“Catherine's War” is a graphic novel about war that contains no military scenes. The story of the occupation of France is told from the perspective of a Jewish girl who was forced to change her name and seek refuge from the Nazis in various corners of the country. The only valuable thing she carries with her is a camera. She captures all the people who have sheltered her, thus creating a gallery of testimonies about World War II. The lens of her camera focuses on kindness, and through it, we see France in the 1940s through the eyes of a teenager growing up amidst war.
Julia Billet is a renowned French writer, author of novels, stories, poems, and comics, and a winner of numerous awards, including the Andersen Prize (2018). Her works have been translated into English, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and now into Russian.
The artist Claire Fauvel created the graphic novel “Catherine's War,” inspired by the eponymous work of Julia Billet. In 2018, the authors received the award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, the most prestigious in this field.
