Sneha Jaiswal (Þjórsárden | Instagram)
A Letter To Jo is a graphic novel by Joseph Sieracki with art by Kelly Williams that describes the experiences of the author’s grandfather, Leonard Sieracki, as a Polish-American gunner during World War II. The account is based on Leonard’s letters to his wife, Josephine, who was his fiancée at the time. While the story builds on these letters, Joseph Sieracki adds some fictional elements, such as dialogues between Leonard and his comrades at the front.
Joseph Sieracki begins A letter to Jo with a quote from Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse 5 (which also has a graphic novel adaptation), which explores how wars are fought by “babies” – young men barely out of puberty. Leonard was only 18 years old and fresh out of high school when he found himself fighting against the Krauts in World War II.
A Letter To Jo is about 144 pages long and begins by exploring the romance between Leonard and Josephine. The couple become engaged right out of high school and just before Leonard goes off to war. The comic then shifts its focus to Leonard’s experiences in the trenches, where he faces death and the horrors of war on a daily basis. Kelly Williams’ drawings are grim at the beginning, though they often sketchily describe the more violent scenes on the front lines. Given that the author took some creative liberties in fictionalizing parts of Leonard’s experiences, I feel like the story could have been expanded into a longer comic.
Readers also get a glimpse into Josephine’s side of the story, which is mostly about how she copes with anxiety, stress and fear of Leonard’s fate while waiting for him to return from the war. Her character comes across as too gloomy and one-dimensional. In its current form “A letter to Jo” lacks the kind of illustrations that could enhance the narrative, and it doesn’t have enough emotional depth to really move the reader. Despite its flaws, the comic is an interesting story that reminds us of the countless untold stories of men and women who lost so much in war.
Rating: 3 out of 5. “A Letter to Jo” is also on Kindle Unlimited.
Read more: What if we were two – Review – Nat, Marie and madness
Read next: Review of “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” (Short audio version below)
