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The Snow Goose (2001)

The Snow Goose (2001)

Book Info

Author
Genre
Rating
4.07 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0140299521 (ISBN13: 9780140299526)
Language
English
Publisher
penguin books, limited (uk)

About book The Snow Goose (2001)

A hunchback artist called Rhayader moves to a lighthouse to paint the coast and the birds. He lives a lonely existence because of his appearance. The nearby village begins circulating rumours that the hunchback is magical and an ignorant girl called Frith takes a damaged snow goose to him to heal which he does with basic medicine (splints, bandages, etc.). The two bond over the snow goose which returns each year to visit until eventually it settles down to live with Rhayader all year round. Then World War 2 begins and their small idyllic existence is forever lost.I’m really puzzled as to who the audience for The Snow Goose is.It looks like a kid’s book – at 40ish pages, it’s a short story, and it’s fully illustrated – so it might be aimed at kids 10 or under. But then a large part of the story centres around the Dunkirk evacuation from WW2 and unrequited love – military history and complex adult emotions aren’t really things I’d say pre-pubescent junior school kids would have any knowledge of.Unless it’s not aimed at kids and it’s supposed to be for teenagers and older? Except it looks like too much of a kid’s book to appeal to any teens. I know when I was in high school, I only had eyes for books by Terry Pratchett, Stephen King and Douglas Adams, steering well clear of anything for kids.And adults? Would a 40ish page illustrated short story appeal to them, and would they be engaged with the thin story, one-dimensional characters and excessive sentimentality? Besides highlighting that there was an evacuation at Dunkirk in 1940, it doesn’t provide any insight to the event.It’s baffling, though I’m an adult (technically anyway!) and I picked this up as I was told it’s a classic. Except it’s not. Neither Rhayader or Frith could be considered well-written, rounded, memorable characters in the least, and the story is extremely boring for the most part. It becomes mildly interesting – though incredibly far-fetched – once Rhayader and the snow goose take off in a skiff to the coast of Dunkirk to help ferry stranded British soldiers from the beach to the larger ships anchored nearby. But that little piece of fantasy doesn’t really make this a classic.There’s far too much mawkish sentimentality over unspoken love, and tragic and needless death, and so on, but it felt manipulative of the author rather than genuine. I wasn’t saddened by the ending, I just wondered what the point of it was. It’s much too brief a story to make you feel anything about any of the “characters”.I suppose kids might enjoy the book – it’s not a challenging read, though I’m not sure what a kid is going to get out of it. Older readers are likely to be unsatisfied with the brevity of the shallow tale. The Snow Goose, aka Hunchbacks Need Love Too, is a forgettable and trite short story that easily impressed romance fans or readers looking for sentiment for the sake of sentiment will enjoy.

This small little book was published in 1941 telling a sentimental story happened in Essex coast, England from 1930 to 1940. The author was however, an American! This fact stunned me as a part of the story was told in a very British local accent way that I had to guess most of the words!Anyway, the story is beautiful and a tearjerker:A disable man with a hunchback and a claw hand, but also a talented painter with a loving heart, lived in an abandoned lighthouse alone. He loves nature and nurtured migrant birds. One day a little girl brought a wounded and far-from her migrant route Canadian snow goose to him to save and this started their friendship for over 10 years till the girl grew to a woman. Then, the war and the trapped English soldiers nearby needed the man. Using his small sailing boat through dangerous war zone, he saved hundred men but gave his own life. All through his brave and dangerous action, the saved snow goose circled above him and watching over him. When the snow goose finally returned to the lighthouse, the woman knew that the man she just realized she had been in love deeply would never returned. She saw the farewell snow goose as the man’s soul going away too. She took away his painting of her holding the goose, the image when he first met them. The snow goose flied away and then the German bombed the lighthouse down. The heartbroken girl faced the utter desolation of the place. The end.The possible happiness was destroyed by the war. One might analyze the metaphors in the story… but I just love the scenery described and the simple friendship/love between the man, the girl and the goose.By the way, surprised by one sentence in the novel said that Canada “…a land belonging to England.”, I actually leaned later through Google that Canada’s independence took 150 years. So indeed Canada was still within British land when this book was written.This little book can be read on line or prated out from here: http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvind...

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I'm not sure what to call this--a 20th century fable? It's a short tale of Philip Rhayader, a kind and artistic soul with a deformed body. In his twenties, he moves to the English seacoast to live in seclusion, away from the repulsive looks and attitudes of "normal" people. He spends his time painting, sailing his boat and caring for the birds that take up residence in his property. He finds peace in this lifestyle, but one day a young girl from the nearby village brings a injured snow goose to him. As she helps him care for the bird, a tenuous relationship develops. It's a short, quiet, emotional tale in which love and fear, beauty and ugliness mix together to give a brief peek into reality.
—The other John

*Minor spoilers*When I was a little girl there was a very popular radio show called the ‘1080 Club’. It played short stories and had fun stuff for children, like your name being read out on the radio on your birthday, and they had days out, etc. I loved it and listened religiously every Sunday morning in my bed or snuggled up in some makeshift ‘hut’ I’d made out of sheets and blankets. I know this makes me sound like an old fart, with the radio and all, but it wasn’t all THAT long ago!!! ;-)Anyway, the hosts played a selection of short stories, such as ‘Diana and The Golden Apple’, ‘Little Toot’, ‘Bad Jelly The Witch’ read by Spike Milligan (my absolute favourite) and others, which included ‘The Snow Goose’.Now, I didn’t understand some of this story, as it has some very broad Essex accents in it, so when it was recorded and I heard it, I couldn’t make out most of what people were saying! However, I still got the main gist of the tale, which is a hauntingly-beautiful, stark and heart-wrenching story about an artist called Phillip who lives a reclusive life, mainly due to his hunchback, and lives in an abandoned lighthouse on the Essex coastline in the 1930-1940s. He is a kind man and cares for animals, particularly birds, and one day a young girl brings a wounded snow goose to him to heal. A lovely friendship blossoms and the man enjoys the hours spent with the girl and the animals. Over the next ten years, the snow goose leaves with the other birds for their annual migration, but returns each Autumn to the lighthouse. The girl, Frith, only visits the lighthouse when the snow goose returns. When WWII breaks out, the man leaves in his small fishing boat to help the soldiers stranded on the shores at Dunkirk and the girl, now a woman, realises that she in fact, loves him.It is only a short story, but within those handful of pages, Gallico paints a haunting tale set within the stark Essex coastline and mud lands, full of birds and tidal pools. He conveys the utter loneliness of the characters and their growing friendship. It is a stunning story, so eloquently told, so honest and brutal. It is heart-breaking and one of my favourite stories. ‘The Small Miracle’ is the second tale in this book. It deals with a small orphan boy Pepino and his friend, the donkey Violetta, and their daily struggle for survival in Assisi, Italy. When Violetta grows ill, Pepino wants to take her to the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi to pray for her health. It is a warm little tale about hope and sheer determination in the face of adversity and poverty.So, I recommend these tales if you like animal stories, tales of humanity, honesty and warmth. They will make you tear up and make your heart feel ‘fuzzy’! Lovely stories for readers of all ages.
—TheWellReadLady

Most novels with World War II playing a significant part in it are usually about concentration camps, Jews and the Nazis, and mainly Nazis. This one has the Dunkirk Evacuation. One reason to read this.Gallico has gorgeous, poetic prose. His descriptions breathe and flow smooth as silk. You only know the characters for about fifty pages, yet feel for them and feel their loss by the end of the book. The story is sentimental, melodramatic, and soggy with readers' (and perhaps the writer's) saltwater tears, and Gallico pulls it off masterfully. Its lesson is harsh and unapologetically tragic, with no compromise and no trying to make it easier for the reader to take. More reasons to read it.A lumbering yeti could cry because of this book. If Elsa read this book, she wouldn't have had trouble with her powers. It melts frozen hearts.Awwwww... Yes, it's good. I actually read part of this story before in Michael Morpugo's "Animal Stories" collection. Because it was an excerpt, the part introducing Rhayader was cut out. That made me think he was literally an ogre. Well, he's not. He's a human. He's a very good human.
—Onysha

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