Book description
Set in the throes of the Second World War, this book recounts snippets
of recollections of events and of people that both scarred and inspired
a young boy growing up in this troubled time. It is humorous and quirky,
as we look at the adult world and its interpretation through a boy s
eyes, as well as deeply moving and poignant, as we see lives torn apart
by the bombing raids, the lost in action telegrams, and the personal
tragedies that occurred at every turn. It offers glimpses of the harsh
livings conditions of the time the rationing, the poverty, the
evacuation of children, the camaraderie, the Yanks coming, the appalling
acts perpetrated by teachers in the name of education and the simple
pursuits and pleasures of youngsters at the time what child these days
would be thrilled to receive a length of coloured string and a yo-yo for
Christmas or dribble at the thought of Spanish rhubarb? As, these days,
memories of the war seem more and more distant, and to younger
generations it becomes increasingly the stuff of action films fiction,
fantasy and thrills, rather than the grim, hard reality that it actually
was Urchin draws the reader into the real world of the Blitz, from a
viewpoint that is often overlooked the perspective of a child, a child
who witnessed the atrocities of the adult world, a world that he feared
and of which he never wanted to become a part. Set in the throes of
the Second World War, this book recounts snippets of recollections of
events and of people that both scarred and inspired a young boy growing
up in this troubled time. It is humorous and quirky, as we look at the
adult world and its interpretation through a boy s eyes, as well as
deeply moving and poignant, as we see lives torn apart by the bombing
raids, the lost in action telegrams, and the personal tragedies that
occurred at every turn. It offers glimpses of the harsh livings
conditions of the time the rationing, the poverty, the evacuation of
children, the camaraderie, the Yanks coming, the appalling acts
perpetrated by teachers in the name of education and the simple pursuits
and pleasures of youngsters at the time what child these days would be
thrilled to receive a length of coloured string and a yo-yo for
Christmas or dribble at the thought of Spanish rhubarb? As, these days,
memories of the war seem more and more distant, and to younger
generations it becomes increasingly the stuff of action films fiction,
fantasy and thrills, rather than the grim, hard reality that it actually
was Urchin draws the reader into the real world of the Blitz, from a
viewpoint that is often overlooked the perspective of a child, a child
who witnessed the atrocities of the adult world, a world that he feared
and of which he never wanted to become a part.
