comic book looking inside. Also, because it is...more
The coming nuclear war as a cartoon. Black humour and advice on how to use duct tape (of course, isn't duct tape used for everything?) and plastic bags to protect yourself.
I don't think its a spoiler to say that it doesn't work!
I don't think its a spoiler to say that it doesn't work!
This is a classic graphic nulcear holocaust story. I read a sort of retrospective tribute to it in Horn Book, and immediately sought it out. It is devastating and hard to describe. A retired couple living in rural England roll up their shirtsleeves and deal with the an impending nuclear attack with the same gumption that got them through World War II. Of coure, they were just children then, and they remember the air raids and bomb shelters as fun, not terrifying. They put their trust in the gove...more
I enjoyed the black humor approach in this short read in how Briggs facetiously illustrated how a total and naive reliance on the government to protect us in times of nuclear warfare would only prove to be foolhardy. Though the material is presented in a light and almost playful manner, its hard to read this book without being affected by the disturbing themes that lie subtly beneath the text. Apparently this book was so popular when it was released that it was even included in England when the...more
I was so impressed with Raymond Briggs' Ethel & Ernest from last month that I decided to read his other graphic novel When the Wind Blows which is also in the 500 Essential Graphic Novels. Unlike his other graphic novel, When the Wind Blows is not as uplifting or heartfelt. Instead, Briggs tells the story of a happily married couple and how they are effected by nuclear war. The couple survived the Blitz in London during WWII and therefore have very interesting reactions to the Cold War. Whil...more
Oct 14, 2012
Mike Ehlers
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiftyfifty-me-2012,
graphic-novels
While I've long known about the movie based on this story (what self-respecting Roger Waters fan doesn't?) I only recently realized it was based on this graphic novel. I've never seen the movie, but figured I'd at least check out the book.
The book was a good, dark humored look at nuclear war, at least how it affects a "normal" couple. Unfortunately, it comes off a bit dated. I believe it would have had a lot more impact for me in the mid 80's. The world has seen too much since then for me to bel...more
The book was a good, dark humored look at nuclear war, at least how it affects a "normal" couple. Unfortunately, it comes off a bit dated. I believe it would have had a lot more impact for me in the mid 80's. The world has seen too much since then for me to bel...more
I thought this would not work - I mean, a comic book about nuclear war? At first it all seems like fun - the couple reading the government guidelines about how to set up their house to prepare for nuclear war, and trying to implement them, and of course as the nuclear blast happens, it all turns dark and dirty, and desperately moving.
Whenever I hear that we are meant to be able to seal of a room in our house in case of a terrorist gas attack, I think of this book, and this couple who believed t...more
Whenever I hear that we are meant to be able to seal of a room in our house in case of a terrorist gas attack, I think of this book, and this couple who believed t...more
I actually bought this graphic novel because my favourite band Iron Maiden wrote a song based on it for their Final Frontier album called When the Wild Wind Blows, also because I'd been playing a lot of Fallout 3 on my PC at the time as well so nuclear holocaust was pretty much on my mind a lot then, I really enjoyed it, thought it was well written and paced and because the characters are just a normal elderly couple the devastating consequences of nuclear fallout hit you in a deep way, it will...more
Raymond Briggs lienee tunnetuin jouluisesta "Lumiukko" -animaatiostaan, mutta englantilaisen lastenkirjailijan tuotannosta löytyy myös vakavampaa materiaalia. Sarjakuvaromaani ""When the Wind Blows"" (suom. "Minne tuuli kuljettaa", Otava 1982) on alanimekkeensä mukaisesti "kirja aikuisille ydinsodasta". Se kertoo Englannin maaseudulla elävästä sympaattisesta eläkeläispariskunnasta, joka hallitukseen ja viranomaisten riittämättömiin turvaohjeisiin naiivisti luottaen kuvittelee selviävänsä ydinsod...more
I first became aware of this as a movie when it came out in the 80s as Bowie wrote a song for the soundtrack. As much as I loved post-apocalyptic worlds then, and as terrified as I was about nuclear war I didn't see it. But I found a copy of the graphic novel at the Oxfam and thought I'd give it a try. First off as a graphic novel it was SUPER ugly! The guy was a very good artist but he had NO idea how to lay out boxes or divide up the text. The last 10 pages or so were tiny little boxes of the...more
Aug 09, 2008
Caleb
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Just about anyone (particularly comics fans)
Shelves:
graphic-novels
I've been on a Raymond Briggs kick ever since reading a new edition of Gentleman Jim, and have been tracking down as much of his stuff as I can find in local libraries. This 1982 book is about nuclear war, but it's set entirely within the elderly Bloggs couple's home in the English countryside. The Bloggs are simple, gentle, naive people; the retired Jim is somewhat interested in current events and world politics, but only vaguely understands them. His wife isn't at all interested. They're still...more
Apr 12, 2011
Lucy Smith
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
post-apocalyptic,
satire-parody,
nuclear-war,
love,
tragic,
heart-breaking,
disturbing,
graphic-novel,
one-to-read
Oooh this book is so touching and harrowing at the same time. When I first read it it made me cry. Partly because the old couple are so endearingly normal and you can identify with them and also because Raymond Briggs really punches you in the face with the underlying context of the story.
It's not Father Christmas - but it still makes me want to tell people to go read it immediately because it is so good at portraying its message.
It's not Father Christmas - but it still makes me want to tell people to go read it immediately because it is so good at portraying its message.
This is quite a scary book illustrating that if there ever was a nuclear war, we would all go together, and those vaporised at the start would be the lucky ones. I remember that government leaflet Protect and Survive where we were supposed to live through the nuclear attack by painting the windows white and hiding under the cushions. Jim and Hilda put their faith in such documents and we get to read about them slowly succumbing to radiation poisoning. This book used to be in the children’s secti...more
Briggs published this when the idea of a graphic novel barely existed, and the same applied to the idea of comics for adults. Not only was he ahead of the curve, he also produced one of the great short graphic novels, in this funny and horrifying tale of the bomb falling and its aftermath. A savage indictment of politics, of course, but also of human complacency and ignorance.
I didn't like this book it took me 2 days to finish it coz I got really bored reading it. When I read Tintin, I liked comic strips but when I rwead this comic, I got verry bored very quickly. I don't mean any offence to anybody who likes this book but it is the worst book I have ever read! It was on my Year 7 - 9 recommended reading list but I did NOT enjoy it at all!!...
This book has been recommended to me as one of great graphic novels for young adults and adults. The story begins with a gentle comedy and finishes extremely dark. It illustrates the Cold War through the eyes of an elderly couple. I would recommend this book for anybody studying Cold War, communism and 20th century history in general.
Darkest. Humor. Ever.
I completely adored the characters. They made me laugh or at least smile through almost the entire book, even though the subject matter is sad and disturbing. I took a risk and bought this before previewing it at all, and I'm not a bit sorry; this is something I'll revisit multiple times in the future.
I completely adored the characters. They made me laugh or at least smile through almost the entire book, even though the subject matter is sad and disturbing. I took a risk and bought this before previewing it at all, and I'm not a bit sorry; this is something I'll revisit multiple times in the future.
The eighties were really full of Cold War paranoia, weren't they? This is the kind of book that would have terrified me as a kid. As an adult, it's just sad watching two lovely old people blindly believe that those in charge will look after them, even while the couple are dying of radiation poisoning.
While it has dated, and perhaps the threat of holocaust seems to have receded, the themes are still very relevant. Beautifully drawn characters and beautifully illustrated too. A great book. What a shame this wasn't made into a film that could be shown every Christmas too (ie along with The Snowman).
Read my review of Raymond Briggs's disturbing but oddly delightful depiction of nuclear fallout by clicking here. It's all part of my 30 Graphic Novels in 30 Days project.
Feb 16, 2011
Rosemary
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ultimate-teen-guide
This amazing short graphic novel from the mid-1980s made me laugh and cry just as much now as when it first came out - though fortunately it is not so scary and real these days. It tells the story of what happens to an innocent and trusting elderly couple in rural England when the atom bombs come, and how they try to follow all the advice in the Government leaflets that we were all so scornful of, on how to survive nuclear war.
E.g. Wife, pouring water into teapot for a nice cup of tea: "Do you h...more
E.g. Wife, pouring water into teapot for a nice cup of tea: "Do you h...more
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Raymond Redvers Briggs is an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist, and author who has achieved critical and popular success among adults and children. He is best known for his story "The Snowman", which is shown every Christmas on British television in cartoon form and on the stage as a musical.
His first three major works, Father Christmas, Father Christmas Goes on Holiday (both featu...more
More about Raymond Briggs...
His first three major works, Father Christmas, Father Christmas Goes on Holiday (both featu...more
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“Dear sir, Mr. B.J. Thing... er... we the people of Britain are fed up with being bombed. We had enough of it last time with old Hitler so will you just leave us in peace, you live your life and we'll live ours, hope you are well... please don't drop any bombs.
Yours sincerely, Mr. and Mrs. J. Bloggs”
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Yours sincerely, Mr. and Mrs. J. Bloggs”
