The book that I have read and chosen to review this time is 'War Horse'. It is a very famous book by Michael Morpurgo and has been turned into a stage show and film. It was also relevant for me to read this book as we are studying the World War's. The book is about a very courageous horse that goes on a journey meeting different people throughout the war.
The journey starts in Devon where a boy named Albert first brings the horse up. Albert calls this horse Joey as his father brings it home after he bought it one evening at an auction. Albert’s father can be a harsh man on the outside especially when he is drunk however during the book you get to see how his character changes with his feelings towards Joey.
Albert brings Joey up and gets very close to him coming to visit him in his stables every day and talks to him in confidence about many different subjects. The war then begins, a time of deep sadness for all, especially Albert’s father who is struggling to keep his farm going. One morning he sneaks the horses out to be sold to the army. Even though this section of the book is upsetting I like it as you get to see how Albert’s father reacts. Even though he needs to sell the horse for the money he still realises he is doing the wrong thing, and he knows that Albert will be heartbroken.
From this point on, Joey is put into different environments and situations throughout the book where he meets new friends and looses friends too.
I think that this book is good because it is written in the perspective of the horse itself and this, I feel, brings you closer to the character Joey. It also shows you that even though humans throughout the book dismiss the horses’ capability to understand humans it still shows the connections it has between the characters he meets and defiantly Albert his owner from the beginning.
I liked the section of the book, after Joey has been through a journey himself – escaping from the army and has got lost trying to survive - where the two soldiers an English and German are on ‘no man’s land’ having a civilised discussion about who should keep the horse. I thought that this was a comical moment as it is quite unlikely that it would happen actually during the war and that they were quite warming characters.I would defiantly recommend this book to everyone as it has a gripping storyline and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. This was because I couldn’t wait to find out whether Joey would survive or whether he would be reunited with his rightful owner Albert. I would also recommend this book as it is a short, sweet and simple read, suitable for all.