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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
[b:War Horse|792161|War Horse|Michael Morpurgo|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178401475s/792161.jpg|1575365] by [a:Michael Morpurgo|8080|Michael Morpurgo|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] (here and here). In the tradition of [Book:Black Beauty], War Horse is told from the view point of "Joey," our War Horse during World War I. As in Black Beauty, "Joey" is tossed about by events that he cannot control – sold by a farmer to the Army; trained by a mean sergeant that was a good rider; ridden into battle by a nice soldier than didn’t know how to ride; taken captive by the Germans; turned into a cart horse, farm horse, cannon horse; escapee; common ground between a German and Welshman; and finally returned to the original farmer’s son. All in the space of a few hundred pages.
The battle scenes keep you cheering for “Joey” and his friends. The death of his companion “Topthorn” is a touching moment. The reunion with Albert (the farmer’s son) somewhat unbelievable but a happy ending. All-in-all a good, entertaining, light read.
As an interesting note, [Book:If a Lion Could Talk: Animal Intelligence and the Evolution of Consciousness] by [Author:Stephen Budiansky]. In summary of this very frustrating book, Budiansky says that if a Lion (or in this case horse) could talk, we wouldn’t understand him – so much for making a good narrator - glad "Joey" bucks Budiansky.
The battle scenes keep you cheering for “Joey” and his friends. The death of his companion “Topthorn” is a touching moment. The reunion with Albert (the farmer’s son) somewhat unbelievable but a happy ending. All-in-all a good, entertaining, light read.
As an interesting note, [Book:If a Lion Could Talk: Animal Intelligence and the Evolution of Consciousness] by [Author:Stephen Budiansky]. In summary of this very frustrating book, Budiansky says that if a Lion (or in this case horse) could talk, we wouldn’t understand him – so much for making a good narrator - glad "Joey" bucks Budiansky.
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
65/100
- For the bairns I think this is an amazing book. Marpurgo does a great job at separating the man from the war, no matter what borders the man was born within.
- I didn’t enjoy this as much as other books I’ve read lately - I just wasn’t very excited to pick it up, but this is no doubt just because I’m not the intended demographic (though that often doesn’t bother me).
- It’s clearly been very successful, rightfully, and I would recommend it for anyone with any little ones curious about wartime.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, War
Loved it! Also one you can't read in public for fear of PDT (Public Display of Tears).
First things first. “War Horse” is apparently a children’s novel, which I didn’t know when I started reading it. I only knew that the movie was based on a play, which was based on a book. I only wanted to read the book because I love the movie, and I always read the books when there are books to be read. Having said that, there are things that are similar to the movie and things that are different from the movie, as always. But it’s still a good movie.
Now, what I didn’t like, first, as always. The book is written from the horse’s perspective, which is fine; I don’t mind that at all. The only problem I have is with how it is written. Horses don’t know anything about rifles or countries or wars. And it’s really weird that the horse always understands everything that’s going on. This simply doesn’t work for me.
Speaking of horses, why is Joey so special? Everyone sees that he's a special horse and wants to look out for him and care for him and protect him from all harm. That’s what always bothered me about the movie as well. It’s just a horse! Really, get over it!
I won’t go into detail about WWI (I just know so much about WWI - don’t ask), but this story is somehow important to me because of my family history. My great-grandfather was a soldier during WWI and it was his job to look after the horses. So I know a thing or two about horses in WWI. Also, I’m not happy with the way the war is portrayed. I know that it’s a children’s book, but the war does seem a little bit too benign from time to time. Only towards the end you get a feeling of how bad this war actually was.
And now the things that I liked. It is a frightfully cheesy story. If I had written the book, neither horse nor boy would have been alive by the end. But it was still a good story. And thinking about WWI, you really hope that something like this has really happened, that a boy came to look for his horse, and found it, and both returned home unharmed. And even in the end, when Joey gets infected with tetanus and everyone thinks that he’s going to die, it still somehow fit, because it was the most realistic part of the book. I don’t even want to think about how many horses died of tetanus during WWI.
Finally, I’m a bit worried by the fact that this is a children’s book. You can’t just let your children read something like this; you need to talk with them about what’s happening. Especially in the end, when the author realises that he hasn’t killed enough characters yet.
Other than that, it’s easy to read and fairly short, so I can recommend it, if you’re not too bothered by the fact that the horse thinks like a human being.
Now, what I didn’t like, first, as always. The book is written from the horse’s perspective, which is fine; I don’t mind that at all. The only problem I have is with how it is written. Horses don’t know anything about rifles or countries or wars. And it’s really weird that the horse always understands everything that’s going on. This simply doesn’t work for me.
Speaking of horses, why is Joey so special? Everyone sees that he's a special horse and wants to look out for him and care for him and protect him from all harm. That’s what always bothered me about the movie as well. It’s just a horse! Really, get over it!
I won’t go into detail about WWI (I just know so much about WWI - don’t ask), but this story is somehow important to me because of my family history. My great-grandfather was a soldier during WWI and it was his job to look after the horses. So I know a thing or two about horses in WWI. Also, I’m not happy with the way the war is portrayed. I know that it’s a children’s book, but the war does seem a little bit too benign from time to time. Only towards the end you get a feeling of how bad this war actually was.
And now the things that I liked. It is a frightfully cheesy story. If I had written the book, neither horse nor boy would have been alive by the end. But it was still a good story. And thinking about WWI, you really hope that something like this has really happened, that a boy came to look for his horse, and found it, and both returned home unharmed. And even in the end, when Joey gets infected with tetanus and everyone thinks that he’s going to die, it still somehow fit, because it was the most realistic part of the book. I don’t even want to think about how many horses died of tetanus during WWI.
Finally, I’m a bit worried by the fact that this is a children’s book. You can’t just let your children read something like this; you need to talk with them about what’s happening. Especially in the end, when the author realises that he hasn’t killed enough characters yet.
Other than that, it’s easy to read and fairly short, so I can recommend it, if you’re not too bothered by the fact that the horse thinks like a human being.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, War
This book is such a heart-touching book about a boy who loves his horse. it shows that friendship can last through separation, war, and time. it;s a really touching story of how a boy, Albert, gets to raise this horse who helps on his families farm. but his father sells the horse to the army in world war 1. this horse goes through multiple owners, but he never forgets his real owner, Albert. i absolutely love this book. READ IT!!!!!!!