Infiltration
‘A boyhood rivalry mirrors the tensions in Europe during WWII’
The second book in a planned trilogy, with Intrusion being the first volume this is a story about a young boy, Billy, growing up – and surviving in more ways than one – through the years of WWII, having to face not only the war but family conflict as well.
In book one, six-year-old Billy’s bully of a cousin, Kenneth, invaded his life as much as the war itself and in this story the two boys are evacuated, Billy to a farm, Kenneth with his mother to a billet near Billy’s own mother and sister. Kenneth is as spiteful as ever, but Billy is happy at the farm with an elderly couple looking after him, although he still longs for attention from his mother. As the war progress Billy uses his talisman, a sabre, to keep strong, even through horror, tragedy and upset.
Rosalind Minett writes from the perspective of a young boy with great detail, his growing confidence and understanding of life and other people. Billy’s emerging enthusiasm for photography and helping to care for the farm animals is a delight to read.
An enjoyable – and amusing in places – story there is a ‘but’. The narrative is third person and written through the eyes of Billy’s own perspective of the world at war, but the boy often seems totally oblivious to it – perhaps young children were? Do youngsters living in their own little worlds with their own large problems understand the horror of these other things going on around them? However, I wonder if the story would be enhanced a little if more of the outside events were narrated instead of being glossed over?
Even so, a delightful read
