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This was an OK story. It's told from the perspective of a horse, which is different, but the story didn't hold me. It's about a horse that gets sold during WWI, and his owner that works very hard to get him back.
Whatever book, I do not like animal centric books or war stuff so this was gone from the start. Although when I started reading and realised it was from the horse's perspective.. my lord.. had to put it down.
Too unserious. I simply cannot be this dedicated to a horse,I think this point holds weight considering the ending that focuses on the woman's jealousy??? Okay.
Too unserious. I simply cannot be this dedicated to a horse,
I'm not sure if this novel or [b:Black Beauty's Family|3200392|Black Beauty's Family|Josephine Pullein-Thompson|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|3233620] came first, but Black Beauty's Family is much better.
This isn't to say that War Horse is bad, it's not. But outside its complete debt to [b:Black Beauty|3685|Black Beauty|Anna Sewell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165030312s/3685.jpg|4639714] (and the ups and down mirror that book extactly), the book is cliche after cliche. All the boy and his horse cliches are here as well as 90% of all the war ones.
Still, it's not a bad book, but there is a surprisely lack of place. I understand that it's a children's book, but so was Black Beauty and BB Family, and they did a much better job in presenting the bad side. War Horse is compelling told, but it doesn't hold a candle to the other two.
Additionally for a book about a horse told from the horse's point of view, Joey doesn't do a good job describing or connecting to the other horses. If you look at [b:Black Beauty|3685|Black Beauty|Anna Sewell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165030312s/3685.jpg|4639714], the supporting horses of Ginger, Duchess, and Merrylegs are characters in thier own right. Morpurgo doesn't do that. Two other horses are mentioned by name, but there is no real connection. The horses don't seem to do anything except neigh at each other sometimes. It's like a Black Beauty story but only half way, as if Morpurgo thought having horses communicate with each other would be too corny or unrealstic. Yet, Joey is telling the tale to the reader, so why not go all the way?
This book isn't bad; I'm not upset that I read it. If you like horse stories, it's worth the read. If Speilberg, however, wanted to tell about war from a horse's point of view, he would be better served by buying the rights to [b:Black Beauty's Family|3200392|Black Beauty's Family|Josephine Pullein-Thompson|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|3233620]
This isn't to say that War Horse is bad, it's not. But outside its complete debt to [b:Black Beauty|3685|Black Beauty|Anna Sewell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165030312s/3685.jpg|4639714] (and the ups and down mirror that book extactly), the book is cliche after cliche. All the boy and his horse cliches are here as well as 90% of all the war ones.
Still, it's not a bad book, but there is a surprisely lack of place. I understand that it's a children's book, but so was Black Beauty and BB Family, and they did a much better job in presenting the bad side. War Horse is compelling told, but it doesn't hold a candle to the other two.
Additionally for a book about a horse told from the horse's point of view, Joey doesn't do a good job describing or connecting to the other horses. If you look at [b:Black Beauty|3685|Black Beauty|Anna Sewell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165030312s/3685.jpg|4639714], the supporting horses of Ginger, Duchess, and Merrylegs are characters in thier own right. Morpurgo doesn't do that. Two other horses are mentioned by name, but there is no real connection. The horses don't seem to do anything except neigh at each other sometimes. It's like a Black Beauty story but only half way, as if Morpurgo thought having horses communicate with each other would be too corny or unrealstic. Yet, Joey is telling the tale to the reader, so why not go all the way?
This book isn't bad; I'm not upset that I read it. If you like horse stories, it's worth the read. If Speilberg, however, wanted to tell about war from a horse's point of view, he would be better served by buying the rights to [b:Black Beauty's Family|3200392|Black Beauty's Family|Josephine Pullein-Thompson|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|3233620]
Gentle and touching war story from an animal's perspective. Joey the horse plays different roles -- some of them dire -- and encounters new people -- most of them loving -- during the first world war. Of course there is death but the sadness quotient isn't too bad for middle grades, and the ending is uplifting without being pollyanna-ish.
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Audio book. Good story and I liked that it was written from the horses perspective.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I sobbed.
I read this in anticipation of seeing the production at Lincoln Center based on this novel. It gives a horrifying and yet familiar picture of the trenches in World War I. I found it touching although in some ways predictable as characters reappear to solve problems and reconnect in ways that were pretty unlikely given the chaos of that war. Will be interested to see how it moves to the stage.
I read this novel with my sixth-grade students. Most students needed a lot of background knowledge in order to fully understand the context of this story. The boys in class loved this story. Many were begging to keep their books. The girls were not so impressed. All of us had a difficult time reading from the horse's perspective. It took some getting used to, but it sparked some interesting class discussions. At several points during the novel, one see acts of humanity from both sides of this great war, and my students couldn't quite grasp the fact that "enemies" could show such compassion and yet still go with the war. Overall, I enjoyed the book, and it made for some interesting talking points in class. I think if I hadn't seen the movie first, the book would have made a larger impact, and I probably would have rated it higher.
I was really surprised by the book. Based on the trailer for the movie, I was expecting one thing, and was shocked to find out that novel was really something else.
But it was definitely a pleasant surprise.
The novel is written from the perspective of the horse, Joey, who is sold to the British army by a farmer. Joey describes his journey through the war, where we as the readers are introduced to several characters, some who are kind, compassionate, mean, hard, German, French, and British. We are never told why the war is being fought, and neither side is depicted as better or worse than the other.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters that we were introduced to. They weren't necessarily fleshed out in the traditional way and the dialogue seemed a bit forced, but I felt myself still caring for them and cheering for them. Morpurgo placed the characters in very poignant situations which showed their true nature in one scene. For example, there are two characters, one a Welshman and another a German, and in one chapter you already get the feeling like you know these two characters.
I found the story to be easy to read, but still very powerful in its message. Definitely a novel that I would recommend to someone who is either an animal lover or interested in war novels. There were several lines that I felt the need to write down because I felt they were so powerful.
But it was definitely a pleasant surprise.
The novel is written from the perspective of the horse, Joey, who is sold to the British army by a farmer. Joey describes his journey through the war, where we as the readers are introduced to several characters, some who are kind, compassionate, mean, hard, German, French, and British. We are never told why the war is being fought, and neither side is depicted as better or worse than the other.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters that we were introduced to. They weren't necessarily fleshed out in the traditional way and the dialogue seemed a bit forced, but I felt myself still caring for them and cheering for them. Morpurgo placed the characters in very poignant situations which showed their true nature in one scene. For example, there are two characters, one a Welshman and another a German, and in one chapter you already get the feeling like you know these two characters.
I found the story to be easy to read, but still very powerful in its message. Definitely a novel that I would recommend to someone who is either an animal lover or interested in war novels. There were several lines that I felt the need to write down because I felt they were so powerful.