He had been at university, talked theology with the Inklings, loved two beautiful people, a brother and a sister. Willock, where Freda is expected to care for their son, work for what little food she is given, and to be subjected to Mr. I feel bad because this got multiple 5 star ratings from other ARCers but I just did not feel as drawn in as others did and the ending really ruined it for me. She is treated very badly by her host family, working all hours, with little food and little time to attend school.

The power and energy of the novel comes in the last third, when Philip decides that he can’t remain on the outside of life for ever. Philip, a pacifist and would-be artist has left university after suffering a breakdown, and has isolated himself in an abandoned lighthouse in the Fens where he spends his days painting and trying to sort out his life. But this friendship is broken when Philip overcomes his pacifist objections, steals a small boat and sails to assist the evacuation from Dunkirk. Does an excellent job of conjuring the consolations that can be found from withdrawing into nature, where the changing of the seasons and the routines of the wildlife offer their own companionship.Other sections set during the war introduce us to Philip Rhayader, a 22-year-old conscientious objector who has left Oxford with his vocation to join the church in tatters, following a nervous breakdown and the discovery of strong feelings for a male friend. Perhaps Hubbard is a genius and deliberately made you feel exactly what it was like to be him by letting you swirl around and around in the same thoughts endlessly but it got a little old when the other character was in immediate danger from her neglectful and abusive situation and had no power or money to change that (both of which he had in small amounts as a middle class, white, adult, male). My interest, however, did grow just before Book 2 starts halfway through when Philip and Freda are brought together by an injured goose. A lot of this, whether written from the mindset of the aged narrator or the naive young girl on the train to Lincolnshire, fails to ring true. My one criticism of the novel is that there are frequent, Sudden time jumps which make the story fragmented and difficult to settle down to read.

The cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. In 1939, as the war is unfolding, children are being evacuated from the cities to areas which the enemy is less likely to target. Their friendship is really wholesome, and it reminds me of an older brother looking out for his younger sister. The first half of the novel is exposition with dramatic events beginning to gather pace only in the second half.This is a beautifully poignant retelling by Sue Hubbard of Paul Gallico's The Snow Goose, a parable of the saving grace and regenerative power of love and friendship, exploring the fundamental questions of life, amidst the backdrop of the horrors of WW2. Philip is a sensitive human being, a conscientious objector who left Oxford after having a nervous breakdown and now works for a local farmer. Freda and Philip’s characters and background are described and set up with care, but it is not until the middle pages that we get to the moment where they meet and the actual story begins. Overall, a much longer review than usual becasue I can't get it out of my mind but, at the same time, I couldn't love it. The relationship between Philip and Freda feels slight and underdeveloped, given its significance for both their later lives.