Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Deceptively gentle story about the harshness of foster care and war, 22 May 2009
The pace is gentle but the subject is not. What was most moving about this book was the portrayal of the way foster care affects a child.
Erich experienced the pain of having to leave foster parents he loved, and the agony of having to live with parents who didn't treat him kindly. And on top of that, the constant insecurity of having pretty much no say in the matter. Sometimes he felt there was no one to turn to; and even when there was someone he trusted, he didn't know if he'd have to leave them suddenly, or if they'd leave him.
There was also the problem of being separated from his brother, then reunited (making him feel his position in his new foster family was threatened), and later they were separated again.
As Erich gets older, he loses more people and has less control over who he can hang on to, and I feel this comes across very well and compelled me to keep reading. The more I read, the more I felt unable to put the book down: I had to see how things would turn out in the end.
I liked the gentle pace because although in some ways I felt the urge to rush on and see what would happen, I also enjoyed 'looking at the scenery as I passed'. It made the journey very vivid and beautiful.
It kept its sense of realism nicely though, too. And although it is set in post-war Ireland, it could just as easily describe the emotional experience of being a foster child today, or at any time.
Because of its subtlety, I would recommend it for children of any age: the story follows Erich from age 5 to 15 so most children will relate to something of Erich's feelings and adventures. But adults could enjoy it on a deeper level because there is a lot beneath its surface, too.
A good read!!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
a second chance in life, 11 May 2009
A moving harsh fictional story that undoubtedly lies within the heart of any War-German child who has had to through such a bitter experience.
I found it a quite interesting story from a historical perspective as the face we receive from that terrible time is mainly based on war battles but not much is known about the little victims that were left parentless.
Ireland becomes the magical land that gives Enrich a second opporunity in life to become accepted and above everything loved. However, although I consider it quite good I found it sometimes exhausting because of the constant changes Erich undergoes and where he harly ever finds solidarity or love. Anyway I think it is a good reflection on how humans work and do not stop to think about the terrible condition that a war child experiences until he finally finds a place in society, a place which Erich finally seems to have achieved. The growth of the child, the path he takes is wonderfully described by the author and is a rich and necessary historical record, although it is a fictional one, of the magnifient humanitary action that some countries carried out to help those children to start a new life.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Poignant story of how war can damage children forever, 31 Mar 2009
Many of the other reviewers have summarised the storyline, so I shall simply say that this is an entertaining, sad and sometimes poignant story of Erich, a German war orphan who travels to Ireland under a Red Cross scheme to assist children to recover from the horrors of war.
This is an event in history that I had no idea about, and Dianne Ascroft is to be applauded for bringing the plight of these orphans and the good intentions of the Irish people to the attention of modern readers. And it is apparent, even while Erich is not always happy in this book (and he is entirely fictional it must be stressed) that most people had offered him care with good intentions. There are somewhat amusing episodes where Erich struggles with the different food and customs, and at one time he takes a coin from a shop cash register for his foster mother as they are shiny and clearly they have so many there!
The novel is well written, and all of the characters are well depicted. The telling of life in everyday post war Ireland is engaging and realistic, and Erich's struggles to be accepted and find somewhere he can call home is at times quite heart rending.
Overall an engaging novel with a fesity and determined young hero, and one well worth your time.
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