Saturday 4 October 2014

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

In 1914, Joey a young farm horse is sold to the army and thrust into the middle of the First World War. What follows is a vivid and moving account of the perils of war, narrated from the point of view of this remarkable horse.

Joey makes friends with a magnificent black horse called Topthorn and the two of them first serve as cavalry horses in the British Army. They are then captured by the Germans and used to pull vehicles of various kinds.

Joey sees the war from both sides of the conflict and comes across young nervous soldiers, harsh taskmasters and old, gentle soldiers. He also finds for a while a temporary home with a farm family in France, where he is stabled for a while during his service.

All the time though his heart yearns for Albert, the son of his original owner. Will they ever find each other again?

This is a wonderful tale of an animal's perspective of war. Definitely one to be read with a large box of tissues close to hand.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo published by Harper Collins.

3 comments:

sage said...

I didn't see the movie, but was this book recently made into a movie? Sounds interesting.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Hi sage, yes it was made into a movie that is apparently harrowing to watch

RG said...

Sounds a bit like "Traveler" from our civil war.