Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

Men (and women, too) have gone to war for as many reasons as you can count.  I wonder, though, how many have gone to war not out of patriotism or bravery, but out of fear?  Fear of being labeled a coward.  Fear of being seen as someone who would rather run and hide than fight.  You would think self preservation would make all of us want to run and hide in the extreme circumstances that war puts soldiers in, but pressure from our peers, from the government, from total strangers on the street makes most of us bow down and do things we would prefer not to do.

It was not purely by chance that Michael Morpurgo chose the family name Peaceful for the surname of his characters in his 2003 YA novel, Private Peaceful.  The name actually has double meaning as he came across the "Peaceful" on a cemetery headstone in Belgium.  And of course there is the added irony that two Peaceful boys would go to war, for different reasons, but neither out of a desire to fight and die bravely for their country.  But they go and do their duty only to have everything turn out horribly wrong.

"They've gone now, and I'm alone at last.  I have the whole night ahead of me, and I won't waste a single moment of it.  I shan't sleep it away.  I won't dream it away either.  I mustn't, because every moment of it will be far too precious."

And so begins Tommo's story.  It's five past ten, and on this night, more than any other night of his life he wants to feel alive.  Tommo is the youngest of three brothers.  Big Joe, a gentle soul who would never harm another looks upon life and his family with childlike innocence.  As a baby he contracted meningitis and will forever remain in a world of his own.  Both Tommo and Charlie are fiercely loyal to Big Joe and they judge friends and acquaintances by how they treat their elder sibling. 

Over the course of this long night Tommo looks back on his young life and all the things that make him who he is and which have put him into the situation he now finds himself.  He carries with him a secret--that he feels responsible for the death of his father.  It is this death that changed his family's lives, already difficult, but also drew them in closer together.  James Peaceful was a forester who worked for the family upon whose land they live.  Despite his death, the Peacefuls are allowed to stay in their cottage, a home meant only for a worker of the Great House, but every small victory is hard earned and begrudgingly given. 

In each successive chapter, with the clock ticking away to some unknown ending more of the Peaceful's lives are revealed.  Their hopes and dreams and aspirations as well as their fears and tragedies--all filtered through Tommo's perceptions.  Each chapter opens in the present, which is quickly understood to be the battlefields of WWI.  But until past and present meet and come together the story rolls out in what seems to be a series of related vignettes until it's understood more or less what is about to happen.  The details are hazy until the very end but it's with an increasing sense of doom that Tommo tells his story.

This is heartbreaking reading.  Heartbreaking because it's a war story that didn't need to happen.  I don't think I am giving anything away by saying Tommo goes to war, a war he is too young to fight in by the way, because he doesn't want to be labeled a coward.  At least in part.  Charlie is forced to go to war, a war he had no plans to take part in but will do so to ensure his family is taken care of.  Tommo demands to go too, in order to look after his brother, but it's with the image in his mind of a woman pointing her finger at him for not stepping forward immediately and joining up to go off and fight.  It reminded me of Peter Malouf's excellent novel Fly Away Peter.

In his afterword, Micheal Morpurgo explains his intentions for writing the book.  It's what happens to the Peaceful brothers on the battlefield, what happened to many British soldiers during the war, that Morpurgo writes about so sympathetically and eloquently but never sentimentalizing the events.  Many wrongs are perpetrated on the characters in this book, and history is filled with such wrongs.  Sadly, these wrongs that happened during the war have never been admitted to by the British government and the solders' actions behind them never excused.

So often YA literature is not only well written but thoughtfully written.  This is a book to get younger audiences thinking and discussing but can be equally appreciated by adults as well.  I hadn't realized until I read the afterword that Michael Murpurgo is also the author of War Horse, which was made into a successful film as well as adapted to the stage.  

I read this for Caroline's Literature and War Readalong.  You can read her thoughts on the book here, as well as Judith's of Reader in the Wilderness here.  This is a book I can highly recommend.  June's read is Fear by Gabriel Chevallier.

Comments

[Caroline]

Thanks for awonderful review, Danielle.
I thought he did a great job and it was very heartbreaking. I was so interested to see how he would deal with trench warfare for a younger audience - and he did it so well.
The early chapters were a bit slow but I understood why he wrote them later. They allow easy idenification and caring for the character's fate.

[cath]

Beautiful review Danielle, I will hopefully be able to find this and read it later in the year.

[vicki (skiourophile / bibliolathas)]

This sounds heart-breaking but also a great way for people who have only the received wisdom of school history to think about other sides to the war that we don't hear about so much. I've not read any of his books - or seen War Horse - but they sound great.

[litlove]

My son read this when he was in school and thought it was very good. My feeling is that if school doesn't ruin a book, it must be amazing! Beautiful review, Danielle, of what sounds like a properly poignant and moving novel.

[Stefanie]

This is a YA book? I'm really impressed by that not to mention it sounds like a beautifully written book.

[Danielle]

It did start out a little slow but I am actually quite glad he eased into it all. I am lately so apprehensive starting war stories (this next one should be interesting!) that it was almost a relief that it seemed to be more of a 'homefront' book at first. Of course it quickly became apparent that something awful was going to happen. I was for sure the ending would be different--that it was going to be Tommo being held for cowardice, so it was an ending that came a little unexpectedly. Morpurgo definitely knows how to write for a YA audience--nothing to graphic yet nothing dumbed down either. Excellent choice and a nice break in between books written for an adult audience.

[Danielle]

Thanks Cath, I think this is a story you will very much appreciate. It is a gentle sort of read yet harrowing in its way, too. Definitely a nice addition to WWI literature. It is also a fairly quick read and my copy was nicely formatted.

[Danielle]

It didn't dawn on me until I read the afterword that he also wrote War Horse (the play was just here in Omaha and my library--Me!--ordered the script for our collection). Strangely I have a hard time reading war books that are about animals so I have not been able to bring myself to read (or watch War Horse). Private Peaceful is a very accessible story, however--even if it makes for hard reading at parts. Nicely presented for a young audience and a great discussion book. I didn't want to give any details of the ending away, but you might already know the twist--I am almost shocked that the British government has never pardoned soldiers for 'cowardly acts' during war. It is almost ludicrous and maddening.

[Danielle]

Isn't that the truth! Why is it that so many wonderful books are totally ruined by high school English classes. I never picked up a Willa Cather book until my 20s thanks to having her work crammed down our throats--thankfully we never actually read any of the books (but being a Nebraska author she was much discussed!). And now I love WC! I can easily see how young adults would enjoy and appreciate this story--and I know your son was not always especially enamored by reading so it is quite a compliment to Morpurgo that he thought well of it! :)

[Danielle]

Yes, it certainly had a very adult theme, but then I have read a number of YA novels that dealt with really prickly issues and did so very well. It is very well written and nicely presented--definitely one to add to your list if you have any inclination for reading something about WWI at some point.

[Denise Rogers]

It sounds a bit like like a chapter from Tim O'Brien's The Things We Carried. He talks about not slipping over the border to Canada when called up for service in Vietnam in the same way as this author does. He says you go because you are a coward--you are afraid to disappoint your friends and family; you are afraid to be the source of their being ostracized; you go because you are afraid to be cut off from your country (death might be preferable); you go because of peer pressure, in other words, not out of patriotism.

I'm glad this book has come out; it seems to me that young people, who might soon enlist in the military, should have some books that talk honestly about war. Right now the YA market is flooded with dystopian novels set in fictional worlds. There is room for a book like this one.

[Danielle]

Yes, there is definitely room for a book like this--it is so well done. Have you read it, too? I loved The Things They Carried and now that you mention it, I recall that 'story' within the book. How many men must have felt this and thought it and went to war anyway--the worst kind of peer pressure. Thanks so much for pointing out the similarities between the books--isn't it wonderful when these connections between books come up--and in such vastly different stories (other than both being war stories), too! I like Dystopian, but sometimes a particular subject is totally overmarketed--if one book does well, everyone else must then jump on the bandwagon rather than coming up with something new and different!

[LizF]

It is a heartbreaker that's for sure, but definitely a book which should be read by young people.
My daughter read it at school when she was 11 and was very impressed by it - it lead her on to asking me for more books about WW1 and at that stage there were only a couple I could recommend - War Horse and All Quiet on the Western Front (she had a reading age of 16 at the time so I knew she would cope with the latter)
I read both Private Peaceful and War Horse in floods of tears but I do recommend the latter - although I am not sure that I will ever get around to watching either the play or the film of it (well maybe the film on DVD when there is no one around to laugh at me for being sentimental!)

[Danielle]

Why is it that I can't handle films that are violent and have to do with animals? Honestly I have never been able to read or watch The Yearling by Marjorie K Rawlings. Maybe I will give War Hose a go? I really liked Private Peaceful and can see how it would get kids interested and asking questions--it was very well done. I still have not read All Quiet on the Western Front--maybe I can still manage it this year? And how did you get on with Regeneration? It sits by my bedside--I just need to spend time with it to get into the story. Hope all is well with you Liz! :)