Thursday, April 19, 2012

Winter in Wartime by Jan Terlouw - ADVISABLE


Terlouw, Jan Winter in Wartime, 220 p. Lemniscaat, 2011/1975.  $10.  Content: G (tension and death, but nothing graphic).  

Michiel, 14, has managed to avoid involvement in WWII in his small Dutch village, until a request from a  friend, a member of the Dutch Resistance, embroils Michiel in situations that may be way over his head.  While Michiel tries his hardest, even saving an American pilot who has been shot down nearby, someone seems to be betraying Michiel and the village.  Is it the taciturn villager whose every move seems suspicious?  Or is it someone that Michiel mistakenly trusts?  

I actually read this book in the original Dutch before I knew that it had been translated into English – I guess for the 2008 release of a movie.  I wouldn’t say that the translation is the best, but I did enjoy the look at a young boy trying to be a hero in the little ways he can.  EL, MS – ADVISABLE.


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