Anna and the Swallow Man - by Gavriel Savit - Book Review - Published by Bodley Head

“Man who try to understand the world without the help of children are like men who try to bake bread without the help of yeast” ― Gavriel Savit

Anna and the Swallow Man is a beautiful and stunning read that will hit the worldwide bookshops in January 2016. This is a very creative debut from an actor normally found on stage at  the Westside Theatre Off-Broadway. In the author's personal time he likes to read many fantastic books including: Neil Gaiman’s 'Sandman' series, Yann Martel’s 'Life of Pi', Lev Grossman’s 'The Magicians' and Susanna Clarke’s 'Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell'. These books have inspired him to sit down and write a novel that will equally captivate any audience. 

The story depicts an original and unique period within WW2. It captures the time brilliantly in war time Poland, Germany and Russia. In Kraków, 1939, it is no place for a young child to grow up; there are a million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs. Anna Lania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father and suddenly, she finds herself alone but then she meets the Swallow Man. He is mysterious, strange and tall. And like Anna's missing father, he has a gift for languages: Polish, Russian, German, Yiddish, even Bird. When he summons a bright, beautiful swallow down to his hand to stop her from crying, Anna is entranced. Over the course of their travels together, Anna and the Swallow Man dodge bombs, tame soldiers, and even, despite their better judgement, make a friend. But in a world gone mad, everything can prove dangerous . . .

The story mixes a lot of creative energy from fairytales, folktales and historical fiction. As a reader, you find yourself on a path of magical realism which will subdue you through some very powerful emotions. The story takes a very odd point of view which might take some readers by surprise. Written with unconventional characters, Anna is still working out how the world really works. This takes on a naivety that is born out of age and experience, which will have an affect on many different readers. The main audience is young adult/adult, but I would happily recommend it to eleven year olds and older rather than younger. 

The swallow man is a very unconventional character like no other that I can recall in a story of this genre. He is very mysterious and interchangeable like his moods and personality. He gives nothing away which really makes the ending of the book difficult to finish. I really wanted a more dramatic and bold end to than it had. In my opinion, this was a slight downfall, but it was still very enjoyable.

This is not an easy book to sum up. It's very unusual but the language is very poetic just like the characters lives. There is a fluent transition between a fantastic plot and limited dialogue which I actually liked. It is an engaging and realistic depiction of wartime countries. The action and the narrative have been brilliantly written within 232 pages. It creeps slowly into your heart just like Morris Gleitzman, Once and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas did. It will carry you on the wind of reflection and hopefully onto the path of freedom and peace.  

Published by Bodley Head (28 Jan. 2016)

Book Review: Dan Smith - My Friend the Enemy + Trailer and Book Reading - Chicken House

                                       

I was really looking forward to reading this book once I knew that it was coming through the post. It's always a treat when I get books from Chicken House as I seem to love every book that I receive. In my opinion this publishing company have a great skill of picking a range of fantastic and diverse books to cater for every imaginative mind and this book is no different. 

It's a great skill when an author can write a story that provokes many thoughts from the reader - this book does it in spades. The book is set in the summer of 1941. The main character is called Peter. One day, when out playing in the woods, a German plane is shot out of the sky and comes crashing down very close to Peter. He rushes to the crash site hoping to finding something to keep but what he finds is something very different . . . . This is the start of a beautiful story that explores the friendship and the moral dilemma of helping the enemy and doing what feels right. It's told with great skill through the eyes of children within a hostile environment. 

This is a very captivating read. Whilst it is really sad in parts it is also told with an upbeat tempo. It portrays the times and spirit of that period particularly well. The attitudes and the hardships are very well depicted. They show everyone pulling together in times of need and keeping morale high. The life of making do, the lack of food and those everyday things that we now take for granted just make you think and begin to recognise what life was like at that time

The characters in the book are brilliant; I would even go on to say that they are special. It is as if the author has handpicked the key memories of children who lived through World War 2 and then captured these in his own vision. 

This is a sparkling book of friendship and adventure that will capture your heart strings and certainly take you down a turbulent path of mixed emotions. One of my favourite authors is Robert Westall who often took me down the fantastic path of WW2 gritty stories. Dan's first foray into children's literature brought back these golden times and I would really like to thank him for that. Perhaps he also enjoyed these qualities and aspects himself as a child - I believe that he also lives in the North East and might well be already acquainted with the same Robert Westall books as myself.

I would really like to see many people picking up this book and not just children. It's a book to get lost in a world which was someones reality back in the day. It may stir the emotions of people who perhaps lived through those times and, for those who are just far too young, it may help them to understand that particularly dark and bleak time. In my strong opinion, it might just make us all better people. The book is out on the 4th July so get it on your summer reading list. 

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