Snow Goose by Paul Gallico
The moving wartime story of friendship and heroism, set against the dramatic backdrop of the World War II Battle of Dunkirk In the marshes of Essex, one of the last wild places left in England, a disfigured artist lives alone in an abandoned lighthouse. Shunned by society, he spends his days painting scenes of the coast and the birds that migrate to the meadowlands every winter. His days are solitary until one November afternoon, a young girl from a nearby village comes to his door carrying a wounded snow goose in her arms. The unlikely pair develop a friendship that deepens over the ensuing years, waiting together for the arrival of the birds every autumn. In 1940, with England at war, the birds depart early from the shores. The man, too, is called away by his duty as an Englishman to help evacuate the soldiers stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk. A moving tale of love, war, bravery, and sacrifice. Editorial Reviews Gr 5 Up-- A newly illustrated 50th anniversary edition of a classic. This brief literary fairy tale of the dark, reclusive hunchback with a gift for love and healing; the timid country girl; and the wounded snow goose that brings them together is undeniably sentimental. Certain aspects of the story may seem dated to today's readers, and they probably won't be drawn to an adult heroine depicted as so primitive and inarticulate that ``She did not understand war or what happened in France,'' and Rhayader must explain it to her ``in terms she could understand.'' The addition of painterly oil illustrations with a suitable romantic quality and an attractive book design make this a handsome package. No doubt, a new generation of young romantics will sigh with satisfying heartbreak as Fritha watches the soaring snow goose that she sees as ``the soul of Rhayader taking farewell of her before departing forever.'' --Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT - School Library Journal Gallico's classic adult novella, first published in 1941 after Dunkirk in the dark times of World War II, is reissued here in a large fiftieth-anniversary illustrated edition. It's the story of a hunchbacked artist, Rhayader, who lives as a recluse in a lonely lighthouse. One day a beautiful young village child asks him to help her save a wounded snow goose. They care for it until it's strong enough to fly away. Then at the time of the Battle of Dunkirk, when every civilian craft in England is called on to rescue soldiers from the sea, Rhayader makes trip after trip in his sailboat through the enemy fire, watched over by the great white snow goose, like an angel of mercy ("white sail and white bird"), until he disappears. The story's a tearjerker, complete with resurrection imagery, and Peck's full-page impressionistic oil paintings are idealized. The land- and seascapes are beautiful, and so is everything else. The hunchback is barely deformed, the girl is angelic (no sign in the pictures of the "grime" Gallico talks about), and in the end she's an exquisite white-clad maiden bidding sad farewell to the pure white bird. It's all as soppy and brave as any melodrama, and lots of kids will love it as much as their parents and grandparents did. The portrayal of an ordinary hero in wartime, as well as the transformation of an outsider who stands tall at last, are enduring in their appeal. - Hazel Rochman A tale of exquisite sentimentality and storytelling gains new appeal in Barrett's magical hands. Gallico's tale of the snow goose was first published in 1940, just after the Battle of Dunkirk, when thousands of British and French troops were rescued from the Germans by hundreds of small British boats. Philip Rhayader, a man crippled in body and spirit, lives alone in a lighthouse on the Essex coast, painting pictures and caring for the marsh birds. A wild young girl named Frith brings him an injured snow goose, somehow lost from Canada. He heals the goose, and the girl and bird return to him, warily but faithfully, season after season. Eventually Frith is grown, and feels stirrings of something else for the artist. Then it's the spring of 1940, and Philip goes out across the water, the goose with him, to rescue those trapped soldiers on Dunkirk beach, seven at a time. Fritha knows he's lost then and realizes what she has found, only to lose. Barrett approaches the story with a softness that matches the tone. The drawings are in graphite and pencil, with an occasional piece in color that lightens the mood. A lovely reworking for a whole new audience. (Historical fiction. 11-14) - Kirkus Reviews Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2007: "A tale of exquisite sentimentality and storytelling gains new appeal in Barrett's magical hands . . . a lovely reworking for a whole new audience." From the Hardcover edition. - From the Publisher
Publication Details
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Author(s):
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Binding: Hardcover
Published by: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group: , 1943
Edition:
ISBN: 9780394445939 | 0394445937
64 pages.
Book Condition: Very Good
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