Goodnight Mister Tom (Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle Magorian)

Member Name: sonic0209

Product:	Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle Magorian
Date:	30/12/08 (398 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Moving, a children's novel with depth and warmth

Disadvantages: Some serious subject matter - be wary for younger readers

My eldest son is in Year 4 (second year of Juniors or 8-9 year olds in old money) and last term he and I read Goodnight Mister Tom together in support of the WW2 syllabus subject that they were following. I found that what is essentially a children's novel (in the vein of The Railway Children and The Chronicles of Narnia) and which appears on the school syllabus, had both the depth and gravity of a novel aimed at adults, whilst remaining accessible to the younger reader. To be frank, I was surprised at how moved I was when reading it.

The book, by Michelle Magorian, was published in 1980 and tells the story of a WW2 evacuee, Will, who leaves London to live in the depths of the English countryside with a grumpy widower, Tom Oakley. We meet Will on his arrival in the village of Weirwold and it is revealed that Will has come from a troubled and abusive home - he is covered in bruises and lesions, is emaciated, wets the bed and is frightened of everything and everyone. His mother has sent him away with only a bible and leather belt for his carer to beat him with.

Magorian deftly develops the relationship between Will and the withdrawn and unfriendly widower to give us a heart-warming and life affirming story of a true friendship. The healing power of this friendship not only improves Will's physical well being, but allows him to discover that he has talents and is a valued friend. Tom (or Mister Tom as Will calls him) also benefits from this friendship, returning to the village life from which he withdrew when he was widowed and discovering that the more you give, the more you get in return.

The tales of village life and the various memorable characters it offers up are a real pleasure to read about. Whilst the whole community spirit and gentle caring of Tom towards Will could become incredibly insipid, in fact due to the harsh and, at times, bleak aspects of Will's treatment, you find yourself relishing the sentimentality of the world of Weirwold. Let me be clear, this book is not a light-hearted read - I found myself quite choked up and not because it is corny, it is genuinely moving.

Goodnight Mister Tom did win awards, the Guardian Children's Award (1982) for one, and understandably. I can see why it would also appear on the school curriculum. It paints quite clearly what day to day life (in the country) was like during this period, from the clothes, to school life, to air raid shelters, to the food and how it was prepared. From this point of view it is a helpful text to support learning about the life of children during WW2. I found it to be better than Carrie's War (by Nina Bawden) in this respect. I can also see that it has other attributes worthy of study: strong story telling, character development, themes that can be explored.

So what age children would I say this is suitable for? My son is 8 and there were points in the book where I wondered whether we should have embarked on it at all. He found it a shock and very upsetting to learn that a mother could be so cruel to her son. There is also a scene that discusses sex - not in an explicit way as it is a conversation between Will and his friend so it is a child's interpretation of how it works, but it's worth knowing this if you want to be sure that your son/daughter understands what actually happens as it could be a bit confusing. On balance, it worked out OK for my son and I, but I'd say probably because we were reading it together. It's probably more aimed at 11 year olds and up, but as ever with these things it depends on the child.

Whilst my eldest is now of an age where he can and does read alone, I enjoy reading with him as well, mainly books that he would not feel confident enough to tackle alone just yet. A real bonus for me, though, is that I get to read those books that I missed out on reading when I was younger, but which I'd still like to read and Goodnight Mister Tom is one of them. If you don't have a son/daughter to use as an excuse, even as an adult I would recommend this book as one of those classics that doesn't take much to read, but is very rewarding and will stick in the memory for a long time after.

This is the first novel and best known novel by Michelle Magorian, who is also an actor and has written the lyrics for the musical version of this book. She has gone on to write a number of other novels (Back Home, A Little Love Song, Cuckoo in the Nest and A Spoonful of Jam), all set in the WW2/post war period and several of these also winning awards. In 2008 she published her latest novel, Just Henry, set in post War period. The contrast between the cheerful good humour and empowering warmth of strong friendships, and the debilitating impact of flawed individuals on those around them has remained a common theme.

Goodnight Mister Tom is available quite cheaply on Amazon (from £1.99 new and £0.01 used!), but I got my copy from the local library.

I'm looking forward to seeing the TV drama starring John Thaw (perfectly cast), also available on DVD from Amazon.

Summary: Great story telling, strong and memorable characters, genuinely moving