Private Peaceful (Private Peaceful - Michael Morpurgo)

Member Name: bluejules

Product:	Private Peaceful - Michael Morpurgo
Date:	24/10/09 (137 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautifully written, fantastic story, a very powerful ending

Disadvantages: A shocking ending

Michael Morpurgo was born in 1943, he attended schools in London, Sussex and Canterbury. He went on to London University to study English and French, he started teaching in a primary school in Kent. It was while he was there that he discovered what he wanted to do. "We had to read the children a story every day and my lot were bored by the book I was reading. I decided I had to do something and told them the kind of story I used to tell my kids - it was like a soap opera, and they focused on it. I could see there was magic in it for them, and realised there was magic in it for me."

I originally published this review on ciao in 2006 and as I sometimes still think about this book (mainly when I see it on my bookshelf, or when I'm thinking about books set in the war) I thought it was worth sharing with you. I recently cleared out a lot of my books but I won't part this one as I would like to read it again one day.

Private Peaceful is a novel about World War 1. I am quite interested in WW1 and 2 so when I see a novel set in one of these time periods I often take a closer look...

Private Thomas ("Tommo") Peaceful is recalling his childhood from those terrible battlefields. He remembers his big brother Charlie taking him to his first day of school, the death of his father when he was just a young child, his mum working hard to keep a roof over their heads and food on their table. He remembers his brother Joe who to Tommo was very special, despite people thinking he was 'simple'. He also recalls the only girl in his life, Molly, and his heartbreak of how she fell in love with Charlie and not him. But as the World turned to War, he had to grow up fast. Together Charlie and Tommo enlist (despite Tommo being underage) and they are sent to France, almost immediately. Charlie and Tommo fight for their lives and to stay together - facing certain death in the face every time they try to advance the British lines.

A watch, which was given to the private by an injured captain, marks the passing of the minutes and hours through one night. The beginning paragraph of each chapter starts in the present time, it is how he is feeling at that point and the rest of the chapter is memories from his childhood and time spent with his family. The book works it's way through the past until the past meets the present. Each chapter is a time in the night counting towards six the following morning when something tragic will happen. This is revealed in the closing pages and I actually cried when I read it.

The main character is very strong and the story is told through his voice. I also found myself getting attached to the characters in his life. All of the characters are very believable and they were described beautifully. I enjoy a book a lot more if I feel like I know the characters. They are so well described in this book that I felt like I was sitting in a corner watching watching the events unfold. I found myself thinking about the book and the characters long after I read the final page.

Time and memory shape this wonderful, emotive novel. It has a simple style and the pace is gentle yet addictive. Once I started this book I found it was extremely difficult to put it down. It is full of warmth and happiness as well as sadness and grief. It is so absorbing and atmospheric that it kept me reading to the very end. After finishing this book I found I had lots to think about and I realised just how precious it is just being alive. I thought I had predicted the ending quite early on in the book, but when I got to the ending I was shocked as there was a twist and the ending was totally unexpected. The ending was very sad but it was also so powerful that it left me feeling like I had lost something I knew so well. I highly recommend this book. It is one of the best books I've read in a long time.

The book is aimed at 10 years and over but I think that adults and children will enjoy it alike.

192 pages
Publisher: Collins
ISBN: 0007150067
Available for £3.99 on Amazon (paperback) rrp £5.99

Summary: An excellent book