Post by Claire on Feb 26, 2012 14:51:58 GMT 1
FARM BOY by MICHAEL MORPURGO
MAIN CHARACTERS:
THE NARRATOR – Un-named young man (at least I couldn't find his name anywhere)
GRANDPA - The narrator’s grandfather
ALBERT - Grandpa's father
JOEY – Horse (the ‘war horse’ from book of same name)
ZOEY – An old mare
HARRY MEDLICOTT – A rich neighbouring farmer
SUMMARY
Sequel to the author’s book 'War Horse'– this book is seen from the viewpoint of future generations of the family of that book and also re-visits Joey the equine hero after he has returned from the war. The book is structured as a story within a story. It is set partly in the present day and partly back in the years after the first world war. It begins with a narrator who is the great-grandson of Albert from War Horse. At the beginning of the story he is a teenage boy who has left school and is thinking of going to college. He tells of how he loves to talk with his grandfather, a farmer, and despite being a city boy he loves the farm life. His grandpa is slightly despised by his parents for being a bit of a yokel and illiterate, but the narrator however respects him and finds him fascinating. One day his grandpa tells him of how his late wife began to teach him to read and write but when she died at an early age he gave up. Now he wants his grandson to try and teach him and promises to write a story when he has learnt. Later the narrator is setting off for a trip to Australia when he finds the story his grandpa has written and reads it.
This story forms a new section of the book, also in the first person but with a new narrator, in which Grandpa tells of his life on the farm when Joey the famous horse was still alive and working on the farm after he’d come back from the war. In particular he focuses on a bet which his father makes with the local bigwig and neighbouring farmer Harry Medlicott. Medlicott has just got himself a new tractor and is boasting about it, so Albert bets him that he can plough more furrows than the tractor with his two horses. If he wins he gets the new tractor, if not he will lose a stock of hay which he can ill afford.
When the narrator has finished reading the story, he comes to the conclusion that he too would like to be a farmer.
REVIEW
A fairly short review (for me at least) for a very short book (took me under half an hour to read!) The book follows on from War Horse, being concerned as the title suggests with the more agricultural side of things. This story doesn’t really follow on from War Horse in a linear fashion and really just focuses on one main event in the lives of the grown up Albert and his son and the horse Joey, and also the later lives of Albert's son and great-grandson. As a consequence you don't need to have read War Horse first to read this one, although if you have read it, it's nice to briefly re-visit the characters.
This is a far gentler, less harrowing story than War Horse, though also correspondingly more lightweight. I am not sure exactly what age group it is set at, as the shortness of the book and the fact it has numerous illustrations point to a younger reader, but many of the characters are adult, and though it is written in a simplistic style it is appealing to the adult reader. In fact with its slow pace and gentle plot it may even be more suited to older readers than youngsters.
For me, the best part of the book is the historical-set story of the ploughing match. This really reminds me of some of the adult stories of Roald Dahl which are often set in the countryside and deal with bets and wagers, although the characters are not quite as detailed and it lacks the ‘twist’ quality – and darkness - of Dahl’s works. However, despite being a gentle story it does keep you hooked as you really want to find out how – or indeed if – the team of horses can somehow beat the tractor.
The outer story is slightly weaker, though it does paint a very good portrait of the old man and the relationship between him and his grandson. The narrator himself is perhaps not used as much as he could be and feels slightly peripheral to the story (this is exacerbated by the fact he is not even given a name), although he does get tied into it neatly at the end. I feel this section may lose the interest of some of the younger readers, as it is very slow paced.
The horse content is far less than in War Horse; and is mainly concentrated in the historical section of the book. Unlike War Horse none of the story is narrated by Joey, thus he comes across as a far less detailed character. The emphasis is more on the relationship of the humans with each other and with the farming life, of which horses were an integral part (and it does this extremely well), rather than on the more specific relationship of human and horses as in the prequel.
In summary, a very well-written book which will appeal to adults as well as children, especially those interested in farm life. It is also a good choice for those who liked War Horse but found it a little harrowing, or perhaps liked the farm side of the story best. It may not however suit those who prefer a more fast-paced exciting story or those who demand a lot of horse content.
I would rate is as 4 Horseshoes (very good).
MAIN CHARACTERS:
THE NARRATOR – Un-named young man (at least I couldn't find his name anywhere)
GRANDPA - The narrator’s grandfather
ALBERT - Grandpa's father
JOEY – Horse (the ‘war horse’ from book of same name)
ZOEY – An old mare
HARRY MEDLICOTT – A rich neighbouring farmer
SUMMARY
Sequel to the author’s book 'War Horse'– this book is seen from the viewpoint of future generations of the family of that book and also re-visits Joey the equine hero after he has returned from the war. The book is structured as a story within a story. It is set partly in the present day and partly back in the years after the first world war. It begins with a narrator who is the great-grandson of Albert from War Horse. At the beginning of the story he is a teenage boy who has left school and is thinking of going to college. He tells of how he loves to talk with his grandfather, a farmer, and despite being a city boy he loves the farm life. His grandpa is slightly despised by his parents for being a bit of a yokel and illiterate, but the narrator however respects him and finds him fascinating. One day his grandpa tells him of how his late wife began to teach him to read and write but when she died at an early age he gave up. Now he wants his grandson to try and teach him and promises to write a story when he has learnt. Later the narrator is setting off for a trip to Australia when he finds the story his grandpa has written and reads it.
This story forms a new section of the book, also in the first person but with a new narrator, in which Grandpa tells of his life on the farm when Joey the famous horse was still alive and working on the farm after he’d come back from the war. In particular he focuses on a bet which his father makes with the local bigwig and neighbouring farmer Harry Medlicott. Medlicott has just got himself a new tractor and is boasting about it, so Albert bets him that he can plough more furrows than the tractor with his two horses. If he wins he gets the new tractor, if not he will lose a stock of hay which he can ill afford.
When the narrator has finished reading the story, he comes to the conclusion that he too would like to be a farmer.
REVIEW
A fairly short review (for me at least) for a very short book (took me under half an hour to read!) The book follows on from War Horse, being concerned as the title suggests with the more agricultural side of things. This story doesn’t really follow on from War Horse in a linear fashion and really just focuses on one main event in the lives of the grown up Albert and his son and the horse Joey, and also the later lives of Albert's son and great-grandson. As a consequence you don't need to have read War Horse first to read this one, although if you have read it, it's nice to briefly re-visit the characters.
This is a far gentler, less harrowing story than War Horse, though also correspondingly more lightweight. I am not sure exactly what age group it is set at, as the shortness of the book and the fact it has numerous illustrations point to a younger reader, but many of the characters are adult, and though it is written in a simplistic style it is appealing to the adult reader. In fact with its slow pace and gentle plot it may even be more suited to older readers than youngsters.
For me, the best part of the book is the historical-set story of the ploughing match. This really reminds me of some of the adult stories of Roald Dahl which are often set in the countryside and deal with bets and wagers, although the characters are not quite as detailed and it lacks the ‘twist’ quality – and darkness - of Dahl’s works. However, despite being a gentle story it does keep you hooked as you really want to find out how – or indeed if – the team of horses can somehow beat the tractor.
The outer story is slightly weaker, though it does paint a very good portrait of the old man and the relationship between him and his grandson. The narrator himself is perhaps not used as much as he could be and feels slightly peripheral to the story (this is exacerbated by the fact he is not even given a name), although he does get tied into it neatly at the end. I feel this section may lose the interest of some of the younger readers, as it is very slow paced.
The horse content is far less than in War Horse; and is mainly concentrated in the historical section of the book. Unlike War Horse none of the story is narrated by Joey, thus he comes across as a far less detailed character. The emphasis is more on the relationship of the humans with each other and with the farming life, of which horses were an integral part (and it does this extremely well), rather than on the more specific relationship of human and horses as in the prequel.
In summary, a very well-written book which will appeal to adults as well as children, especially those interested in farm life. It is also a good choice for those who liked War Horse but found it a little harrowing, or perhaps liked the farm side of the story best. It may not however suit those who prefer a more fast-paced exciting story or those who demand a lot of horse content.
I would rate is as 4 Horseshoes (very good).