Oh, What a Lovely War? (Cowards - Marcus Sedgwick)

Member Name: tange

Product:	Cowards - Marcus Sedgwick
Date:	18/02/08 (171 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A thought provoking and well researched story.

Disadvantages: Can be a little too factual.

Some books wouldn't have been written several years ago! Some books deal with subjects that make some people feel uncomfortable. This is one of those books - Cowards; The True Story of Men Who Refused to Fight is a story of the First World War. It doesn't tell of the glory of heroes or the honour of fighting for your country. There is no glamorisation of War in Marcus Sedgwick's novel - this is a true story of conscientious objectors, using facts and simple language, it encourages the reader to think about their own attitude to war.

In his introduction Sedgwick says that he chose the title in a bid to be provocative. He also says that it was a book he had wanted to write for a long time. He has obviously put a lot of research and a lot of emotion into writing about such a contentious subject. It is well written, well put together and well worth looking at.

Cowards is the tale of Alfred Evans and Howard Marten, two young men who suffered because they refused to fight in the First World War. At the beginning of the story we see them on board a train - or rather we see the TRAIN, as it speeds through a station in the dead of night. We know they are on the train only by the scribbled note that they throw onto the platform as the train races by. As the story progresses we learn why they have had to go to such desperate means to try to get a message to their families. We also learn about what happened to men such as these.

After the introduction of the Military Service Act of 1916 conscription began - rather than volunteering to join the army men were "called up" whether they wished to fight or not. Men like the two characters in Cowards, and several hundred other young men in Britain, were called and called but refused again and again.

This is not a pleasant story to witness - the two men (and many like them) suffered imprisonment, degradation and physical torture because they believed that killing for any reason is wrong. Often they were sent by force to the front line and forced to fight. The punishment for not obeying was humiliation and ultimately the firing squad. We learn that as the war progressed the Government finally accepted the right of these conscientious objectors not to fight - they were imprisoned instead! It doesn't sound like much of a victory - but think of the alternative! What happened to them in prison was often so harsh it resulted in death, but many survived to tell the tale to future generations.

I enjoyed reading Cowards. Or maybe ENJOY is not the right word - I was fascinated by the story and found it hard to understand why people were shot for a belief. I came out at the end of the book with tremendous admiration for the men like Alfred and Howard. It would have been so easy to have abandoned their principles to save their own lives. Yet they suffered such torture and were looked on with such disdain by their fellow countrymen for sticking to something they felt so strongly about. They dealt with immense pressure from their peers and also from political and military powers and yet most of them didn't crumble!

My only criticism with Sedgwick's book is that he often lets the facts get in the way of the characters. There are so many facts that we often are left feeling distanced from the characters and can't empathise with them as much as we should. The book is relatively short though and is very easy (in terms of language, length and style rather than subject matter) to read. Things are explained clearly and concisely so that the young audience (I would say the target age group would be ten years plus) will follow the story easily. There is also quite a lot of action which will give it more appeal for a younger audience.

Cowards is certainly a thought provoking book that will doubtless raise a lot of questions. For children studying any armed conflict this will prove to be a valuable teaching resource. I also think that adults would do well to read it too - it gives a completely different perspective to the "usual" war stories. It deals not only with the subject of war, but also with the morality of war.

You may or not agree with the beliefs of men like Howard and Alfred. Even if you don't it is still a book worth reading and a story that NEEDS to be told. Cowards is a book I would recommend for anyone with an interest in history or with a desire to find out more about the "other" side of the First World War.

~~~BOOK DETAILS.

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books (13 Mar 2003)
ISBN-10: 0340860618
ISBN-13: 978-0340860618


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Summary: An interesting story about an uncomfortable subject!