War Horse

 
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

The first time I ever heard about War Horse, it was on Good Morning America. The London stage play, War Horse, had finally crossed the ocean and was premiering in New York. The trio of puppeteers for Joey, the titular character, brought him to life in the newsroom and I was mesmerized. What amazing talent! I am relatively certain that Joey also made an appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly. I stood spellbound in my kitchen. Oh how I longed to witness the magic for myself.

And then War Horse was made into a motion picture by Stephen Spielberg himself in 2011. I wasn’t interested. I wanted the mystical quality of the puppets on stage. But even then, I had not a clue that the play and the movie were based upon a CHILDREN’S BOOK!

No, it wasn’t until I received the 2013 Illinois Bluestem Nominee Master List last year that I did a double take. WHAT!!?? Not only is it juvenile fiction, but it is a VERY slight novel. I read it in a day in the truck driving towards Mt. Rushmore. Had I read the book as a child myself… it was published in 1982… I doubt that I would have envisioned it as the type of book that would be made into anything… It has obviously touched many lives.

I am trying not to regurgitate what so many already know about the story. I also realize that the three different versions are not identical due to the nature of the various media arts. I will tell you the way I see the story. Through a non-human participant, Joey, the reader is shown that many people, even the ones that are supposed to be our enemies, have good in them.

The most obvious example occurs when Joey is caught between two trenches, one belonging to the Germans and one belonging to the English. Both armies spontaneously accept a ceasefire long enough to rescue the injured and lost Joey from between the two sets of barbed wire. The men who enter the area known as “no-man’s-land” agree to the conditions of a coin toss and thereby Joey is saved and placed once again in safe, capable hands. The two soldiers agree that they would both rather be at home tending to their own affairs rather than fighting the battle for which they no longer understand the reason. Neither wants to be in the business of killing men.

Even at the beginning of the story, Joey’s young master, Albert, has a drunkard for a father. In fact, much of Joey and Albert’s troubles come from the father’s drinking binges. Joey was purchased out of a drunken spite. Joey is beaten out of drunken rage. Joey is forced into manual labor out of a drunken bet. Finally, Joey is sold to the army out of a drunken need for money. But when Albert’s father wakes from his drunken coma, he is regretful and remorseful and contrite to an extent. It is his vice that is evil. The reader hopes that he will learn to shun alcohol.

The story would have bored me when it wasn't bringing me to tears if not for the climax and resolution. When Albert finally finds Joey! It is BEAUTIFUL in my opinion. And I thought the ending was very clever. Recommended to boys who enjoy war stories. Too sad and depressing for my girls, I believe. And not your typical horse book either. Wouldn't recommend to animal lovers.