2023 REREAD: I suddenly found 'Goodnight Mister Tom' to not be as well written as I had thought originally; almost from the very beginning. It's shocking, since only four years ago I had lovingly declared it to be one of the best written books I've ever read.
But there are several instances of paragraphs, and dialogue exchanges, mentioning more than one male character, and so the same male pronouns would be used to apply to them, with what they are (or were) doing and so forth, with nothing to distinguish them, not even a name, to avoid confusion between them. There were many times when I had to reread passages again, because of confusions and inconsistencies such as these. Not so effortlessly flowing and fluid, writing-wise or reading-wise.
Also I found the book to be quite long, repetitive, mundane and boring overall, with not much happening. However the characters are memorable and distinct, if inconsistent sometimes. Weird, inexplicable, random events, and many uncomfortable things, framed as small, inconsequential and worth forgetting immediately, also disturbed my enjoyment. I'm not expecting a book from the eighties to be overly PC and sensitive, but still.
Regardless, 'Goodnight Mister Tom' is on the whole a lovely and important book set in WWII. It is about love, found family, childhood, and hope in a hopeless world.
I am starting to really worry now. It's like, as I'm getting older and thus more wary, aware, self-conscious, critical and picky, I don't like to read novels anymore, and that even rereading old favourites will become a disappointment to me - like it won't hold up, and the magic, the surprise, the passion of the first read will be gone. As the dreaded years pass, have I grown to be too attentive, too critical, too jaded, too easily bored, and cynical and disillusioned?
I will continue to reread my books, even some from only a few years ago, and hope that I will end up keeping more than giving away; that there remains a spark inside me - my heart - that will always enjoy reading.
I love to read. To read good, solid books (though I know nothing can be flawless, of course). Let that never change.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
Well, it looks like you can actually really like - no, love - books that you were made to read at school, and even then only in snippets. Once that unpleasant, tedious, soul-of-literature-and-life-sucking experience is over and done with, try reading those sources of "study" again, without it being homework and a chore.
'Goodnight Mister Tom' is the perfect example of this for me.
I admit to remembering the nineties film adaptation more than the book before delving into this piece of my childhood, but I'm thankful to all the praise and bookworm recommendations given, persuading me to finally give the novel another chance. In it, I rediscovered a treasure, long buried and forgotten, but brought to glorious light and shine at last.
'Goodnight Mister Tom' is one of the most breathtaking, heartbreaking, brilliant, hopeful, and tearful landmarks in children's and young adult literature I have ever read. A beautiful English WWII evacuee story that explores the countryside and the voluminous examples of the human experience. Set in a desolate world teetering on the edge of total collapse, it is about childhood, what makes a family, loss, grief, change, courage, resilience, justice, moving on, growing up, and faith. It is about human nature, and how there are good, kind, friendly and tolerant people in a world that seems only full of cruelty and monsters sometimes. It is about companionship, friendship, caring for others, and the potential reached when one is allowed to be happy and free. When one is loved.
The writing is excellent and breezy - Michelle Magorian manages to make any mundane day-to -day activity deeply interesting and endearing. The colours, the country, the farms, the graveyard, the church, the weather, the clothes, the books, the drawings, the trees (fantastic growing symbolism done there), the animals, the people! The intriguing, differentiating and multidimensional characters help it along. The written word highlights the effects of child abuse so well - as well as fear, a loveless existence, and a lack of education - and I can't recall when a book has made me this close to crying buckets, especially towards the ending. Nor can I recall caring this much about practically all of the characters and their fates in a children's book in such a long time.
I must note that there is also a subtle feminist touch to this WWII novel that was written in the eighties, specifically in regards to a young girl character who wants to receive higher education, and who gets to wear boys' clothing, and go out to have fun. I will leave it at that.
Bottom line, 'Goodnight Mister Tom' is a masterpiece. A writing craftsmanship dream. An enriching, heartfelt experience. A powerful book that is beyond touching.
Read it. Love it. Study it, but maybe in your free time. Homework is neither fun nor enlightening, and the youth cannot really appreciate a story and its full meaning and messages until they're older and wiser. When teaching a class about 'Goodnight Mister Tom', say you love it and why first, then recommend it, and then talk about its merits after finishing; like in a warm, cosy book club.
Final Score: 5/5
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