I Am David

Well, I’m not David! I mean, my name’s not David – I’m Dad for goodness sake. Ok, my name isn’t Dad either, but you all know me as Dad, of course I’m not called Dad in real life … well, apart from when my children call me, then I’m Dad …. otherwise, people tend to call me by my real name … well, not always .. sometimes I get called other names, not printable here because ………….

Look, you see? It’s getting late, I’m tired and I’m getting in a muddle! I thought this would be such a straightforward post but I’m making a right pig’s ear of it, and all because I’m having trouble explaining that my name isn’t David.

The person who is David however, is the name of the main character in a beautiful book I read a short while back – no surname, just David – and, as always, thanks to the goodness of my heart, I feel the need to share it with you.

The book, described as “one of the most important children’s books written since the Second World War”, is the story of a boy, David, who escapes from a concentration camp in search of something or someone (well I don’t want to spoil it now, do I??).

Now, I don’t know if it’s because I’m just a big softy at heart (no, I am, honest), but this book gave me goose bumps throughout, and the last few pages? Well, I thought about this book for days after, weeks even. The recommended age for this read is 9+ but, like the Coram Boy I reviewed in my previous guise (here), I personally think it more suitable for a slightly older reader, perhaps 11, maybe even 12 years old.

And although it is a powerful book, quite why the front cover has a quote from the Evening Standard on it is quite beyond me!! With the Sunday Times quote on the back??!?

Apparently the Danish author, Anne Holm, wrote poetry for the first half of her life, and was quite successful. This book made her quite a bit better known.

I generally only get to read at bedtime, and a book can take me quite some time to get through. However, I can remember a few very late nights and even a few ‘small hours of the morning’ reads to get to the end of this one as fast as I could.

It’s a stunning story, simply written, with a lip-wobbling ending. Get yourself a copy and if you don’t enjoy it as much as I did, get in touch – I’ll refund you. *

* - but I might not, really.