Michael Morpurgo - War Horse

review by Ro Bennett live on show 7th June 2012.
I resisted reading this book for a long time because I really didn’t want to read any more about the First World War and its horrors and heartbreak. When it came out as a film and on the stage I decided that I didn’t want to see them either as the angst would be even more graphic and embed the tragic images in my mind and give me nightmares.

Then Fiona offered to lend me her grandson’s copy which she said she had read and found very touching. It was very sad, it did make me cry but it was also heartwarming and moving and well worth reading.

This is the product description:
From master storyteller, Michael Morpurgo comes an incredibly moving story about one horse's experience in the deadly chaos of the first world war. In 1914, Joey, a young farm horse, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges towards the enemy, witnessing the horror of the frontline. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him.

Right from the beginning I identified with Joey and was drawn into his story and his emotions: his fear when he was separated from his mother as a young foal at the market where he was bought by Alberts father, his vulnerability to harsh or kind treatment from those who owned him or worked with him, the cruelty of war and its dreadful repercussions.

The story wasn’t just about Joey charging into battle after battle, Joey has many different experiences which give the reader a variety of insights into both the experiences of those fighting, to the life of the civilians in a country where a war is being fought.

I really cared about Joey and his fate and that of Albert who loved him so much. I was upset when Albert’s father was unkind to Joey, I was dismayed when Albert was sold to the Army and he and Albert were separated. As the story unfolds, with many twists and turns, the characters and other horses Joey meets are very well depicted. It is an interesting, gripping page turner, taking the reader on a roller coaster of emotion, but despite its grim subject matter it is a story of hope.

Finally I loved it when, as the Queen sailed down the Thames in the Jubilee River Pageant she received a unique salute from Joey the War Horse at the National Theatre. Ever since the Queen visited the play in 2009, Joey has been a firm favourite of hers and has even paid a private visit to Windsor Castle. He looked absolutely splendid and it was very moving - a worthy tribute!